Flash the USB image

Write the LocalOne disk image onto a USB stick. This is the only step where you use Etcher / dd. Installing onto your PC's NVMe later is done from the LocalOne setup UI (rsync installer) — never dd the stick onto the internal disk.

What you need

• Image file: localone-<version>-amd64.img.xz (from Download when published)
• Checksums: SHA256SUMS next to the image
• USB stick, 8 GB or larger (everything on it will be erased)
• A flashing tool — pick one:
  • Balena Etcher (Linux / macOS / Windows) — easiest GUI
  • LocalOne flash helper (Linux) — lists only USB disks and asks you to confirm the path
  • Manual xz + dd (Linux / macOS with care)

1. Verify the download

Always check the checksum before writing. From the directory that contains both files:

# Linux
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

# macOS
shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS

Or compare a single file (replace the hash with the line from SHA256SUMS):

sha256sum localone-*-amd64.img.xz
# → must match SHA256SUMS

2a. Flash with Balena Etcher

1. Open Etcher → Flash from file → select the .img.xz (Etcher can decompress xz).
2. Select your USB stick — double-check size/model so you do not wipe an external HDD.
3. Flash, wait for verify, eject safely.

2b. Flash with the LocalOne helper (Linux)

The helper refuses non-USB devices and makes you re-type the device path. Download it from this site, then:

# From the folder that has the .img.xz
curl -fsSL -o flash-localone-usb.sh \
  https://getlocalone.com/scripts/flash-localone-usb.sh
chmod +x flash-localone-usb.sh

sudo ./flash-localone-usb.sh ./localone-*-amd64.img.xz
# Lists USB disks, prompts for /dev/sdX, asks you to confirm

Or pass the device explicitly:

sudo ./flash-localone-usb.sh ./localone-0.0.1-amd64.img.xz /dev/sdc

2c. Manual flash (Linux)

Identify the stick first. Wrong device = data loss.

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TRAN,MODEL,TYPE
# Pick the disk with TRAN=usb, e.g. sdc (not sdc1)

# Unmount any auto-mounted partitions
sudo umount /dev/sdc* 2>/dev/null || true

# Stream xz straight to the stick
xz -dc localone-*-amd64.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdc bs=8M status=progress oflag=sync
sync

2d. Manual flash (macOS)

diskutil list
# Note the identifier, e.g. /dev/disk4 (external, physical)

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk4
xz -dc localone-*-amd64.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/rdisk4 bs=8m
# rdisk* is faster than disk* on macOS
sync
diskutil eject /dev/disk4

3. Confirm the stick looks right

After flashing, Linux often shows EFI + data partitions:

lsblk -f /dev/sdc
# Expect something like: vfat EFI label LOCALONEUSB, plus other LocalOne partitions

Safely remove the stick, then continue with first boot & install.

Stuck? See Troubleshooting.