# etchdroid/etchdroid

An application to write OS images to USB drives, on Android, no root required.

Repository: https://github.com/etchdroid/etchdroid
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/etchdroid
Homepage: https://etchdroid.app/
Language: Kotlin
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: android, usb, iso, gnu-linux, linux, kotlin, mass-storage-device
Last push: 2026-08-21T11:18:17+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 84/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 58, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2923, "days_push": 12, "days_rel": 64, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3459, forks 244 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:05.588861+00:00)

## What it is
EtchDroid is an open-source Android application that writes OS disk images to USB flash drives and USB SD card adapters without requiring root. It is designed for creating bootable GNU/Linux or Raspberry Pi USB sticks directly from an Android phone.

## Use cases
- write a linux iso to a usb drive from my android phone
- make a bootable usb stick when my laptop is dead
- flash a raspberry pi image to an sd card using a usb adapter
- burn an os image to usb without root on android
- create a bootable arch or ubuntu usb from a phone

## When to choose
- you need to write a modern GNU/Linux ISO or Raspberry Pi image to a USB flash drive from an Android device
- you want a free, open-source, no-root alternative to Etcher on mobile
- your PC is broken and you need a bootable USB drive urgently

## When to avoid
- you need to write official Windows ISOs or Apple DMG images
- you need to write to internal SD card slots, USB hard drives/SSDs, hubs, or Thunderbolt-only devices
- you need to write very old pre-2010 Linux images

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: file-system, developer-tools
- domain: android-tools, operating-systems, developer-tools
- platform: -
- tags: usb-imaging, bootable-usb, disk-image-writer, iso-writing, no-root, foss, raspberry-pi, android, mobile

## Member repositories
- etchdroid/etchdroid (main) score 84

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:05.588861+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:36:56.772515+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/etchdroid/etchdroid (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:05.588861+00:00, sha 345589755688)
  - homepage: https://etchdroid.app/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:31:00.737415+00:00, sha 8fcd2f54a619)
  - site_page: https://etchdroid.app/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T09:31:00.739923+00:00, sha cfd283902711)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.