What are metapackages
Metapackages are used to install many packages at one time, created as a list of dependencies on other packages. Kali Linux uses these in a few ways. One way is allowing users to decide how many packages out of the total Kali list they would like to install. Need just enough to use Linux? Want enough to conduct Pentests? Perhaps nearly every package available in Kali?
To install a metapackage we first need to update and then install the desired package:
System
- kali-linux-core : Base Kali Linux System – core items that are always included
- kali-linux-headless : Default install that doesn’t require GUI
- kali-linux-default : “Default” desktop (amd64/i386) images include these tools
- kali-linux-arm : All tools suitable for ARM devices
- kali-linux-nethunter : Tools used as part of Kali NetHunter
Desktop environments/Window managers
- kali-desktop-core : Any key tools required for a GUI image
- kali-desktop-e17 : Enlightenment (WM)
- kali-desktop-gnome : GNOME (DE)
- kali-desktop-i3 : i3 (WM)
- kali-desktop-kde : KDE (DE)
- kali-desktop-lxde : LXDE (WM)
- kali-desktop-mate : MATE (DE)
- kali-desktop-xfce : Xfce (WM)
Tools
- kali-tools-gpu : Tools which benefit from having access to GPU hardware
- kali-tools-hardware : Hardware hacking tools
- kali-tools-crypto-stego : Tools based around Cryptography & Steganography
- kali-tools-fuzzing : For fuzzing protocols
- kali-tools-802-11 : 802.11 (Commonly known as “Wi-Fi”)
- kali-tools-bluetooth : For targeting Bluetooth devices
- kali-tools-rfid : Radio-Frequency IDentification tools
- kali-tools-sdr : Software-Defined Radio tools
- kali-tools-voip : Voice over IP tools
- kali-tools-windows-resources : Any resources which can be executed on a Windows hosts
- kali-tools-information-gathering : Used for Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) & information gathering
- kali-tools-vulnerability : Vulnerability assessments tools
- kali-tools-web : Designed doing web applications attacks
- kali-tools-database : Based around any database attacks
- kali-tools-passwords : Helpful for password cracking attacks – Online & offline
- kali-tools-wireless : All tools based around Wireless protocols – 802.11, Bluetooth, RFID & SDR
- kali-tools-reverse-engineering : For reverse engineering binaries
- kali-tools-exploitation : Commonly used for doing exploitation
- kali-tools-social-engineering : Aimed for doing social engineering techniques
- kali-tools-sniffing-spoofing : Any tools meant for sniffing & spoofing
- kali-tools-post-exploitation : Techniques for post exploitation stage
- kali-tools-forensics : Forensic tools – Live & Offline
- kali-tools-reporting : Reporting tools
Others
- kali-linux-large : Our previous default tools for amd64/i386 images
- kali-linux-everything : Every metapackage and tool listed here
- kali-tools-top10 : The most commonly used tools
- kali-desktop-live : Used during a live session when booted from the image
Updated on: 2021-Sep-27
Authors: gamb1t , g0tmi1k
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Kali Linux Metapackages
One of our goals when developing Kali Linux was to provide multiple metapackages that would allow us to easily install subsets of tools based on their particular needs. Until recently, we only had a handful of these meta packages but we have since expanded the metapackage list to include far more options:
- kali-linux
- kali-linux-all
- kali-linux-forensic
- kali-linux-full
- kali-linux-gpu
- kali-linux-pwtools
- kali-linux-rfid
- kali-linux-sdr
- kali-linux-top10
- kali-linux-voip
- kali-linux-web
- kali-linux-wireless
These metapackages allow for easy installation of certain tools in a specific field, or alternatively, for the installation of a full Kali suite. All of the Kali metapackages follow a particular naming convention, starting with “kali-linux” so if you want to see which metapackages are available, you can search for them as follows:
Although we tried to make the metapackage names self-explanatory, we are limited in the practical length we can use, so let’s take a brief look at each of them and see how much disk space is used by each one:
kali-linux
The kali-linux metapackage is a completely bare-bones installation of Kali Linux and includes various network services such as Apache and SSH, the Kali kernel, and a number of version control applications like git, svn, etc. All of the other metapackages listed below also contain kali-linux. Installation Size: 1.5 GB
kali-linux-full
When you download a Kali Linux ISO, you are essentially downloading an installation that has the kali-linux-full metapackage installed. This package includes all of the tools you are familiar with in Kali. Installation Size: 9.0 GB
kali-linux-all
In order to keep our ISO sizes reasonable, we are unable to include every single tool that we package for Kali and there are a number of tools that are not able to be used depending on hardware, such as various GPU tools. If you want to install every available Kali Linux package, you can install the kali-linux-all metapackage. Installation Size: 15 GB
kali-linux-top10
In Kali Linux, we have a sub-menu called “Top 10 Security Tools”. The kali-linux-top10 metapackage will install all of these tools for you in one fell swoop. Installation Size: 3.5 GB
