However, some users may want to customize their installation by installing specific packages or removing unnecessary ones. This is where metapackages come in handy.
Metapackages are special package groups that contain a set of related packages. They allow you to easily manage the installation of multiple packages at once and keep them up-to-date with minimal effort. In Kali Linux, there are several metapackages available for different purposes:
1. kali-tools This is the main metapacketage that includes all the tools needed for penetration testing and security auditing. It contains over 600 packages and provides a comprehensive set of features for network analysis, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, and more.
2. kali-linux-full This metapackage installs all the available packages in Kali Linux, including those that are not part of the default installation. It is useful if you want to have a complete set of tools for testing or teaching purposes. However, it can take several hours to download and install all the packages due to their size (over 10 GB).
3. kali-tools-extra This metapackage includes additional tools that are not part of the main kali-tools package. It contains over 250 packages and provides advanced features for network analysis, exploitation, and more. However, it is recommended to use this package only if you have a specific need or requirement.
4. kali-linux-minimal This metapackage installs the minimum set of tools needed for basic system administration tasks. It contains over 100 packages and provides essential features such as file management, network configuration, and security monitoring. However, it does not include any penetration testing or security auditing tools by default.
5. kali-linux-rolling This metapackage installs the latest version of Kali Linux from the rolling release branch. It provides a stable and up-to-date environment for testing and development purposes. However, it is recommended to use this package only if you have experience with rolling releases and are willing to accept potential issues or bugs.
To install any of these metapackages, simply run the following command:
# This script updates the package list, upgrades existing packages, and installs the kali-tools metapackage.
# The -y flag automatically confirms any prompts during the installation process.
# Update the package list
sudo apt update
# Upgrade existing packages
sudo apt upgrade -y
# Install the kali-tools metapackage
sudo apt install kali-tools
This will download and install all the packages needed for penetration testing and security auditing. You can replace “kali-tools” with any of the other metapackages mentioned above to customize your installation according to your needs. Note that some packages may require additional dependencies or configurations, so it is recommended to read their documentation carefully before installing them.
However, if you’re interested in learning more about Kali Linux or want to stay up-to-date with its latest developments, there are several resources available:
1. Official Documentation and Resources The official website provides documentation, tutorials, and updates for Kali Linux. You can access it at https://www.kali.org/documentation/.
2. Forums and Communities There are various online communities where you can seek help or share knowledge about Kali Linux. Some popular ones include Reddit’s r/Kalilinux, Stack Overflow, and the official forums at https://forums.kali.org/.
3. Professional Organizations and Certifications If you want to become a certified penetration tester or security professional, there are several organizations that offer certifications in this field. Some popular ones include Offensive Security’s OSCP certification and the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification offered by various training providers.
4. Curriculum Learning Kali Linux now supports curriculum learning for popular architectures such as Pythia, PaLM, Falcon, and LLaMA 1 \& 2. This allows you to learn new skills or improve your existing ones using a structured approach that is tailored to your needs.
5. Easy Connections with the Open Source Ecosystem Kali Linux provides easy connections with popular open source libraries such as Hugging Face’s tokenizers and transformers, logging via WandB, and evaluation via EleutherAI’s Language Model Evaluation Harness. This allows you to integrate your tools or applications seamlessly into your workflow without any hassle.