# raspberrypi/usbboot

Raspberry Pi USB device provisioning tool (RPIBOOT)

Repository: https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/usbboot
Language: Shell
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-17T17:33:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 62, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3621, "days_push": 16, "days_rel": 93, "gap_med": 129, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1337, forks 312 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:25.558320+00:00)

## What it is
rpiboot is the official Raspberry Pi USB device boot tool that loads firmware onto a Raspberry Pi over USB to expose its storage as a mass-storage device for provisioning. It also updates the bootloader SPI EEPROM on Compute Module 4 and newer devices and provides a console login via the Linux-based mass-storage gadget.

## Use cases
- flash an OS image to a Raspberry Pi Compute Module's eMMC over USB
- recover a Raspberry Pi whose SD card slot or bootloader is broken
- update the bootloader EEPROM on a Compute Module 4 or 5
- access a Pi's filesystem from a host as a USB mass-storage drive
- provision many Raspberry Pi devices in bulk on a factory line
- get a UART console login to a headless Pi over USB

## When to choose
- you need to write an OS image to a Compute Module or a Pi with no bootable storage
- you must update the bootloader EEPROM on CM4 or newer hardware
- you want low-level USB boot access to Raspberry Pi hardware from Linux, Windows, or macOS

## When to avoid
- you just want to flash an SD card on a standard Raspberry Pi - use Raspberry Pi Imager directly
- you need a general-purpose disk imaging tool unrelated to Raspberry Pi boot
- you want a graphical flashing experience rather than a command-line tool

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, file-system, embedded
- domain: embedded-systems, hardware, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cli, embedded
- tags: raspberry-pi, rpiboot, usb-boot, provisioning, compute-module, mass-storage-gadget, firmware, libusb, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- raspberrypi/usbboot (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:25.558320+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 2026-08-30T04:44:04.495187+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:25.558320+00:00, sha 9d5b8c1b8e7b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.