Flash USB drives with soul · Flashea tu USB con alma
A tiny, honest, open-source, cross-platform USB image flasher — the small footprint of usbimager, the UX polish of Etcher, and a technical edge neither has: a parallel 3-stage flash pipeline with free verification hashing.
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The four-step wizard: image → drive → confirm → write. Interface in English and Spanish, three themes, reactive mascot included.
Grab a bundle from the v0.1.0 release
— NSIS installer (Windows), .dmg (macOS, aarch64), .deb/AppImage (Linux).
⚠️ Early-release software that writes to raw devices — double-check the target drive. Binaries are unsigned: SmartScreen / Gatekeeper will warn on first run (macOS: right-click → Open). See the verification status for what is actually hardware-tested.
Etcher is sequential: it reads, writes and verifies in a queue, and verification re-reads, re-decompresses and re-hashes everything. AnimaBooter overlaps all of it:
[Reader] ──4 MiB blocks──► [Writer] ──write spans──► [Verifier]
- Reader opens the image, detects compression by magic bytes (gzip / xz / zstd / bzip2), decompresses in streaming 4 MiB blocks and computes blake3 + sha256 of the decompressed stream while it reads — the source hash is free.
- Writer consumes blocks through a bounded mpsc channel (natural backpressure), writes to the device, tracks window + peak speed and emits throttled progress (≤ 1 event / 200 ms). Confirmed writes are forwarded immediately, so the verifier re-reads while the rest is still writing.
- Verifier re-reads the written regions from a dedicated handle and compares the read-back hash with the source hash at the end.
Honesty guarantees:
sync_all(flush to physical medium) always runs — and must succeed — before success is reported.- The image is never fully loaded into RAM.
- When the decompressed size of a compressed image is unknown, the UI shows live byte counters instead of a made-up percentage.
- 100% local: no telemetry, no cloud, no accounts, no network calls at runtime. Ever.
| Metric | balenaEtcher | Rufus | usbimager | AnimaBooter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Win/macOS/Linux | Windows only | Win/macOS/Linux | Win/macOS/Linux |
| Install size | ~300 MB | ~25 MB | ~2 MB | < 10 MB (target) |
| Write strategy | sequential | sequential | sequential | parallel 3-stage pipeline |
| Verification cost | re-read + re-decompress + re-hash | — | optional | read-back only — source hash is free |
| UI | Electron | Win32 | minimal | Svelte 5 wizard + reactive mascot |
| Telemetry | yes | no | no | NONE — offline by design |
Benchmark cells for AnimaBooter are targets, not claims. We publish only real, self-measured numbers — measure yourself and fill in your own results (
cargo test && pnpm tauri build, then time a real flash on real hardware). Same image, same drive, same port.
- Only removable drives are listed. Internal disks appear only after
enabling
unsafe_modeinsettings.json— with two explicit confirmations in the UI. - Before any device is opened,
flashre-checks hard, platform rules:- Linux: a drive hosting the root filesystem
/is refused unconditionally. - Windows: the volume containing
%SystemRoot%is refused unconditionally, even in unsafe mode. - macOS: internal disks are refused unless unsafe mode is on.
- Linux: a drive hosting the root filesystem
- Every destructive step announces its intent into the live log first.
- The destructive button uses hold-to-confirm (1.2 s) — it refuses to fire on a misclick. Cancelling a flash warns that the device is left in an unknown state and must be re-flashed.
Honesty about what is actually tested is part of this project's ethos:
| Platform | Compiles (CI) | Real flash + boot test |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | ✅ fmt, clippy, tests, build | ✅ verified by the author on hardware (real flash, USB boots) |
| Windows | ✅ tests + bundle (MSVC) | ⏳ not yet hardware-tested by the author |
| macOS | ✅ tests + bundle (aarch64) | ⏳ not yet hardware-tested by the author |
Release binaries are unsigned: Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will show a warning on first run (macOS: right-click → Open). Signing and notarization are planned once distribution becomes serious.
- Rust stable (edition 2021) via your own toolchain manager
- pnpm ≥ 9 (or Bun / Node ≥ 18 — the lockfile is
pnpm-lock.yaml) - Tauri 2 system dependencies:
- Linux:
libudev+libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev+libgtk-3-dev(Debian/Ubuntu:sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev build-essential libudev-dev libgtk-3-dev) - Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools + WebView2 (preinstalled on Win 11)
- macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools
- Linux:
pnpm install # install frontend dependencies
pnpm check # svelte-check, must be clean
pnpm build # vite production build
cd src-tauri
cargo clippy -- -D warnings
cargo test # pipeline suites: progress math, throttle 200 ms,
# cancellation, 1-byte corruption, gzip roundtrip
cd ..
pnpm tauri build # bundles for your platformThe Windows build additionally needs the icon set (already generated in
src-tauri/icons/, including icon.ico / icon.icns). To regenerate from
new source artwork, run: pnpm tauri icon <png>.
