balenaetcher ☆
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Description:
Tool to flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives
Type: Cask  |  Latest Version: 2.1.6@0  |  Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  @balena_io  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: usb sd-card bootable imaging flashing utility
Install: brew install --cask balenaetcher
About:
BalenaEtcher is a powerful, open-source utility designed to safely and reliably flash OS images onto SD cards and USB drives. It provides a streamlined graphical interface that prevents users from accidentally wiping their system drives. The tool supports raw image formats, ensuring fast and verified writing of bootable media for various operating systems.
Key Features:
  • Cross-platform support (macOS, Windows, Linux)
  • Drive selection protection to prevent data loss
  • Built-in image validation and bad block handling
Use Cases:
  • Creating bootable USB installers for Linux distributions
  • Flashing Raspberry Pi SD cards with IoT operating systems
Alternatives:
  • Raspberry Pi Imager – More focused on Raspberry Pi images but lacks support for other raw formats.
  • dd (command line) – Powerful but dangerous; lacks GUI and safety checks.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
May 13, 2026 9:14pm 2.1.6 0 VERSION_BUMP 620d5701
Jul 29, 2025 12:43pm 2.1.4 0 VERSION_BUMP 2b0aadac
Jun 20, 2023 7:05pm 1.18.8 0 VERSION_BUMP fcf99724
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