Rufus (The Reliable USB Formatting Utility, with Source) is a free and open-source portable application for Microsoft Windows that can be used to format and create bootable USB flash drives or Live USBs.
Rufus was originally designed as a modern open source replacement for the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool for Windows, which was primarily used to create MS-DOS bootable USB flash drives.
The first official release of Rufus, version 1.0.3 (earlier versions were internal/alpha only), was released on December 4, 2011, with originally only MS-DOS support. Version 1.0.4 introduced FreeDOS support and version 1.1.0 introduced ISO image support. Until 1.2.0, two separate versions were provided, with one for MS-DOS and one for FreeDOS. UEFI boot support was introduced with version 1.3.2, localization with 1.4.0 and Windows To Go with 2.0. The last version compatible with Windows XP and Vista is 2.18, while the last version compatible with Windows 7 operating systems is Rufus 3.22, as Rufus 4.0 increased the minimum version requirement to require Windows 8 or later.
What is Rufus?
Rufus by pbatard is open-source Windows software in the disk & usb tools category. It ranks 1st by popularity among disk & usb tools in this catalogue. The first release dates back to 2011. It is written in C.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides Portable installers for 64-bit, ARM64 and 32-bit Windows. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 4.15, released on June 30, 2026. The version history goes back to October 13, 2021: 25 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 4.8 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 840,102 times. The source code on GitHub (pbatard/rufus) has 38,065 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 20 of our languages. Similar programs include Ventoy, unetbootin and smartmontools.
Project description on GitHub: “The Reliable USB Formatting Utility”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Portable: runs without installation
- Large user base
- Mature project (since 2011)
In short: Rufus is an open-source disk & usb tool tool for 64-bit, ARM64 and 32-bit PCs. It is actively maintained.
Screenshots
Is Rufus safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
84C8A437F8AF89257524478489E5C85F1EDF25F761D299E2BCDE46AC0AFBE106· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the pbatard/rufus repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Actively maintained10
- Security policy10
- Licence declared10
- Signed releases8
- Code review0
- Static code analysis0
- No binaries in the repository0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Fuzzing0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 25 versions ›25 versions over 5 years · about 4.8 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.15Latest | June 30, 2026 | — | 32-bit PortableARM64 Portable64-bit Portable |
| 4.14 | April 30, 2026 | — | ARM64 Portable32-bit Portable64-bit Portable |
| 4.13 | February 17, 2026 | — | 64-bit PortableARM64 Portable32-bit Portable |
| 4.12 | January 30, 2026 | — | 64-bit PortableARM64 Portable32-bit Portable |
| 4.11 | October 2, 2025 | — | 64-bit PortableARM64 Portable32-bit Portable |
| 4.10 | September 24, 2025 | — | ARM64 Portable32-bit Portable64-bit Portable |
| 4.9 | June 15, 2025 | — | 64-bit PortableARM64 Portable32-bit Portable |
| 4.8 | June 11, 2025 | — | 32-bit PortableARM64 Portable64-bit Portable |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Rufus.Rufus -echoco install rufus -yscoop install extras/rufusProgram files (.exe): rufus.exe
Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- pbatard
- Category
- Disk & USB tools
- Licence
- GPL-3.0-or-later
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/pbatard/rufus
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64, 32-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 4.15
- Released
- June 30, 2026
- First release
- 2011
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 25
- Updates / year
- 4.8
- Chocolatey downloads
- 840,102
- GitHub stars
- 38,065
- GitHub forks
- 3,181
- Website
- rufus.ie
- winget ID
- Rufus.Rufus
- Chocolatey package
- rufus
- Scoop package
- extras/rufus
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Rufus
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Ventoy1.1.18Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files.Open source206.5K ↓ -
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Frequently asked questions
Is Rufus free?
Yes. Rufus is open-source software under the GPL-3.0-or-later licence.
Is Rufus safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Rufus with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Does Rufus run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Rufus?
The versions page lists all 25 versions with links to their official installer files, back to October 13, 2021.
Can I use Rufus without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to Rufus?
Ventoy, unetbootin, smartmontools, gdu and WinFsp 2024 Beta2. The alternatives page compares them.