Writing to /dev/sdX requires privileges. Either run with sudo, or install
a udev rule for passwordless flashing (adjust the group to your distro):
# /etc/udev/rules.d/60-animabooter.rules
# Passwordless write access to removable block devices for plugdev members.
KERNEL=="sd*", ATTRS{removable}=="1", SUBSYSTEM=="block", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev"Then: sudo udevadm control --reload && sudo udevadm trigger.
index.html, src/ Svelte 5 frontend (TypeScript + Tailwind v4)
src/components/ Wizard, DriveList, Dropzone, ConfirmModal, ...
src/lib/ IPC bridge (ipc.ts, types.ts), stores, i18n (EN/ES)
src-tauri/ Rust backend (Tauri 2)
src/commands/ IPC commands: list_drives, flash, cancel_flash, eject
src/core/ 3-stage pipeline: reader/writer/verifier, progress
src/image/ image detection + streaming decompression
src/platform/ per-OS device handling (linux / macos / windows)
src/safety.rs hard refusals and device safety rules
src-tauri/tauri.conf.json, capabilities/
.github/workflows/ ci.yml (manual) and release.yml (manual or v* tags)
- Windows: flashing raw devices requires elevation. Without admin rights
the app offers a one-click Restart as admin (PowerShell
runas, with the--elevatedflag). Writes useFILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERINGwith sector-aligned buffers (sector size from disk geometry, fallback 512), and every volume of the target is locked + dismounted first. - macOS: writes go to
/dev/rdiskN(the raw device, 10–20× faster than/dev/diskN). If the OS denies raw access, run withsudoor grant Full Disk Access — a nicer elevation helper is planned for v0.2. - Linux: enumeration uses
udev; mounted partitions are lazily unmounted viaudisksctlor the flash is rejected with the mount list so you can retry.
Commands: list_drives, detect_image, flash, cancel_flash, eject,
get_settings, set_settings, restart_as_admin (Windows).
Events: flash://phase, flash://progress, flash://verify,
flash://log, flash://done, flash://error. All payloads are mirrored
1:1 in src/lib/types.ts — keep both sides in sync when touching the
contract.
- v0.1 (this release) — parallel pipeline, free verification hash, wizard UI, ResultCard with PNG export, 3 themes, EN/ES, safety holds.
- v0.2 (planned) — multi-drive parallel flashing, smart-skip (detect an
already-flashed drive via a partial hash of its first megabytes), the
animactlCLI. - v0.3 (planned) — distro catalog: pick a distribution, download + flash in one click (opt-in, the user stays in control of the network — the app itself never phones home).
- Contributing guide — rules, validation checklist and hardware test protocol.
- Security policy — supported versions and how to report a vulnerability responsibly.
- Changelog — history of public releases.
- CI is intentionally manual for now (
workflow_dispatch); automatic CI on push/PR comes with the public launch.
MIT — see LICENSE. Open source software made with soul by marrionesa. Source: github.com/marrionesa/animabooter.
AnimaBooter (ES)
Flashea tu USB con alma
Un flasheador de imágenes USB pequeño, honesto, de código abierto y multiplataforma, creado por marrionesa. Lo pequeño de usbimager, la UX de Etcher y una ventaja técnica que ninguno tiene: un pipeline paralelo de 3 etapas con hash de verificación gratis.
- Backend Rust (Tauri 2, tokio) · Frontend Svelte 5 + Tailwind v4
- Proyecto: github.com/marrionesa/animabooter
- Creador: marrionesa
- Plataformas: Windows / macOS / Linux · Licencia MIT (c) 2026 marrionesa
- Privacidad: 100% local — sin telemetría, sin nube, sin cuentas, sin llamadas de red en ejecución. Nunca.
[Lector] ──bloques de 4 MiB──► [Escritor] ──rangos escritos──► [Verificador]
- Lector: detecta compresión por magic bytes (gzip/xz/zstd/bzip2), descomprime en streaming y calcula blake3 + sha256 del stream descomprimido mientras lee — el hash de fuente es gratis.
