USB boot has been possible since the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (v1.2), but it has only become really worthwhile with the Pi 4. Here is some information, tips, tricks and opinions explaining why and how.

Early versions of the Raspberry Pi could only boot from SD cards, but newer ones can boot from any USB device, like an external drive or USB stick. Here's how.

Like earlier versions, a Raspberry Pi 5 can boot from a USB device as well as microSD. Like the Raspberry Pi 4, it can boot over Ethernet; in addition, it can boot from an SSD connected over PCIe.

Raspberry Pi Foundation is almost ready to deliver a fix for Raspberry Pi 4's lack of support for USB mass storage boot.

Explore the new Raspberry Pi boot menu, a game-changer for device flexibility, allowing easy boot from USB, NVMe, and network sources.