Download Etcher for free in its latest version from our website or from the official website of Balena Etcher. Follow the instructions to download Etcher flash tool for Windows 10, 8 and 7 or MacOS and Linux.
Etcher, or Balena Etcher, is open source, cross-platform software that enables users to easily create bootable USB flash drives.
| Software Name | Balena Etcher |
| Version | v1.6.0 |
| Last release | 2021-09-20 |
| Software size | 144 MB |
| Requirements | Windows 10, 8, 7, Mac or Linux |
| Download link | Download |
Today, USB drives are the preferred portable hardware devices for most of the people. Copying and pasting regular files to a USB drive is easy, but if you want the portable operating system on the USB to be ready to boot, you need more than just copy and paste. This is useful if for example you want to install a Windows ISO, and activate it with windows 11 keys.
Fortunately, the image writing tool balenaEtcher can help solve this problem. Etcher, is a free and open source USB burning tool that allows users to burn any ISO to portable storage devices such as USB drives and SD cards.
System requirements to install Etcher
Before downloading etcher, we recommend you make sure if your system specifications meet the minimum requirements to install Etcher.
The software is available for the three main operating systems: Windows (7 and higher), macOS (Yosemite or higher) and various distributions of Linux, which provide both 32-bit and 64-bit AppImage. It is very lightweight and only takes up 112MB (just like the portable version of Etcher for Windows, which means no installation required and can be used right out of the box). The compressed AppImage file for Linux is between 80 and 86 MB.
Note that although Etcher may not be listed as unsupported by some Linux distributions, your Electron framework may not be compatible with them (a good example is the Wayland communication protocol used by some of them), so you should continue and check beforehand. Due to backward compatibility of X-based programs in Wayland (like Etcher), there is a workaround too, and the fix is just a few command lines away.
Download Etcher in its latest version
May download Etcher on our website or from balena.io. Just click the button «to download»The exact version of the operating system you need. As mentioned above, Etcher Windows comes with a portable version and installation files.
| Etcher for Windows (x86 | x64) (installer) | x86 | x64 | Download |
| Etcher for Windows (x86 | x64) (portable) | x86 | x64 | Download |
| Etcher for macOS | x64 | Download |
| Etcher for Linux x64 (64-bit) (AppImage) | x64 | Download |
| Etcher for Linux x86 (32-bit) (AppImage) | x86 | Download |
We recommend that you do not download Etcher from third party websites, even though it is free open source software; You must follow the developer's website and be here only, for your own safety.
Alternatively, you can get the source code from your GitHub repository, if you want to play around with the code yourself. You can directly download the latest version of this software by following the link below.
How to install Etcher on your computer
The installation process depends on the operating system you are installing Etcher Image Writer on, but they are all fairly simple and straightforward.
If you opt for the installation version of Etcher for Windows, run the file installation downloaded as administrator and just follow the steps, it is a normal Windows installation process. If you have macOS, drag the downloaded macOS Etcher file to the Applications folder to install.
Etcher for Linux has a slightly different process, due to the command line nature of the operating system. Depending on the distribution you have, use the appropriate command to get Etcher Linux from your operating system repository, and then use the command to install it.
Note that when you download Etcher on a Linux operating system, you'll most likely have to install some sort of authentication software, since Linux doesn't have its own built-in 'run as administrator' option like Windows does; polkit is the name of the software.
Some Linux distributions will also require you to download a program that allows GTK dialog boxes to run; zenity is a good example of this type of software, and it comes bundled into some of the most popular distribution repositories, such as Debian, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint.
How to create a bootable USB drive with Etcher
Etcher is one of the best in its niche, particularly one of the best Linux USB tools and SD card writers out there, as some of the other big players are not available on Linux.
It's still a good Windows USB burner too, but it has more competition in that category. Thanks to its intuitive design and easy-to-use graphical interface, creating a bootable USB drive with this program is a breeze. The process can be explained in a few simple steps:
- First insert the removable hardware into your PC.
- Click the button "Select image»And choose the ISO file of the operating system
wanted. - Select the removable hardware on which you want to update the operating system.
Etcher has a feature that never automatically selects the hard drive as
the target device unless the user chooses to enter the so-called Mode
Unsafe, so it is completely safe, even for beginners, to flash
ISO to USB - Press the 'Flash' button and wait for the process to complete.
Conclution
Balena's Etcher is the rising star in the field of bootable USB creation software, with its beta version coming out in 2016, but it has already become one of the best of its kind. Having the ability to walk across multiple platforms with this nifty little software, as well as creating bootable USB flash drives and SD cards, which is especially useful for the Raspberry Pi.
With so many upcoming features announced by developers, especially on the GitHub repository, we believe Etcher has a bright future ahead of it.