- Escritor: recibe bloques por un canal mpsc acotado (backpressure natural), escribe en el dispositivo y emite progreso con throttle de 200 ms. Los rangos confirmados se reenvían al vuelo, así el verificador relee mientras el resto todavía se escribe.
- Verificador: relee lo escrito desde un handle dedicado y compara el hash al final.
Garantías de honestidad: sync_all SIEMPRE antes de reportar éxito; la
imagen nunca se carga completa en RAM; si el tamaño descomprimido es
desconocido, la UI muestra contadores reales en vez de un porcentaje falso.
- Solo se listan discos extraíbles; los internos aparecen únicamente con
unsafe_modeactivado mediante dos confirmaciones. - Antes de abrir el dispositivo,
flashre-verifica reglas duras por plataforma: Linux rechaza en firme una unidad con/montado; Windows rechaza en firme el volumen de%SystemRoot%(incluso en modo inseguro); macOS rechaza discos internos salvo modo inseguro. - Toda operación destructiva anuncia su intención en el registro en vivo.
- El botón destructivo usa hold-to-confirm de 1,2 s. Cancelar avisa de que la unidad queda en estado desconocido y debe re-flashearse.
Descarga un bundle de la release v0.1.0
— instalador NSIS (Windows), .dmg (macOS, aarch64), .deb/AppImage (Linux).
⚠️ Software en versión temprana que escribe en dispositivos en crudo — revisa dos veces la unidad destino. Los binarios van sin firmar: SmartScreen / Gatekeeper avisarán en el primer arranque (macOS: clic derecho → Abrir). Consulta el estado de verificación para saber qué está probado en hardware de verdad.
Prerrequisitos: toolchain Rust estable, pnpm ≥ 9 (o Bun/Node ≥ 18), y
las dependencias de sistema de Tauri 2 (Linux: libudev +
libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev; Windows: VS Build Tools + WebView2; macOS:
Xcode CLT).
pnpm install && pnpm check && pnpm build
cd src-tauri && cargo clippy -- -D warnings && cargo test
cd .. && pnpm tauri buildPermisos en Linux: ejecuta con sudo o instala la regla udev de la
sección inglesa (60-animabooter.rules, grupo plugdev).
index.html, src/ Frontend Svelte 5 (TypeScript + Tailwind v4)
src/components/ Wizard, DriveList, Dropzone, ConfirmModal, ...
src/lib/ Puente IPC (ipc.ts, types.ts), stores, i18n (EN/ES)
src-tauri/ Backend Rust (Tauri 2)
src/commands/ Comandos IPC: list_drives, flash, cancel_flash, eject
src/core/ Pipeline de 3 etapas: lector/escritor/verificador
src/image/ Detección de imagen y descompresión en streaming
src/platform/ Manejo de dispositivos por SO (linux/macos/windows)
src/safety.rs Reglas duras de seguridad del dispositivo
.github/workflows/ ci.yml (manual) y release.yml (manual o tags v*)
La honestidad sobre qué está probado de verdad forma parte de la esencia de este proyecto:
| Plataforma | Compila (CI) | Flasheo + arranque real |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | ✅ fmt, clippy, tests, build | ✅ verificado por el autor en hardware (flasheo real, el USB arranca) |
| Windows | ✅ tests + bundle (MSVC) | ⏳ aún sin prueba de hardware del autor |
| macOS | ✅ tests + bundle (aarch64) | ⏳ aún sin prueba de hardware del autor |
Los binarios de release están sin firmar: Windows SmartScreen y macOS Gatekeeper mostrarán un aviso en el primer arranque (macOS: clic derecho → Abrir). Firma y notarización están previstas cuando la distribución se vuelva seria.
Mira la galería completa en la sección Screenshots — asistente de 4 pasos (imagen → unidad → confirmar → escribir), registro en vivo y tarjeta de resultados.
- v0.1 (actual) — pipeline paralelo, hash de verificación gratis, asistente de 4 pasos, ResultCard con export PNG, 3 temas, EN/ES.
- v0.2 (previsto) — multi-drive paralelo, smart-skip (detectar imagen ya
flasheada vía hash parcial), CLI
animactl. - v0.3 (previsto) — catálogo de distros descarga+flash (con consentimiento explícito del usuario; la app nunca se conecta por su cuenta).
- Guía de contribución — reglas, checklist de validación y protocolo de prueba en hardware.
- Política de seguridad — versiones soportadas y cómo reportar una vulnerabilidad de forma responsable.
- Changelog — historial de releases públicas.
MIT — ver LICENSE. Software de código abierto hecho con alma por marrionesa. Código fuente: github.com/marrionesa/animabooter.