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Persistence Plugin Guide

Ventoy Persistence Plugin - Save Your Changes in Live Linux

A live Linux session forgets everything when you shut down - files, settings, installed apps, all gone. Ventoy's persistence plugin fixes that for supported distributions by attaching a writable storage file to the live system. It works beautifully when set up exactly right, and fails silently when one of three details is wrong. Here is the exact setup, and the honest limits.

By Technical AnshuVentoy USB Guide9 minute read
The video covers Ventoy plugins and drive setup on a real machine - persistence builds directly on that workflow

Persistence means a live Linux system - one running from the ISO without installing - keeps your changes between reboots. Ventoy does it with a backend file: a single large file on the data partition that acts as the live system's writable disk, linked to one specific ISO through the persistence plugin. Set it up once and your portable Ubuntu or Kali remembers its files, Wi-Fi passwords and settings. But read the limit first, because it decides whether this guide even applies to you:

The honest limit: persistence works only with supported live Linux distributions (the Ubuntu family, Debian, Kali and others on Ventoy's supported list). A Windows ISO can never be persistent - there is no setting, in Ventoy or anywhere else, that makes a Windows installer remember changes. Installing Windows is a normal installation, not persistence.
VentoyPlugson - Persistence plugin: one ISO linked to one backend file
Image File/ISO/ubuntu-24.04.iso
Backend File/persistence/ubuntu.dat
Image File/ISO/kali-linux.iso
Backend File/persistence/kali.dat
Each row links one live ISO to its own backend file - paths start at the data partition root and must match exactly
1

Create the Backend File With the Right Label

  1. In the extracted Ventoy package, run CreatePersistentImage.bat (on Linux, the .sh version)
  2. Choose the size - 4 GB is a practical minimum, more if you will install apps; you cannot grow it casually later, so be generous
  3. Choose the file system and the label your distribution expects: Ubuntu-family live systems look for the label casper-rw, Debian-based systems commonly expect persistence (and a persistence.conf inside) - the wrong label is the number-one reason persistence silently does nothing
  4. Copy the finished file (for example ubuntu.dat) into a folder such as persistence on the Ventoy data partition - and afterwards do not move or rename it
  5. The backend file must stay unfragmented: create it fresh on the drive rather than copying it after heavy use of the partition
2

Link ISO and Backend in VentoyPlugson

  1. Plug the drive in, run VentoyPlugson.exe and open the page it gives you (typically http://127.0.0.1:24680)
  2. Open the Persistence Plugin section and click Add
  3. Enter the ISO path and the backend path, both starting from the data partition root - for example /ISO/ubuntu-24.04.iso and /persistence/ubuntu.dat
  4. Paths are exact and case-sensitive - one wrong letter and Ventoy simply boots the ISO without persistence, with no error shown
  5. Save. The mapping is stored in ventoy.json inside the ventoy folder on the data partition
3

Boot With Persistence and Prove It Works

  1. Boot the Ventoy drive and select your Linux ISO
  2. When Ventoy offers the persistence entry for that ISO (it shows the linked backend), choose it - booting the plain entry starts a forgetful session
  3. In the live session, create a test file on the desktop and save a setting, for example a Wi-Fi network
  4. Shut down fully, boot again with the persistence entry, and check: the test file and the setting are still there
  5. If everything reset, recheck the two classic faults first: wrong label on the backend file, and a path typo in the Plugson mapping

Two working habits worth knowing: shut the live system down cleanly every time - yanking the USB mid-write can corrupt the backend file and everything inside it - and expect a slightly slower boot, because the system now mounts and checks a real writable disk.

Watch the Ventoy Setup in the Full Video

See the drive layout and the Ventoy tools in action before you add persistence to your own USB.

Watch Full Video
Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use one backend file for several different Linux ISOs?

Do not. Each ISO needs its own backend file - each live system writes its own filesystem layout into its backend, and sharing one between distributions produces corruption and strange behaviour. The file itself is cheap; make one per distro.

Does persistence work for a Windows ISO on Ventoy?

No. Persistence is a live-Linux feature. Windows images have no live-session storage concept for Ventoy to attach to, and no plugin changes that. If you need a portable Windows, the correct route is a proper Windows To Go style installation, not persistence.

My persistence stopped working after I reorganised files on the drive. Why?

The mapping in ventoy.json points to exact paths. If you renamed the ISO, moved the backend file or renamed a folder, the link no longer matches and Ventoy boots the ISO without persistence - with no error message. Update the paths in VentoyPlugson to the new locations.

This guide is based on the Ventoy Complete Guide video by Technical Anshu - Update, Secure Boot and File Detection Fix - Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments, help is always there.