logjxn/ISOx

ISOx

[](https://pypi.org/project/isox/)

A command-line tool that downloads Linux distribution ISOs, races mirrors to find the fastest available source, and cryptographically verifies file integrity against the checksum published by the distribution itself, so you never have to manually hunt down hashes or skip verification again.

Select distro -> Compare mirror speeds -> Download .iso -> Verify checksum
                                          (fastest mirror)  (distro's own host)

The ISO comes from whichever mirror is fastest right now. The checksum comes from the distribution's own server, so the mirror that hands you the bytes is not also the one vouching for them. See What verification does and doesn't cover.

Why

I distro-hop a lot across laptops, tablets, Pis, and spare hardware. Manually visiting each project's download page, picking a mirror, and copy-pasting checksums to verify against every time got tedious enough that I started skipping the verification step entirely. This poses an integrity risk (modified ISOs, corruption, etc.), so I built a tool that automates the whole pipeline and makes verification simple.

Furthermore, I simply love Linux. It's been my daily driver for a while now, and I want to see it continue to grow. I hope this tool makes getting started with Linux a little faster, easier, and safer for anyone who wants to use it.

Install

From PyPI:

pip install isox isox arch

Or straight from a clone:

pip install . isox arch

Usage

Once installed from PyPI, isox works as a bare command. From a clone, use python isox.py. The two are interchangeable; examples below use the clone form.

List every supported distro:

python isox.py --list

Save somewhere other than ./ISOxDownloads: