motte 0.1.2

Under-construction Linux desktop USB formatter and ISO flasher.
Documentation

Motte

Under construction: Motte is an early Linux desktop USB formatter and ISO flasher. Verify every selected target carefully; flash and format actions are destructive.

Motte is a Rust desktop app for preparing USB drives and writing Linux install images.

It focuses on the Linux workflow for creating Arch Linux install media:

  • Detect removable USB drives with lsblk.
  • Flash .iso or .img files directly to a selected USB device.
  • Pick an ISO with the built-in Image Vault browser, paste a path, or drag a file into the window.
  • Wipe old signatures before flashing when requested.
  • Format a USB drive as FAT32, exFAT, or ext4 for normal storage.
  • Show guarded destructive-action confirmation, live logs, and write progress.
  • Includes local copied KnottDynamics SVG assets under assets/; the live UI uses a simpler line-art mark and monochrome procedural background.

Run

cargo run

Motte is designed for Linux desktops. The window scales down for laptop displays and the main interface scrolls vertically if the available height is small.

Workflow

  1. Plug in a USB drive.
  2. Select the target drive card in Motte.
  3. Choose Wipe + Flash, Flash ISO, or Format Drive.
  4. Select an Arch Linux ISO with the Image Vault browser, paste a path, or drag an image into the window.
  5. Check the target acknowledgement box.
  6. Press Review + Submit and approve the final destructive-action dialog.

Interface

  • Monochrome KnottDynamics-inspired HUD styling.
  • Procedural black-and-white botany/fractal background animation.
  • Built-in Image Vault browser, avoiding native file-dialog crashes.
  • Responsive compact mode for smaller laptop screens.
  • Live telemetry log and write-progress display.

System Tools

Motte shells out to standard Linux tools for destructive operations:

  • lsblk
  • pkexec for privilege escalation, unless MOTTE_NO_PKEXEC=1 is set
  • umount
  • wipefs
  • dd
  • parted
  • partprobe
  • udevadm
  • blockdev
  • mkfs.vfat or mkfs.fat, mkfs.exfat, or mkfs.ext4 for format mode

Install the matching packages for your distro. For Arch-based systems this usually means polkit, util-linux, parted, dosfstools, exfatprogs, and e2fsprogs.

Safety

Motte only lists disks that lsblk reports as removable, hotplug, or USB transport devices. Every flash or format action still destroys data on the selected target. Verify the /dev/... path, check the target acknowledgement box, then approve the final confirmation dialog before starting.

Test

cargo fmt --check
cargo test
cargo check

Package

cargo package
cargo publish

Publishing requires a crates.io account and a configured Cargo registry token.

License

MIT