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YUMI is the free multiboot USB creator that puts several bootable ISOs - Linux live images, Windows installers, antivirus and recovery tools - on one drive behind a startup menu, adding each one without reformatting.
Most bootable USB tools give you a stick that boots one thing, and writing a second one means wiping the first.
YUMI puts several on the same drive and builds a menu that lets you pick at startup.
It has been doing that since 2011, it is free, and there are now four different builds of it with the same name.
WHICH BUILD TO USE
The developer's advice is unambiguous: only YUMI exFAT is recommended for new drives. YUMI UEFI and YUMI Legacy are no longer actively developed, and YUMI Py is the newer cross-platform rewrite. Pick from the table further down rather than running whichever executable you open first.
How It Actually Works
You point YUMI at a USB drive, pick a distribution from its list, browse to the matching ISO, and click through. It copies the ISO into its own folder on the drive and adds a line to the boot menu.
Run it again to add the next one. Nothing is reformatted after the first pass, so a drive builds up over time and entries can be removed the same way.
Boot from that drive and you get a menu instead of an operating system. Choose the entry you want and it starts, leaving whatever is on the internal disk untouched.
If a tool is not on YUMI's list, an ISO or IMG file can be dragged in anyway. It usually works, and when it does not, nothing else on the drive is affected.
Persistence, and Why It Matters
A live Linux session normally forgets everything when you shut down. YUMI can set aside space on the drive so that files, settings and installed packages survive a reboot, up to 40GB per distribution on the exFAT build.
That turns a rescue stick into something closer to a portable machine. It is the feature that most often decides between YUMI and the simpler tools below.
The Four Builds
One name, four programs, and the differences are real rather than cosmetic.
| Build | What it is | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| YUMI exFAT | Actively maintained, UEFI and legacy BIOS, ISOs over 4GB, persistence up to 40GB | Always, unless a row below applies - the developer recommends it for every new drive |
| YUMI Py | The Python rewrite, runs on Windows and Linux, adds drive backup and cloning and can test-boot a stick in QEMU or VirtualBox without restarting | You are on Linux, or you want to check a drive boots without rebooting the machine |
| YUMI UEFI | FAT32 only, so no single file over 4GB. No longer developed | Firmware refuses to see an exFAT drive, which is rare and worth testing first |
| YUMI Legacy | BIOS booting only, NTFS or FAT32. The original 2011 release, no longer developed | The machine predates UEFI entirely |
The archive here also carries Universal USB Installer, which is the same developer's single-ISO tool - the one to use when you want a plain installer stick and no menu at all.
The 4GB line. A modern Windows ISO is over 4GB, and FAT32 cannot store a single file that large. That one fact is why the exFAT build exists and why the FAT32-only builds are now the fallback rather than the default.
YUMI or Ventoy
This is the real decision, because Ventoy does the same job by a different route and is the other tool everyone recommends.
Ventoy prepares the drive once, and after that you copy ISO files onto it like any other folder. Nothing processes them, the menu builds itself, and adding a distribution takes as long as the file copy.
YUMI processes each ISO as you add it, which is slower and more deliberate, and in exchange it sets up persistence and handles awkward images that a plain copy will not boot.
If you mostly carry Linux live images and want the least work, Ventoy. If you want persistent sessions or you have hit an ISO that Ventoy would not start, YUMI.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
A multiboot drive is more machinery than most jobs need. If a row below describes you, the right column is quicker.
| If this is you | Use this instead |
|---|---|
| You need one Windows or Linux installer stick | Rufus, which is the fastest route to exactly that |
| You are writing one .img or .iso and want it over with | balenaEtcher or X Drive Writer |
| You want a multiboot menu with no per-ISO setup | Ventoy, or MultiOS-USB for a GRUB 2 menu you edit yourself |
| You want Windows itself running from the stick | FlashBoot Free or WinToUSB, which is a different job from booting an installer |
| You are installing to a room full of machines | iVentoy, which does it over the network and needs no sticks at all |
| You are cloning or imaging disks rather than booting them | Clonezilla, or ImageUSB for writing one image to several sticks at once |
The rest of the HDD, SSD and USB tools cover drive health, ISO mounting and the odd jobs around all of this.
What You Need To Run It
YUMI runs from the file you download with nothing to install, and it needs administrator rights because it writes to a drive's boot sector.
Use a drive of at least 8GB, and more if you plan to add several distributions or set aside space for persistence. A USB 3.0 stick is worth having, because booting a live Linux session from a slow drive is a miserable experience.
Formatting the drive erases everything on it, so move anything you want to keep off first. Our guide on creating a bootable USB recovery drive for Windows covers the firmware side, which is the part that usually goes wrong.
One last thing: YUMI is free from its developer and from this page, so anything offering a paid or unlocked build is not what it claims - our piece on what cracked software actually costs covers why that matters more on a tool that touches boot sectors.
Quick questions
Which YUMI should I download?
YUMI exFAT, unless you are on Linux or have hardware that refuses exFAT. That is the developer's own recommendation for every new drive, and the other builds are either newer and cross-platform, or no longer developed.
Can I put a Windows ISO on it?
Yes, on the exFAT build. Modern Windows ISOs are larger than 4GB, and FAT32 cannot hold a single file that big, so the FAT32-only builds will refuse them.
Do I have to reformat to add another ISO?
No. Only the first run prepares the drive; after that YUMI adds each ISO in its own folder and updates the menu, and entries can be removed the same way.
YUMI or Ventoy?
Ventoy if you want to drop ISO files onto a drive and be done. YUMI if you want persistent Linux sessions, or an image that Ventoy would not boot.
Does it work on Linux?
YUMI Py does, and so does YUMI exFAT. The older builds are Windows only.
What is persistence?
Space set aside on the drive so a live Linux session keeps your files and settings after a reboot instead of starting fresh. The exFAT build supports up to 40GB for distributions that allow it.
Download YUMI 2.0.9.4 and see how it handles your drives, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
