Only two weeks after the major 2.0 release, Raspberry Pi Imager, a tool that helps users easily write OS images to an SD card for booting the Raspberry Pi, has just released version 2.0.2 as the first update to the series, now available for download.
The new version introduces a more efficient data path during writes by using direct I/O bypass on Linux, macOS, and Windows, combined with a zero-copy ring buffer to reduce overhead between downloads and disk operations. An asynchronous cache writer now overlaps network and storage operations, while dynamic queue-depth tuning adapts to available memory for steadier throughput.
Additional enhancements, such as sequential read hints during verification and a new performance metrics tracker, provide clearer insight into slow write scenarios.
Drive handling receives further correction, including proper NVMe namespace detection on Linux, improved APFS volume logic on macOS, and suppression of intrusive system dialogs on Windows. Adaptive drive polling responds quickly during device selection but pauses during writes to prevent unnecessary load. Plus, virtual disks can now be treated as system drives on Windows and Linux.
On the UI side, users gain a new password field with a visibility toggle, improved search behavior in combo boxes, Enter-key activation of dropdowns, clearer tooltips when names are truncated, and a restructured write confirmation countdown. Multiple SSH keys are supported again. Accessibility is also strengthened through improved focus order and unified screen-reader labels.
Platform-specific improvements include new icon variants for macOS, correct handling of X11 authorization for the AppImage on Linux, scalable SVG icons for better HiDPI rendering, and a move to modern COM-based file dialogs on Windows.
On top of that, a long list of bug fixes resolves SSH key dialog issues, translation inconsistencies, cloud-init user data generation problems, and an unnecessary performance penalty caused by O_SYNC.
Networking behavior is more resilient, with a clean fallback from HTTP/2 to HTTP/1.1, correct reporting of the protocol used, and more consistent cancellation handling. Logging support is expanded with a new command-line option for file logs, and the application now reuses memory buffers during SHA256 verification to avoid redundant allocations.
Raspberry Pi Imager 2.0.2 is available now for Raspberry Pi OS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. For more details, visit the changelog. You can grab the latest version from the official Raspberry Pi website or download the AppImage from the project’s GitHub repo.
