Creating a CachyOS USB boot stick on Chromebook

There are 2 options for creating a USB boot stick on a Chromebook, one option *may* work, depending on whether Google’s tool behaves, the other option will definitely work (but requires more complex setup).

Option 1 – Chromebook Recovery Utility

This is abusing Google’s Chromebook Recovery Utility to create the stick, so may or may not work, depending on whether Google has changed the tool lately or not.

1. Install the app → Go to Chrome Web Store and install Chromebook Recovery Utility
2. Download CachyOS ISO
3. Open the Recovery Utility → Click the extension → ⚙️ (top right) → “Use local image”
4. Select the CachyOS ISO you downloaded
5. Insert USB drive → Minimum 8GB recommended
6. Flash it → Select USB → Click Create Now

Option 2 – Use the Linux Development Environment, Crostini

You need to have the Developer mode enabled on the Chromebook for this. To do that, simply go to the Settings app → Advanced → Developers → Turn on Linux. Choose a suitable partition size for your needs, and let it do its task. Once installed, you can do the below:

1. Install the app → Go to Chrome Web Store and install Chromebook Recovery Utility
2. Download CachyOS ISO
3. Move ISO into Linux files Open Files app → drag ISO into Linux files. This is important, as the dd command later cannot see files in your usual Downloads folder.
4. Open the Terminal app and run:
   
   lsblk

Find your USB (e.g., /dev/sdb)

3. Write ISO to USB:
   
   sudo dd if=cachyos.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

👉 Replace:

cachyos.iso with the file you downloaded
/dev/sdX with your USB device (NOT a partition like /dev/sdb1)

4. Wait for completion. This may take several minutes.
   When done, run:
   sync