Rufus for Linux alternative: Etcher

 RUFUS FOR LINUX

Rufus is a popular free-source software tool that is used on the Windows platform to burn USB ISO files. When it comes to developing a bootable USB for OS installation, it is now a standard. When you are looking for suggestions for ISO burning applications, you can see a lot of positive feedback and recommendations. And do a lot of users want to know if there is a version of Rufus for Linux? Some say yes, and others say no. So is that true?

Unfortunately, the Linux platform is still not compatible with Rufus. Though plenty of users made a request for the Rufus Linux version, the developer failed to fulfil this demand yet. When you click the browse to the Download section of Rufus official website, all download links point to the .exe file, meaning this is a Windows-only app. So both Rufus for Linux and Rufus for Mac does not exist.

Rufus for Linux alternative: Etcher

While Rufus is the gold standard for creating bootable USB drives, it’s limited to Windows operating systems only. In contrast, Etcher is another Rufus alternate tool to run on Linux to create bootable drives. It’s also quite simple to use and the interface is very straightforward. It is a wonderful tool, however, after flashing a USB drive using it, it creates multiple partitions on USB, which is a little bit annoying especially for users that are not much familiar with it. It was formerly known as Etcher. This is freeware and a cross-platform tool means it supports Windows, Linux and macOS to flash different operating systems ISO files to USB sticks and memory cards. In addition to the installer version of Windows, there is also a portable version that can be used without installation. Apart from ISO, the program also supports BIN, BZ2, DMG, DSK, ETCH, GZ, HDDIMG, RAW, RPI-SDIMG, SDCARD and XZ file formats. Etcher is also open-source and completely free just like Rufus.

Etcher is a fairly basic software and might do the job for many but the biggest downside is it cannot burn Windows ISO to USB. So, if you deal with Windows it’s a big no-no.

Etcher - PROS AND CONS

Pros:

• 2-clicks to flash SD cards and USB storage.

• Auto-detection of settings depending on the ISO.

• Hard drive protection so you don’t end up wiping internal drives.

Cons:

• No advanced booting options.

• Only for Linux based ISO files.

• Doesn’t support SD cards.