Create a Bootable USB Debian Live Flash Drive ▷ Effortlessly

Creating a Debian Live USB flash drive is the easiest way to try Debian or install it on your internal hard drive without touching your main system. Whether you're on Windows, Linux, or macOS, there are several tools available that make the process simple, including Etcher, YUMI Multiboot, and the dd command. You can also enable persistence to save files and system changes across sessions, turning your USB into a fully portable Debian environment.

☰

How to Make a Debian Live Bootable USB (Persistent)

In this guide, you'll learn how to create a Debian Live USB flash drive that you can boot into or use to install Debian on your internal hard drive. Whether you're on Windows, Linux, or macOS, several tools are available, including YUMI Multiboot, Balena Etcher, and dd. This tutorial also explains how to set up persistence, allowing you to save files and system changes across sessions.

Debian Live USB Desktop Bootable Flash Drive — Debian Live USB desktop

Project page: Official Debian Live
Minimum USB size: 8 GB or larger
Supports Persistence?: Yes

What You'll Need

A reliable USB stick (8 GB+)
Debian Live ISO - Download from Debian
One of the following tools:
- YUMI Multiboot (Windows GUI)
- Etcher (cross platform GUI)
- dd command (advanced; works on Linux/macOS/Windows)

Comparison of Methods

Tool	Platform	Ease of Use	Supports Persistence	Supports Multiboot
Etcher	Windows / Linux / macOS	Beginner friendly	No (ISO only)	No
YUMI exFAT	Windows (macOS via Wine)	Intermediate	Yes	Yes
dd	Linux / macOS / Windows	Advanced	Yes (manual setup)	No

Create a Persistent Debian USB with YUMI

YUMI is ideal for those who want to boot multiple distros from one USB stick. The exFAT version supports persistence for Debian Live.

Download YUMI exFAT and run it (Windows).
1. Select your USB drive.
2. Pick Debian Live from the distro dropdown.
3. Browse and select your downloaded ISO file.
4. Enable Persistence (Optional) and adjust the size as needed (e.g., 4 GB).
Click Create and wait for the process to complete.
Safely eject your USB stick.

YUMI exFAT Debian Live USB Persistence — Using YUMI exFAT to make a Debian Live bootable USB

Create Debian Live USB with Etcher

Etcher by Balena is a cross platform graphical utility that burns ISO images to USB drives. It's a great option for beginners.

Note: Etcher will format your USB. Back up any important data before proceeding.

Insert a USB drive (8 GB or more).
Download your preferred Debian Live ISO (Gnome, KDE, Xfce, etc.).
Download and install Etcher (Windows, Linux, or macOS).
Launch Etcher:
1. Select the ISO file.
2. Select your USB device.
3. Click Flash.
After flashing, reboot your computer.
Enter BIOS/UEFI during boot and select your USB as the boot device.

Write a Debian Live ISO to USB using dd

Advanced users can write Debian Live ISOs directly to a USB drive using the dd command. This method is powerful but dangerous if used incorrectly. Always double check device paths, as writing to the wrong disk can erase an entire drive, and we're going to be wiping it clean.

Using dd on Windows

In most cases, I've found that dd can successfully write a Debian Live ISO to the USB drive from Windows after the USB drive has been wiped using diskpart. When the disk is in a raw state, Windows briefly leaves it untouched, allowing dd to write the image.

This short moment, immediately after diskpart clean, is when Windows is effectively hands off and dd has the best chance of succeeding.

Download dd for Windows.
Insert your USB drive.
Launch an elevated Command Prompt
Press Win + R, enter cmd, then use Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run it with administrator rights.
Navigate to the dd executable
Change to the directory where dd.exe is located:
```
cd c:\path-to-dd
```
Reset the USB device using diskpart
Start the Windows disk partition utility:
```
diskpart
```
Display all connected disks:
```
list disk
```
Choose the USB drive by number (replace # with that of your USB drive):
```
select disk #
```
Remove all existing partition data from the device:
```
clean
```
Exit diskpart:
```
exit
```
Transfer the Debian Live image to the USB
Immediately after cleaning the disk, write the ISO image. Replace path-to-debian-live.iso and # with the correct USB disk number.
```
dd if=path-to-debian-live.iso of=\\.\PhysicalDrive# bs=4M --progress
```

Things to keep in mind:

The Command Prompt must remain open and elevated
Do not open Disk Management after running clean
Do not format or access the USB drive during the write process
The USB may appear unreadable in Explorer, which is expected

When the write completes, use Windows Safely Remove Hardware to eject the USB drive. Reboot the system, select the USB device from the BIOS or UEFI boot menu, and Debian Live should start.

Using dd on Linux

Insert the USB and locate the device:
```
sudo fdisk -l
```
Unmount the USB drive (replacing sdX with your actual USB device):
```
sudo umount /dev/sdX
```

Write the ISO:

sudo dd if=/path/to/debian-live.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

Flush the write buffer:
```
sync
```

Using dd on macOS

Insert the USB drive.
Open a Terminal and list devices:
```
diskutil list
```
Unmount the USB:
```
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
```

Write the ISO (replace N and path accordingly):

sudo dd if=/path/to/debian-live.iso of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m

Flush the write buffer:
```
sync
```

Enable Persistence Manually on Debian Live USB

Replace sdX with your actual USB device which you can find using fdisk -l. It's also assumed that the dd'd ISO file created two partitions already. If that's not the case, edit sdX3 in steps 4 and 5 to reflect the next partition to create.

Boot from the USB and press E at the splash screen. Add toram to the boot line, then press Ctrl + X.
After booting, open a terminal and gain root access:
```
sudo su
```

Create a new partition using fdisk:

fdisk /dev/sdX

Inside fdisk:

n   # New partition
p   # Primary
Enter (accept default)
Enter (accept default)
+6G # Partition Size
w   # Write changes

Format and label the new partition as ext4:
```
mkfs.ext4 -L persistence /dev/sdX3
```

Create persistence configuration:

mkdir /ptmp && mount /dev/sdX3 /ptmp
echo "/ union" > /ptmp/persistence.conf
umount /dev/sdX3

Reboot. At boot screen, press E, add persistence to the boot line, then press Ctrl + X.

Booting from Bootable USB Debian Live with Persistence

Reboot and boot from USB via BIOS/UEFI.
Choose "Debian Live Persistent" from the YUMI menu.
At the boot screen, press E, append the word persistence to the Linux line, then press Ctrl + X to boot.

Note: Persistence on recent Debian Live images can sometimes be unreliable as loopback file persistence may not always be detected. In those cases, I've found that using a partition labeled persistence with a persistence.conf and the persistence boot parameter works best.

Final Take: Choosing the Right Method for You

New to Linux? Use Etcher for its simplicity and cross platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS).
Need multiboot or persistence? YUMI (exFAT) automatic persistence via sparse loopback files (Windows or Linux/macOS via Wine).
Advanced user? The dd command provides precision and control (Linux/macOS/Windows), but double check device paths.

Restoring Your USB Drive

If you want to repurpose your USB drive for everyday storage after creating a Debian Live system, follow our tutorial to restore your USB flash drive back to its original state.

By Pendrive Linux | 7 min read