There is no native Linux version of Win32 Disk Imager. That is the direct answer, and it should come before any discussion of alternatives. Win32 Disk Imager is a Windows-only tool, released under GPLv2, and there is no Linux download of it to offer. This page does not offer one, and any site claiming to provide a Linux build of Win32 Disk Imager itself should not be trusted. If you run Linux and need to write a .img file to an SD card or USB drive, use a Linux-native tool. The Windows version is available from the Download page only for use on a Windows PC.
Linux users are in a better position than Mac users in one respect: Linux already includes powerful disk tools, and several graphical writers run natively. The choice is therefore not whether a Linux tool exists, but which level of control and safety you want. A graphical writer is the right default for most card writes. The command-line tool dd is the right choice only when you are confident about device names and you want its precision. Both approaches write a raw image in the same sense that Win32 Disk Imager does: sector by sector, to the whole destination drive.
Graphical alternatives: Raspberry Pi Imager and balenaEtcher
Raspberry Pi Imager runs on Linux and is the simplest choice if you are writing a Raspberry Pi card. It can download Raspberry Pi OS or write a custom image you already have, and it keeps the target selection to a short list of removable drives. balenaEtcher also runs on Linux and is a more general writer for .img and .iso files, with a clear target display and post-write validation. For the Windows-side comparison that explains what each writer does differently, see Win32 Disk Imager vs Raspberry Pi Imager and Win32 Disk Imager vs balenaEtcher. Another lightweight graphical option sometimes used on Linux is USBImager, compared in Win32 Disk Imager vs USBImager. Whichever graphical writer you pick, the safety rule is the same as on Windows: confirm the target drive before you write, because the write overwrites the entire destination.
dd: the built-in Linux option
The command dd is present on most Linux systems and can write a raw image with a single command. Its strength is that it does exactly what you tell it to, with no extra layers. Its danger is the same: it does exactly what you tell it to. A device name such as /dev/sdb looks almost identical to /dev/sda, but writing to the wrong one overwrites a different drive. Before using dd, list disks with lsblk, confirm the size and model of the target card, unmount its partitions, and re-read the command before pressing Enter. If you are not comfortable with that process, use a graphical writer. There is no advantage in using dd for a routine card write if a graphical tool will do the same job with a visible target check.
Backups on Linux, and what to remember from the Windows tool
Win32 Disk Imager’s backup idea translates directly to Linux, but the tool does not. On Windows, a Read captures the whole device into a full-size .img file with no compression; on Linux, dd can do the equivalent read, and graphical tools vary in whether they offer a read-back option at all. If you need a full backup of a card on Linux, check whether your chosen writer supports reading, or use dd for the read and compress the result afterwards. The Windows backup workflow is described in How to Back Up an SD Card to an .img File, and the size warning there applies equally on Linux: a mostly empty card still produces a full-size image before compression.
Finally, do not expect a Linux alternative to reproduce Win32 Disk Imager’s exact interface or its limits. The Windows tool does not parse ISO filesystems, it does not expand a filesystem after writing, and it has had no new release since version 1.0.0 in 2017, although the maintainer returned in November 2024. A current Linux writer is likely to be maintained, to validate writes, and to handle a wider range of image formats. That is an improvement, not a drawback, for most users. Choose the Linux tool that fits your task, verify the written card by booting it, and keep a backup of anything on the card before you write, because the destination will be erased in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Linux version of Win32 Disk Imager?
No. There is no native Linux version of Win32 Disk Imager. It is a Windows-only tool. Linux users should use a Linux-native writer instead of looking for a Linux build of this program.
What is the safest graphical alternative on Linux?
For most users, Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher are the safest graphical choices: both run on Linux, show the target drive, and write .img files without needing command-line device names.
Is dd a good alternative on Linux?
dd is powerful and already installed on most Linux systems, and it is the traditional way to write a raw image. It is also dangerous if you mistype a device name, because it overwrites whatever device you name without a graphical confirmation step.