Kali Linux 2026.1 Free Download

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Kali Linux is a Debian-based Linux system designed for advanced penetration testing and security auditing. It includes hundreds of tools aimed at various information security tasks, such as penetration testing, security research, computer forensics, and reverse engineering. Kali Linux is developed, funded, and maintained by Offensive Security, a leader in information security training. It was released on March 13, 2013, as a complete overhaul of BackTrack Linux, fully adhering to Debian development standards.

Kali Linux includes over 600 penetration testing tools. After reviewing every tool included in BackTrack, many tools that either didn't work or duplicated the functionality of others were removed. Details about the included features are available on the Kali Tools website.
Free (as in free beer) and always will be: Like BackTrack, Kali Linux is completely free and always will be. You'll never have to pay for Kali Linux.
Open source Git tree: We are committed to the open-source development model, and our development tree is open for everyone to see. All source code for Kali Linux is available for anyone who wants to modify or repackage the software to suit their needs.
FHS compliant: Kali adheres to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, allowing Linux users to easily locate binaries, support files, libraries, etc.
Extensive wireless device support: A common issue with Linux distributions has been supporting wireless interfaces. We have built Kali Linux to support as many wireless devices as possible, allowing it to run properly on a wide range of hardware and making it compatible with numerous USB and other wireless devices.
Custom kernel, patched for injection: As penetration testers, the development team often needs to conduct wireless assessments, so our kernel includes the latest injection patches.
Developed in a secure environment: The Kali Linux team consists of a small group of trusted individuals who are the only ones allowed to commit packages and interact with the repositories, all conducted using multiple secure protocols.
GPG signed packages and repositories: Every package in Kali Linux is signed by the developer who built and committed it, and the repositories subsequently sign the packages as well.
Multi-language support: Although penetration tools are generally written in English, we have ensured that Kali includes true multilingual support, allowing more users to operate in their native language and find the tools they need.
Completely customizable: We understand that not everyone will agree with our design choices, so we've made it as easy as possible for our more adventurous users to customize Kali Linux to their liking, down to the kernel.
ARMEL and ARMHF support: Since ARM-based single-board systems like the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black are becoming more prevalent and affordable, we knew that Kali's ARM support needed to be robust, with fully functioning installations for both ARMEL and ARMHF systems. Kali Linux is available on a wide range of ARM devices and has ARM repositories integrated with the main distribution, so ARM tools are updated alongside the rest of the distribution.

Kali Linux is specifically designed for penetration testing professionals, and all documentation on this site assumes prior knowledge and familiarity with the Linux operating system. Please see Should I Use Kali Linux? for more details on what makes Kali unique.

Kali Linux Full and Lite 64-bit Versions

Kali Linux is a Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at advanced Penetration Testing and Security Auditing. It includes several hundred tools focused on various information security tasks, such as Penetration Testing, Security research, Computer Forensics, and Reverse Engineering. Kali Linux is developed, funded, and maintained by Offensive Security, a leading information security training company.

Kali Linux was released on March 13, 2013, as a complete, top-to-bottom rebuild of BackTrack Linux, adhering completely to Debian development standards.

• More than 600 penetration testing tools included: After reviewing every tool that was included in BackTrack, we eliminated a great number of tools that either simply did not work or which duplicated other tools that provided the same or similar functionality. Details on what’s included are on the Kali Tools site.
• Free (as in beer) and always will be: Kali Linux, like BackTrack, is completely free of charge and always will be. You will never, ever have to pay for Kali Linux.
• Open source Git tree: We are committed to the open-source development model and our development tree is available for all to see. All of the source code which goes into Kali Linux is available for anyone who wants to tweak or rebuild packages to suit their specific needs.
• FHS compliant: Kali adheres to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, allowing Linux users to easily locate binaries, support files, libraries, etc.
• Wide-ranging wireless device support: A regular sticking point with Linux distributions has been supported for wireless interfaces. We have built Kali Linux to support as many wireless devices as we possibly can, allowing it to run properly on a wide variety of hardware and making it compatible with numerous USB and other wireless devices.
• Custom kernel, patched for injection: As penetration testers, the development team often needs to do wireless assessments, so our kernel has the latest injection patches included.
• Developed in a secure environment: The Kali Linux team is made up of a small group of individuals who are the only ones trusted to commit packages and interact with the repositories, all of which is done using multiple secure protocols.
• GPG signed packages and repositories: Every package in Kali Linux is signed by each individual developer who built and committed it, and the repositories subsequently sign the packages as well.
• Multi-language support: Although penetration tools tend to be written in English, we have ensured that Kali includes true multilingual support, allowing more users to operate in their native language and locate the tools they need for the job.
• Completely customizable: We thoroughly understand that not everyone will agree with our design decisions, so we have made it as easy as possible for our more adventurous users to customize Kali Linux to their liking, all the way down to the kernel.
• ARMEL and ARMHF support: Since ARM-based single-board systems like the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black, among others, are becoming more and more prevalent and inexpensive, we knew that Kali’s ARM support would need to be as robust as we could manage, with fully working installations for both ARMEL and ARMHF systems. Kali Linux is available on a wide range of ARM devices and has ARM repositories integrated with the mainline distribution so tools for ARM are updated in conjunction with the rest of the distribution.

Kali Linux is specifically tailored to the needs of penetration testing professionals, and therefore all documentation on this site assumes prior knowledge of, and familiarity with, the Linux operating system in general. Please see Should I Use Kali Linux? for more details on what makes Kali unique.