LibreELEC USB-SD Creator vs UNetbootin

LibreELEC USB-SD Creator prepares bootable USB sticks or SD cards for an HTPC. It can select and download the latest stable LibreELEC image, show older stable releases, or use a local .img.gz file supplied by the user. Writing the image overwrites all data on the selected target device. LibreELEC describes its operating system as a lightweight Linux distribution built for Kodi on popular media-center hardware. The free, open-source Creator currently runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 and macOS 14 or newer. A Linux build for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives is not currently available. The application checks for updates but does not download or install them automatically. Version 1.5 added Arabic and Korean translations. LibreELEC signs the macOS app to help avoid Gatekeeper issues and provides SHA-256 links for Windows and macOS installers. Support is directed to the USB-SD Creator Support forum. The project says its default configuration is intended for home networks, not security-sensitive networks.

UNetbootin creates bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions, allowing installation without burning a CD. It can download a supported distribution or use a Linux ISO already on the computer, and the listed targets are a USB drive or hard disk. Built-in downloads include Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux, Linux Mint, and FreeBSD, as well as system utilities such as Parted Magic and SystemRescueCD. The site says most Linux ISO files should work, though some require extra boot options or changes, and some cannot boot from USB as-is. Non-Linux operating system ISOs should not be expected to work because they use a different boot mechanism. UNetbootin is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is free; donations are accepted. The source code is available on GitHub under GNU GPL Version 2 or above. Linux download options include an Ubuntu PPA, 32-bit and 64-bit binaries, packages for several distributions, and source code.