kali-linux-forensic
If you are doing forensics work, you don’t want your analysis system to contain a bunch of unnecessary tools. To the rescue comes the kali-linux-forensic metapackage, which only contains the forensics tools in Kali. Installation Size: 3.1 GB
kali-linux-gpu
GPU utilities are very powerful but need special hardware in order to function correctly. For this reason, they are not included in the default Kali Linux installation but you can install them all at once with kali-linux-gpu and get cracking. Installation Size: 4.8 GB
kali-linux-pwtools
The kali-linux-pwtools metapackage contains over 40 different password cracking utilities as well as the GPU tools contained in kali-linux-gpu. Installation Size: 6.0 GB
kali-linux-rfid
For our users who are doing RFID research and exploitation, we have the kali-linux-rfid metapackage containing all of the RFID tools available in Kali Linux. Installation Size: 1.5 GB
kali-linux-sdr
The kali-linux-sdr metapackage contains a large selection of tools for your Software Defined Radio hacking needs. Installation Size: 2.4 GB
kali-linux-voip
Many people have told us they use Kali Linux to conduct VoIP testing and research so they will be happy to know we now have a dedicated kali-linux-voip metapackage with 20+ tools. Installation Size: 1.8 GB
kali-linux-web
Web application assessments are very common in the field of penetration testing and for this reason, Kali includes the kali-linux-web metapackage containing dozens of tools related to web application hacking. Installation Size: 4.9 GB
kali-linux-wireless
Like web applications, many penetration testing assessments are targeted towards wireless networks. The kali-linux-wireless metapackage contains all the tools you’ll need in one easy to install package. Installation Size: 6.6 GB
To see the list of tools included in a metapackage, you can use simple apt commands. For example, to list all the tools included in the kali-linux-web metapackage, we could:
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Major Metapackage Makeover
With our 2019.3 Kali release imminent, we wanted to take a quick moment to discuss one of our more significant upcoming changes: our selection of metapackages. These alterations are designed to optimize Kali, reduce ISO size, and better organize metapackages as we continue to grow.
Before we get into what’s new, let’s briefly recap what a metapackage is. A metapackage is a package that does not contain any tools itself, but rather is a dependency list of normal packages (or other metapackages). This allows us to group related tools together. For instance, if you want to be able to access every wireless tool, simply install the kali-tools-wireless metapackage. This will obtain all wireless tools in one download. As always, you can access the full list of metapackages available in Kali on kali.org/docs/general-use/metapackages/. If you prefer to use the command line, the following command will list out the packages that will be installed via a specific metapackage:
We took the time to create new metapackages and rename existing ones, and we did the same with the tools listed inside of them. As a result of these changes, we’ve implemented a new naming convention for simplicity and improved granular control. At the end of the post there is a table displaying the relationships between previous and new names moving forward, along with a description of the metapackage purpose.
If you have made it this far, you are likely wondering “how does this affect me”?
- If you are using a version of Kali older than 2019.3, if and when you upgrade, you will still have the same set of tools (just newer)!
- However, if you do a fresh install of Kali with a version higher than either weekly W34 or 2019.3 ISO, you will notice some of the tools that get installed by DEFAULT have changed(we have put Kali on a diet!)
Previously, kali-linux-full was the default metapackage, which has been renamed to kali-linux-large with a redirect put in place. We have introduced a new default metapackage called kali-linux-default , which serves as a slimmed-down version of the tools from kali-linux-large .
Depending on how you use Kali will determine which metapackage would suit you best. This is the power of metapackages. For example:
- If you want a core set of tools, stick with kali-linux-default (designed for assessments that are straightforward ).
- If you want a more general and wider range of tools, select kali-linux-large (useful if Internet access is permitted but slow).
- If you want to be prepared for anything, go with kali-linux-everything (great if you are going to be doing air-gap/offline work)
Note: You can install multiple metapackages at once and are not limited to just one, so mix and match!
Each of these metapackages depends on the one above. That means, when we add a new essential tool to kali-linux-default , it is automatically part of kali-linux-large and thus kali-linux-everything . Otherwise, when we add a new tool that may not be useful to everyone, it will be placed into either kali-linux-large or kali-linux-everything — depending on our tool policy. More information about the new tool policy will be made public towards the end of the year. Stay tuned for some very exciting news!
