The Industry Standard

Kali Linux is not about its tools, nor the operating system. Kali Linux is a platform.

Generic laptop PC Kali Linux desktop

All the tools you need

The Kali Linux penetration testing platform contains a vast array of tools and utilities. From information gathering to final reporting, Kali Linux enables security and IT professionals to assess the security of their systems.

Find out all about Kali's Tools

Kali Everywhere

Undercover Mode

Using Kali in an environment where you don't want to draw attention to yourself? Kali Undercover is the perfect way to not stand out in a crowd.

Kali NetHunter

A mobile penetration testing platform for Android devices, based on Kali Linux. Kali NetHunter is made up of an App, App Store, Kali Container and KeX

Win-KeX

Win-KeX provides a full Kali Desktop Experience for Windows WSL. Applications started via Kali's panel will share the desktop with Microsoft Windows applications.

Choose the desktop you prefer

Xfce logoXfce

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly.

Xfce consists of separately packaged parts that together provide all functions of the desktop environment, but can be selected in subsets to suit user needs and preferences. This is Kali's default desktop environment.

Kali Linux with Xfce desktop
Kali Linux with GNOME desktop

GNOME logoGNOME Shell

Every part of GNOME Shell has been designed to make it simple and easy to use. The Activities Overview is an easy way to access all your basic tasks. A press of a button is all it takes to view your open windows, launch applications, or check if you have new messages. Having everything in one place is convenient and means that you don't have to learn your way through a maze of different technologies.

KDE logoKDE Plasma

Plasma is made to stay out of the way as it helps you get things done. But under its light and intuitive surface, it's a powerhouse. So you're free to choose ways of usage right as you need them and when you need them.

With Plasma the user is king. Not happy with the color scheme? Change it! Want to have your panel on the left edge of the screen? Move it! Don't like the font? Use a different one! Download custom widgets in one click and add them to your desktop or panel.

Kali Linux with KDE Plasma desktop

Latest news from our blog

Kali Linux 2024.4 Release (Python 3.12, Goodbye i386, Raspberry Pi Imager & Kali NetHunter)

Just before the year starts to wrap up, we are getting the final 2024 release out! This contains a wide range of updates and changes, which are in already in effect, ready for immediate download, or updating.

The summary of the changelog since the 2024.3 release from September is:

Python 3.12 - New default Python version (Au revoir pip, hello pipx) The end of the i386 kernel and images - Farewell x86 (images), but not goodbye (packages) Deprecations in the SSH client: DSA keys - Reminder about using ssh1 if required Raspberry Pi Imager Customizations Support - Able to alter settings at write time GNOME 47 - Now able to synchronize your favorite colors Kali Forums Refresh - New heart of the community home Kali NetHunter - Updates to the app, kernels, installer, store and website ! New Tools - 14 new shiny toys added (and countless updated!) A new Python version: 3.12 Python 3.12 is now the default Python interpreter. While it was released upstream a year ago, it took a bit of time to become the default in Debian, and then even more time to make it to Kali Linux, but finally it’s here. Every new version of Python brings along some deprecations or subtle changes of behavior, which in turn breaks some Python packages, and we have to investigate and fix all the issues reported by our QA system. Hence the delay.

Contributing to Kali

With the launch of our brand-new forums, we thought we would update our documentation and explore how everyone can contribute to the growth of Kali Linux. Kali is a multi-platform project that thrives on the the contributions of its community. Whether you’re curious about how you can pitch in or simply want to learn more about how contributions shape our platform, keep reading. For a deeper dive, don’t forget to check out the relevant Kali Docs pages.

Forums Refresh

Over the past year we have been hard at work on refreshing the Kali Forums, and today we are proud to announce the official launch. We have taken what we have learnt over the years decades, and created a new home from scratch.

At the same time, we are welcoming a new team of community moderators who have been helping us over on Discord. Before you go check it out, lets first take a look at why we are doing this.

The end of the i386 kernel and images

The i386 architecture has long been obsolete, and from this week, support for i386 in Kali Linux is going to shrink significantly: i386 kernel and images are going away. Images and releases will no longer be created for this platform.