CLI Reference — Flint, Windows USB & ISO Writer

CLI Reference

Every command, flag, and example for the flint CLI. Not installed yet? Install via pip — see the guide on the Downloads page.

list no privileges

Print every detected drive with serial, size, letters, and physical path.

Synopsis

flint list [--json]

Options

Flag	Description
`--json`	Emit output as NDJSON instead of a human-readable table

flash erases drive

Write an image raw to a drive.

Synopsis

flint flash --image <file> --drive <serial|letter|path> [--confirm <serial> | --yes] [--verify] [--bypass-tpm] [--partition-scheme gpt|mbr] [--filesystem fat32|ntfs|exfat] [--write-mode raw|file-copy] [--check-fake] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--image`	Image file to write (required). Supports .iso, .img, .zip, .gz, .xz, .zst
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--confirm <serial>`	Confirm drive identity by serial
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--verify`	Verify the drive after writing
`--bypass-tpm`	Patch boot.wim to skip Windows 11 TPM, Secure Boot and RAM checks (file-copy mode)
`--partition-scheme gpt\|mbr`	Partition table type for file-copy mode (default: auto)
`--filesystem fat32\|ntfs\|exfat`	Filesystem for file-copy mode (default: fat32)
`--write-mode raw\|file-copy`	raw writes the image byte-for-byte; file-copy repartitions and copies files (default: auto)
`--check-fake`	Probe the drive for counterfeit capacity before flashing (non-destructive, ~1 s)
`--dry-run`	Preview the operation without writing
`--resume`	Resume an interrupted write from the last confirmed sector
`--copy-report`	Copy the flash summary to clipboard after completion
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint flash --image C:\images\ubuntu.iso --drive E: --confirm 4C530001270509112345 --verify
flint flash --image C:\images\ubuntu.zip --drive E: --confirm 4C530001270509112345 --dry-run

verify

Read-only check against SHA-256 or bad-block scan.

Synopsis

flint verify --drive <serial|letter|path> [--sha256 <hex> --image <file>]

Options

Flag	Description
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--sha256 <hex>`	Expected SHA-256 hash
`--image <file>`	Image file to compare against

Example

flint verify --drive E: --sha256 0a4b8c... --image C:\images\ubuntu.iso

wipe erases drive

Erase a drive with a chosen pattern.

Synopsis

flint wipe --drive <serial|letter|path> [--confirm <serial> | --yes] [--method zero|random|nist|dod] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--confirm <serial>`	Confirm drive identity by serial
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--method`	Erase method: `zero` (default), `random`, `nist`, `dod`
`--dry-run`	Preview the operation without writing
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint wipe --drive E: --confirm 4C530001270509112345 --method nist
flint wipe --drive E: --confirm 4C530001270509112345 --dry-run

backup

Copy a drive byte-for-byte into an image file.

Synopsis

flint backup --drive <serial|letter|path> --out <file> [--confirm <serial>] [--yes] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--out`	Output image file path (required)
`--confirm <serial>`	Confirm drive identity by serial
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--check-fake`	Detect counterfeit drives before proceeding
`--dry-run`	Validate paths and options without writing
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint backup --drive E: --out C:\backup.img

clone

Copy one drive to another byte-for-byte.

Synopsis

flint clone --from <serial|letter|path> --to <serial|letter|path> [--confirm <serial of --to> | --yes] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--from`	Source drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--to`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--confirm <serial>`	Confirm target drive identity by serial
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--dry-run`	Preview the operation without writing
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint clone --from E: --to F: --confirm 4C530001270509112346
flint clone --from E: --to F: --confirm 4C530001270509112346 --dry-run

queue

Flash every image listed in a file.

Synopsis

flint queue --file <list.txt> --drive <serial|letter|path> [--confirm <serial> | --yes] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--file`	Text file listing image paths, one per line (required)
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--confirm <serial>`	Confirm drive identity by serial
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint queue --file queue.txt --drive E: --confirm 4C530001270509112345

flash-all erases drive

Fleet mode — flash every queued image to every fitting drive.

Synopsis

flint flash-all --image <file> [--image <file> ...] [--confirm ARM | --yes] [--timeout <seconds>] [--skip-flashed] [--parallel <1-8>] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--image`	Image file to flash (repeatable, required at least once)
`--confirm ARM`	Confirm fleet mode (must pass the literal `ARM`)
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--timeout <seconds>`	Abort if a drive does not appear within this time (default: 3600)
`--skip-flashed`	Skip drives that already have the target image
`--parallel <1-8>`	Write to multiple drives concurrently when a single image is queued (default: 1)
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint flash-all --image C:\agent.iso --confirm ARM

deploy erases drive

Deploy one image to explicit target drives concurrently with per-target tracking. Each target is tracked independently — a failure on one drive does not erase the results on others.

Synopsis

flint deploy --image <file> --drive <serial|letter|path> [--drive ...] [--confirm ARM | --yes] [--parallel <1-8>] [--verify] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--image`	Single image file to deploy (required, exactly one)
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (repeatable, required at least once)
`--confirm ARM`	Confirm fleet mode (must pass the literal `ARM`)
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--parallel <1-8>`	Number of concurrent writes (default: 2)
`--verify`	Verify each drive after writing
`--dry-run`	Preview the operation without writing
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Job management

Flag	Description
`--status`	List all persisted deployment jobs with state, target, and checkpoint
`--cancel --job <id>`	Cancel a queued or writing job
`--retry --job <id>`	Return a failed or cancelled job to queued state
`--run --job <id>`	Execute or resume a persisted job

Example

flint deploy --image C:\agent.iso --drive E: --drive F: --confirm ARM
flint deploy --status
flint deploy --retry --job a1b2c3d4

doctor no privileges

Print a diagnostic report covering system info, permissions, and drive state.

Synopsis

flint doctor [--json]

Options

Flag	Description
`--json`	Emit output as NDJSON

report no privileges

Export operation history or verify its hash-chain integrity.

Synopsis

flint report [--out <file>] [--format json|csv|markdown] [--integrity]

Options

Flag	Description
`--out <file>`	Export history to a file
`--format`	Export format: `json`, `csv`, or `markdown` (default: json)
`--integrity`	Verify hash-chain integrity of audited records; exits non-zero if a record was changed or reordered

Example

flint report
flint report --out history.csv --format csv
flint report --integrity

completions no privileges

Print a shell completion script to stdout.

Synopsis

flint completions [--shell bash|zsh|powershell]

Options

Flag	Description
`--shell`	Target shell: `bash`, `zsh`, or `powershell` (default: powershell)

Example

flint completions --shell bash >> ~/.bashrc
flint completions --shell zsh  >> ~/.zshrc

scan

Read every sector to find unreadable media.

Synopsis

flint scan --drive <serial|letter|path> [--retries <1-10>] [--quiet]

Options

Flag	Description
`--drive`	Target drive by serial, letter, or physical path (required)
`--retries`	Number of read retries per bad sector (default: 3)
`--verbose`	Show detailed per-sector bad-block information
`--quiet`	Suppress progress output

Example

flint scan --drive E: --retries 5 --verbose

Global Options

These flags work with every command.

Flag	Description
`--json`	Emit NDJSON output instead of human-readable text
`--quiet`	Suppress non-essential output
`--yes`	Skip all confirmation prompts
`--confirm <serial>`	Confirm a drive's serial before destructive operations
`--help`	Show help for the current command
`--version`	Print the Flint version and exit
`--cli`	Compatibility flag — forces headless CLI mode when launched from the GUI

Exit Codes

The process exit code indicates the outcome of the command.

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	General failure
`2`	Cancelled by user
`3`	Usage / bad arguments
`4`	Elevation denied — administrator privileges required

NDJSON Output

When --json is passed, commands emit one JSON object per line. The type field identifies the payload.

Type	Commands	Description
`drives`	`list`	Array of detected drives with serial, size, letters, and physical path
`progress`	`flash`, `wipe`, `backup`, `clone`, `queue`, `flash-all`, `deploy`	Streaming progress updates with bytes written and elapsed time
`result`	all commands	Final outcome — status, duration, and any error details
`doctor`	`doctor`	System diagnostic report (version, permissions, drive info)
`scan`	`scan`	Sector-level scan results with bad-block positions and retry counts
`deployment_jobs`	`deploy --status`	List of persisted deployment jobs with state, target, and checkpoint
`campaign_job`	`deploy`	Per-target status update during a concurrent deployment campaign
`report`	`report`	History records or integrity verification result

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