1. Requirements

• Linux with a running udisks2 service, version 2.7.3 or newer

• Python ≥ 3.10

• PySide6-Essentials ≥ 6.4

• jeepney ≥ 0.9

USB-Imager itself does not run as root. Device access is handled by udisks2, which authorizes writing via polkit. Depending on your distribution’s policy, you may be prompted for a password.

2. Features

• Writing an image to multiple USB sticks at once

• Automatic device detection

• Very fast writing by using the linux system call sendfile() and large write buffers

• Adjustable write buffer between 1 MiB and 4 MiB

• Optional validation after writing

• Optional checksum verification of the selected image

• Detection and elimination of the following states of a device before writing:

  • Mounted

• Shows a warning if an ISO file does not look bootable

• Shows stats about writing time and overall speed

• Selectable color schemes (Dark/Light Mode)

Planned:

• Deactivation of LVM2 volumes before writing

• Multilanguage support

3. Installation

Flatpak:

The Flatpak package is the only installation that integrates USB-Imager into your desktop. It adds an entry to the application menu, so no terminal is needed to start it.

$ flatpak install flathub io.gitlab.secu_design.usb-imager
$ flatpak run io.gitlab.secu_design.usb-imager
$ flatpak uninstall io.gitlab.secu_design.usb-imager

Virtual environment:

An installation in a virtual environment allows starting USB-Imager only from a terminal. If the command usb-imager is not available there, read section 5. Troubleshooting.

pipx:

$ pipx install usb-imager
$ usb-imager
$ pipx uninstall usb-imager

pipenv:

$ pipenv install usb-imager
$ pipenv run usb-imager
$ pipenv uninstall usb-imager

venv:

$ python3 -m venv venv
$ source venv/bin/activate
$ pip install usb-imager
$ usb-imager
$ pip uninstall usb-imager
$ deactivate
$ rm -rf venv

4. Usage

Installed as a Flatpak, USB-Imager is started from the application menu of your desktop, like any other application.

After an installation into a virtual environment, type usb-imager in your terminal window. Such an installation puts its data files into the environment, where no menu indexer looks for them, so it offers no desktop entry.

5. Troubleshooting

PATH=~/.local/bin:$PATH

$ fish_add_path ~/.local/bin

$ sudo apt install libxcb-cursor0

6. Support

7. Donate

If you like USB-Imager and want to support its development, you can buy me a coffee.