balenaEtcher provides a straightforward and reliable solution for flashing operating system images onto various storage media, including SD cards and USB drives. Developed by balena to address the lack of an easy-to-recommend flashing tool, Etcher is built to be simple for end-users while remaining extensible for developers, ensuring compatibility across Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms. It facilitates the creation of USB installation media from bootable ISOs, allowing users to install almost any operating system to virtually any flash drive. The software aims to provide peace of mind through its validated flashing process, confirming successful completion and ensuring the integrity of the flashed card. Furthermore, Etcher prioritizes user safety by providing warnings and hiding system drives by default, significantly reducing the risk of accidental data loss on hard drives. Its intuitive 3-step graphical interface eliminates the need for command-line operations, making the process accessible to a broad audience. As an open-source project built with web technologies like JS, HTML, Node.js, and Electron, balenaEtcher is freely available and maintained by balena staff, welcoming community contributions. For advanced use cases, when paired with balena EtcherPro hardware, the software supports simultaneous writing to up to 16 drives at once.

Features & Benefits

• Validated Flashing
  • Confirms that the flash process has completed successfully, providing assurance that the card will boot and is not corrupted.
• Hard Drive Friendly
  • Includes warnings and hides system drives by default to prevent accidental wiping of an entire hard drive.
• Beautiful Interface
  • Offers an intuitive 3-step process without the need for command lines, simplifying the flashing experience.
• Open Source
  • Built on open-source tools (JS, HTML, Node.js, Electron) and is free to use, with community contributions welcomed.
• Cross Platform
  • Works seamlessly on Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems, requiring no complicated installation instructions.
• Simultaneous Writing
  • When used with balena EtcherPro, enables flashing to up to 16 drives concurrently.