Make a bootable USB stick from your browser
Project mkstick puts a Windows or Linux installer on a USB stick with nothing to install. It does the job of an app like Rufus and works the same way on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Free and open source, by Conan Zhang.
#projectmkstickbycztsh
- A USB stick of 8 GB or more, or 16 GB for Windows
- Chrome or Edge on a computer
- About ten minutes for most installers
This browser can't write to a USB stick. Safari, Firefox and phone browsers don't allow a web page to save files to a drive, so please open Project mkstick in Chrome or Edge on a computer. You can still click through the steps here to see how it works.
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Pick a system
Loading the list…
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Get the installer
Windows comes from Microsoft and not from Project mkstick, so your browser downloads it from Microsoft and you then show Project mkstick where the file is.
First, download Windows
If your language isn't in the list, or you'd rather fetch it yourself, you can use Microsoft's download page and get the same file there.
- Open Microsoft's download page
- When the download has finished, come back here and choose the file below.
Then choose the file you downloaded
Project mkstick reads the file where it is on your computer and doesn't upload it anywhere.
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Choose your stick
Plug the stick in and press the button below. A window opens showing your drives, where you click the stick in the list on the left and then press Select. Your browser will ask whether Project mkstick may edit files on it, and you need to allow that.
The stick has to be empty and in FAT32 format, which most sticks of 32 GB or less already are. Project mkstick only adds files and has no way to delete what is on a drive.
My stick isn't empty, or isn't FAT32
Formatting the stick fixes both, but it erases everything on the stick, so copy off anything you want to keep first. A web page isn't able to format a drive, which is why this part is done by you. If the stick was giving errors, eject it, unplug it and plug it back in before you start.
- Open File Explorer, right-click the stick and choose Format.
- Set the file system to FAT32 and press Start.
- If FAT32 isn't in the list, which happens with sticks over 32 GB, open Command Prompt and run the line below with
E:changed to your stick's letter. This needs Windows 11 version 24H2 or later.
format E: /FS:FAT32 /Q- Open Disk Utility and choose Show All Devices from the View menu.
- Select the stick itself, which is the top entry rather than the volume beneath it, and press Erase.
- Set the format to MS-DOS (FAT) and the scheme to Master Boot Record, then press Erase.
- Open Disks, select the stick and choose Format Disk with MBR partitioning.
- Add a single partition of type FAT.
- If you prefer a terminal, run the line below with
sdX1changed to your stick's partition.
sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdX1Just having a look? instead of a real stick.
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Write it
Please let this finish. Don't refresh or close this page and don't unplug the stick until Project mkstick says the stick is ready, because stopping part-way leaves a stick that won't start a PC. If you want to make a second stick in the meantime, open Project mkstick in a new tab and use a different stick there.
Trying again picks up from the last file Project mkstick finished.
Your stick is ready
Starting a PC from it
Eject the stick before you unplug it. Then plug it into the PC, switch the PC on and press its boot menu key straight away, before Windows starts. Choose the stick from the menu, and if it appears twice, choose the entry marked UEFI.
| Maker | Key |
|---|---|
| Dell | F12 |
| HP | F9 or Esc |
| Lenovo | F12 |
| Asus | F8 or Esc |
| Acer | F12 |
| MSI | F11 |
The stick starts PCs that use UEFI, which covers nearly every PC made since 2012.
If Project mkstick helped you, post your stick on Instagram, tag @conanzhangtech and add #projectmkstickbycztsh. You're also welcome to support the project.
How it works
A modern PC can start from a USB stick that simply holds the installer's files, as long as the stick is in FAT32 format. Project mkstick opens the installer's disc image and copies each file across. Windows includes one file that is too big for FAT32, so Project mkstick splits it into parts that Windows Setup puts back together by itself.
Windows comes from Microsoft through your own browser, while Ubuntu and Debian are fetched from their publishers and checked against the checksums they publish. Project mkstick keeps no copies of any of them.
The full documentation is on czt.sh, and the source code is on GitHub.
Is it safe?
Project mkstick can only add files to the folder you point it at, because a web page has no way to format or erase a drive, and it refuses to write to a folder that already has things in it. The installer file you choose is read on your own computer and never sent anywhere. The code is open source, so anyone can check all of this.
What it can't do
It needs Chrome or Edge on a computer, since other browsers don't let a page write to a drive. The sticks it makes start UEFI PCs, which leaves out some machines from before 2012, and it can't make Mac installers.
Support Project mkstick
Project mkstick is free and carries no adverts. If it saved you some time and you'd like to say thanks, a small donation helps keep it online.
- PayPal paypal.me/conanzhangtech
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A post helps as much as a donation. If Project mkstick helped you, tag @conanzhangtech on Instagram and add #projectmkstickbycztsh, so other people can find it.
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Project mkstick is open source under the MIT licence. Windows is a trade mark of Microsoft, Ubuntu of Canonical and Debian of Software in the Public Interest, and Project mkstick isn't connected with any of them.