# mbusb/multibootusb

Create multiboot live Linux on a USB disk...

Repository: https://github.com/mbusb/multibootusb
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/multibootusb
Homepage: http://multibootusb.org/
Language: Python
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: boot, multiboot, distros, linux, python, windows, disk, bootable, bootable-drives, livecd, liveusb, live, usb, grub2, syslinux, grub, efi, uefi, bootable-usb, persistence
Last push: 2021-06-08T00:28:29+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4623, "days_push": 1913, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1464, forks 207 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:47.850452+00:00)

## What it is
MultiBootUSB is a cross-platform (Windows and Linux) GUI utility for installing multiple live Linux distributions onto a single removable USB disk with a bootable bootloader. It also supports uninstalling distros, writing ISO images directly to USB (a GUI for dd), and testing boots via QEMU.

## Use cases
- put multiple live linux distros on one usb stick
- create a bootable usb from an iso without erasing existing data
- uninstall a distro from a multiboot usb drive
- write an iso image directly to a usb disk like dd with a gui
- test a bootable usb or iso in qemu without rebooting
- boot a usb on a uefi system via grub2

## When to choose
- you want several live Linux distros on a single USB drive with a menu
- you need a graphical alternative to dd for writing ISOs on Windows or Linux
- you want to add or remove distros from a USB without wiping the whole disk

## When to avoid
- you only need a single-distro bootable USB and prefer a simpler tool like UNetbootin or Rufus
- you need full UEFI secure boot support (support is limited)
- you need a standalone portable Windows app (the Windows version requires installation)
- you need macOS support

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: gui, cli, file-system
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems, cross-platform
- platform: windows, python
- tags: bootable-usb, multiboot, live-usb, grub2, syslinux, uefi, iso-writing, qemu, linux

## Member repositories
- mbusb/multibootusb (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:47.850452+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 2026-08-30T04:35:10.508783+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mbusb/multibootusb (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:47.850452+00:00, sha e2507111e0db)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.