Flashing an image means writing Recalbox's .img.xz file onto a microSD card or a USB stick, replacing everything on it. Only one tool is recommended.
Raspberry Pi Imager — free, available on Windows, macOS and Linux, it works for every machine Recalbox supports, not just Raspberry Pi boards. It handles decompression, writing and verification, and it can even pre-configure the hostname, root password, Wi-Fi and SSH.
On a Raspberry Pi, Recalbox is listed directly in its catalogue: you do not even have an image to download.
| Tool | Why avoid it |
|---|---|
| Balena Etcher | Writes Recalbox images incorrectly: installations that will not boot, missing partitions |
| UNetbootin | Designed to build Linux install sticks, not to write a disk image — does not produce a working Recalbox |
| Rufus | Meant for bootable ISO images; useful to clone a card, not to install Recalbox |
Once the image is written, insert the device into your machine and power it on: the installation finishes on its own. The full walkthrough is in Preparation and installation.
To make an image of your card (rather than the other way round), see Cloning your SD card.