Install xorriso with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper, pacman

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• osirrox
• xorrecord
• xorriso
• xorriso-dd-target
• xorriso-tcltk
• xorrisofs

Project history

The changelog records the initial libisoburn/xorriso release as 0.1.0 on 2008-02-15. That first entry already states the core design: libisoburn connects libisofs and libburn, emulates multi-session behavior on media without session history, and xorriso is an integrated multi-session tool for ISO 9660 Rock Ridge images.

By 2008-03, standalone xorriso 0.1.2 added early cdrecord and mkisofs emulation modes. In 2008-04, libisoburn 0.1.4 improved ISO tree reading, added incremental backup functionality, and expanded the emulation of basic mkisofs and cdrecord options. By 2008-07, make install created the osirrox, xorrisofs, and xorrecord aliases, making the single engine present familiar command faces to existing workflows.

The 2009-2013 changelog shows xorriso evolving beyond disc burning into a serious image-construction and backup tool: BD media support, ACL and extended attribute recording, zisofs/gzip filters, hardlink preservation, MD5 recording and checking, ISOLINUX boot images, and later GRUB2, EFI, HFS+, GPT, and partition-table-related boot support.

The GNU page and README present the mature project as a GNU contribution from Libburnia. Current documentation describes support for GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and NetBSD drive access, with POSIX file-object operation on other X/Open systems.

Adoption history

xorriso gained adoption where users needed more than a one-shot ISO image writer. It can update existing images, grow sessions, extract files back out, verify media, preserve Unix metadata, and produce bootable images, so it fits distribution-image build systems, backup scripts, and optical-media maintenance.

Its mkisofs and cdrecord compatibility modes helped adoption by letting existing habits and scripts migrate without requiring every caller to learn xorriso's native command language first. The xorrisofs name is especially important in build tooling because it presents xorriso as a mkisofs-like ISO producer while still using the Libburnia stack underneath.

As optical media became less central, xorriso stayed relevant because ISO images remained central to OS installers, rescue media, virtual-machine boot media, and reproducible artifact pipelines. The official docs explicitly note that xorriso operates on ISO images in data files or block devices, not only physical discs.

How it is used

Common usage includes creating Rock Ridge ISO images from directory trees, adding boot equipment for ISOLINUX or GRUB via El Torito/MBR/EFI structures, extracting files from existing images with osirrox-style behavior, and writing new or add-on sessions to optical media or image files.

Package builders and release engineers often use the mkisofs-compatible xorrisofs interface when a script expects mkisofs/genisoimage semantics. The xorrecord interface handles a narrower cdrecord-like task set, while native xorriso mode exposes richer image-tree manipulation, session loading, verification, and command-file workflows.

The manpage is unusually explicit about the filesystem model: ISO 9660 sessions are generated and mounted read-only, while xorriso loads existing image metadata, stages modifications, and commits a new session or replacement image. That model makes it useful for controlled image mutation rather than just burning a finished blob.

Why package nerds care

xorriso is the quiet workhorse behind many bootable ISO workflows. It matters because it bridges old optical-media command traditions, modern bootable installer images, Unix metadata preservation, and script compatibility in one package.

It also represents a packaging-friendly alternative to relying on historically separate formatter and recorder tools. One install provides the native xorriso command plus aliases for mkisofs-like and cdrecord-like callers, reducing the amount of external tool choreography in build scripts.

For package nerds, the project is a reminder that declining hardware categories can leave behind essential file formats. Even users who never burn a disc still depend on ISO construction and inspection for OS images, virtual machines, firmware workflows, and archival media.

Timeline

• 2008-02-15: libisoburn/xorriso 0.1.0 is released as the initial integrated ISO 9660 Rock Ridge multi-session tool.
• 2008-03-12: xorriso 0.1.2 appears as a standalone release with early cdrecord and mkisofs emulation modes.
• 2008-07-25: libisoburn 0.2.2.pl01 installs osirrox, xorrisofs, and xorrecord aliases.
• 2009-03: xorriso gains ACL and extended-attribute import/export support.
• 2009-07: hardlink recording/restoring and the -for_backup shortcut appear.
• 2009-10: MD5 checksums for sessions and individual data files are added.
• 2011-06: GNU xorriso 1.1.0 appears in the changelog as a GNU-branded release line.
• 2026-05-22: The GNU site lists xorriso 1.5.8.pl02 as the current source release.

Related projects

• libburn provides the optical-drive recording layer used by xorriso.
• libisofs provides ISO 9660 image creation and manipulation support.
• libisoburn coordinates libburn and libisofs and is the source project that contains xorriso.
• mkisofs and genisoimage are compatibility targets for xorrisofs-style ISO creation.
• cdrecord and cdrskin are related optical-media recording tools in the same command-line tradition.

Sources

• https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2021-02/msg00004.html
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Distrotech/xorriso/master/ChangeLog
• https://www.gnu.org/software/xorriso/
• https://www.gnu.org/software/xorriso/README_xorriso
• https://www.gnu.org/software/xorriso/man_1_xorriso.html