— Technology — 4 min read
Installing Kali Linux (Single boot) on your computer is an easy process. This guide will cover the basic install (which can be done on bare metal or guest VM), with the option of encrypting the partition. At times, you may have sensitive data you would prefer to encrypt using Full Disk Encryption (FDE). During the setup process you can initiate an LVM encrypted install on either Hard Disk or USB drives.
First, you'll need compatible computer hardware. Kali Linux is supported on amd64 (x86_64/64-Bit) and i386 (x86/32-Bit) platforms. Where possible, we would recommend using the amd64 images. The hardware requirements are minimal as listed in the section below, although better hardware will naturally provide better performance. You should be able to use Kali Linux on newer hardware with UEFI and older systems with BIOS.
Our i386 images, by default use a PAE kernel, so you can run them on systems with over 4GB of RAM.
In our example, we will be installing Kali Linux in a fresh guest VM, without any existing operating systems pre-installed. We will explain other possible scenarios throughout the guide.
The installation requirements for Kali Linux will vary depending on what you would like to install and your setup. For system requirements:
kali-linux-default
metapackage, you should really aim for at least 2048 MB of RAM and 20 GB of disk space.This guide will make also the following assumptions when installing Kali Linux:
1ℹ Info ️2We will be wiping any existing data on the hard disk, so please backup any important information on the device to an external media.
Download Kali Linux (We recommend the image marked Installer).
Burn The Kali Linux ISO to DVD or image Kali Linux Live to USB drive. (If you cannot, check out the Kali Linux Network Install).
Backup any important information on the device to an external media.
Ensure that your computer is set to boot from CD/DVD/USB in your BIOS/UEFI.
1ℹ Info2If you're using the live image instead, you will see another mode, Live, which is also the default boot option.
The setup will now probe your network interfaces, looks for a DHCP service, and then prompt you to enter a hostname for your system. In the example below, we've entered kali as our hostname.
1ℹ Info2If there is no network access with DHCP service detected, you may need to manually configure the network information or do not configure the network at this time.
If there is an pre-existing data on the disk, you will have have an extra option (Guided - use the largest continuous free space) than the example below. This would instruct the setup not to alter any existing data, which is perfect for for dual-booting into another operating system. As this is not the case in this example, it is not visible.
Experienced users can use the "Manual" partitioning method for more granular configuration options, which is covered more in our BTRFS guide.
If you want to encrypt Kali Linux, you can enable Full Disk Encryption (FDE), by selecting Guided - used entire disk and setup encrypted LVM. When selected, later on in the setup (not in this guide) prompt you to enter a password (twice). You will have to enter this password every time you start up Kali Linux.
If enabled in the previous step, Kali Linux will now start to perform a secure wipe of the hard disk, before asking you for a LVM password.
Please sure a strong password, else you will have to agree to the warning about a weak passphrase.
1ℹ Info2This wipe may take "a while" (hours) depending on the size and speed of the drive.3If you wish to risk it, you can skip it.
Kali Linux uses a central repository to distribute applications. You'll need to enter any appropriate proxy information as needed.
1ℹ Info2If network access was not setup, you will want to continue with setup when prompt.
1ℹ Info2If you are using the Live image, you will not have the following stage
Now that you've completed installing Kali Linux, it's time to customize your system.
The General Use section has more information and you can also find tips on how to get the most out of Kali Linux in our User Forums.