genisoimage

Create an ISO image from the given source directory

$ genisoimage -o myimage.iso [path/to/source_directory]

$ genisoimage -o -allow-limited-size myimage.iso [path/to/source_directory]

genisoimage [options] -o output.iso pathspec

genisoimage creates ISO9660 filesystem images suitable for CD/DVD burning or mounting as loop devices. It supports multiple filesystem extensions including Rock Ridge (Unix), Joliet (Windows), and HFS (Mac) for cross-platform compatibility.
The tool can create bootable images using El Torito specification, supporting both legacy BIOS and UEFI boot methods with appropriate configuration.
genisoimage is a fork of mkisofs from the cdrtools package, maintained separately in Debian and Ubuntu repositories.

-o FILE

Output ISO filename

Generate Rock Ridge extensions (Unix permissions/symlinks)

Generate Joliet extensions (Windows long filenames)

Set volume ID (volume label)

Set El Torito boot image for bootable CD/DVD

Set El Torito boot catalog file

Allow files larger than 2GiB by reporting smaller apparent size

Generate UDF filesystem (supports larger files)

Set ISO9660 conformance level (1-4)

Set input character set

Enable verbose output

Standard ISO9660 has a 4GiB file size limit. Use -udf or -allow-limited-size for larger files. Filename length and character restrictions vary by extension type. Boot image creation requires careful configuration.

genisoimage is a fork of mkisofs created in 2006 due to licensing concerns with the original cdrtools package. It's maintained as part of the cdrkit project and is the default ISO creation tool on Debian-based systems.

mkisofs(1), xorriso(1), wodim(1), mount(8)