Install

Pick one install channel, then give your user access to the optical drive. If terms like snap or PPA are new, read Installing apps.

Ubuntu PPA (Ubuntu 24.04)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dhiva-labs/apps
sudo apt install discwriter

.deb package

Download discwriter_<version>_amd64.deb from the releases page, then:

sudo apt install ./discwriter_*_amd64.deb

Snap file

The snap bundles xorriso. Its Snap Store listing is waiting for store review, so install the .snap file attached to the latest release:

sudo snap install --dangerous ./discwriter_*_amd64.snap
sudo snap connect discwriter:optical-drive

The second command gives the snap write access to your optical drive. Snaps do not connect that permission automatically. --dangerous is needed because the file is installed from disk, not from the store.

Portable tarball

Download discwriter-<version>-linux-x64.tar.gz, extract it, and run ./cd_writer from the discwriter-<version>/ folder. It needs xorriso installed:

sudo apt install xorriso

The release lists the checksum of every file in SHA256SUMS.

Give yourself access to the drive

Your user must be in the cdrom group to open the drive:

sudo usermod -aG cdrom $USER

Log out and back in for the change to apply.

If the drive is visible but cannot be opened, the Disc info page says so and repeats these commands.

Next steps

• Beginner guide
• Troubleshooting and FAQ