How Kali is being used today has changed since when Kali (and even BackTrack) was first born. Not everyone needs all the tools at once — but they are still available when required. We have opted for a new default set of tools to match the majority of today’s current network environments, by removing edge cases and legacy tools which are rarely used.
Upon doing a system upgrade ( apt -y full-upgrade ) on a version of Kali older than 2019.3, you will see the old metapackage name being removed. This is safe. If you have tried to remove a tool before, you may have run into this (when the tool is part of a metapackage). This is also safe to remove, as it doesn’t remove any other tools. It simply means that when a new tool is added into that metapackage, you won’t receive it.
If you are running 2019.3 and want the old default set of tools, you can do either apt -y install for a one-off package installation or apt -y install kali-linux-large to get the old tool set back. For the 2019.3 release, we will be doing a one-off extra image, which is based on kali-linux-large to help with the transition.
Below are the tables with a complete breakdown of previous metapackages names, along with their new respective names:
Systems
These metapackages are used when generating our images
| Old | New | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| kali-linux | kali-linux-core | Base Kali Linux System — core items that are always included |
| new | kali-linux-default | “Default” desktop (amd64/i386) images include these tools |
| new | kali-linux-light | Kali-Light images use this to be generated |
| new | kali-linux-arm | All tools suitable for ARM devices |
| kali-linux-nethunter | kali-linux-nethunter (same) | Tools used as part of Kali NetHunter |
Kali Menu
These entries are based around the Kali menu
| Old | New | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| new | kali-tools-information-gathering | Used for Open-source Intelligence (OSINT) & information gathering |
| new | kali-tools-vulnerability | Vulnerability assessments tools |
| kali-linux-web | kali-tools-web | Designed doing web applications attacks |
| new | kali-tools-database | Based around any database attacks |
| kali-linux-pwtools | kali-tools-passwords | Helpful for password cracking attacks — Online & offline |
| kali-linux-wireless | kali-tools-wireless | All tools based around Wireless protocols — 802.11, Bluetooth, RFID & SDR |
| new | kali-tools-reverse-engineering | For reverse engineering binaries |
| new | kali-tools-exploitation | Commonly used for doing exploitation |
| new | kali-tools-social-engineering | Aimed for doing social engineering techniques |
| new | kali-tools-sniffing-spoofing | Any tools meant for sniffing & spoofing |
| new | kali-tools-post-exploitation | Techniques for post exploitation stage |
| kali-linux-forensics | kali-tools-forensics | Forensic tools — Live & Offline |
| new | kali-tools-reporting | Reporting tools |
Tools
These are tool listing based on the category and type
| Old | New | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| kali-linux-gpu | kali-tools-gpu | Tools which benefit from having access to GPU hardware |
| new | kali-tools-hardware | Hardware hacking tools |
| new | kali-tools-crypto-stego | Tools based around Cryptography & Steganography |
| new | kali-tools-fuzzing | For fuzzing protocols |
| new | kali-tools-802-11 | 802.11 (Commonly known as “Wi-Fi”) |
| new | kali-tools-bluetooth | For targeting Bluetooth devices |
| kali-linux-rfid | kali-tools-rfid | Radio-Frequency IDentification tools |
| kali-linux-sdr | kali-tools-sdr | Software-Defined Radio tools |
| kali-linux-voip | kali-tools-voip | Voice over IP tools |
| new | kali-tools-windows-resources | Any resources which can be executed on a Windows hosts |
Useful metapackages which are “one off” groupings
| Old | New | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| kali-linux-full | kali-linux-large | Our previous default tools for amd64/i386 images |
| kali-linux-all | kali-linux-everything | Every metapackage and tool listed here |
| kali-linux-top10 | kali-tools-top10 | The most commonly used tools |
| kali-desktop-live | kali-desktop-live (same) | Used during a live session when booted from the image |
| new | kali-tools-headless | Tools which do not require a GUI in order to access them |
Courses
Tools used for Offensive Security’s courses
| Old | New | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| new | offsec-awae | Advanced Web Attacks and Exploitation |
| new | offsec-pwk | Penetration Testing with Kali |
Desktop Managers
Desktop Environment (DE) & Window Manager (WM)
| Old | New | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| kali-desktop-common | kali-desktop-core | Any key tools required for a GUI image |
| new | kali-desktop-e17 | Enlightenment (WM) |
| kali-desktop-gnome | kali-desktop-gnome (same) | GNOME (DE) |
| new | kali-desktop-i3 | i3 (WM) |
| kali-desktop-kde | kali-desktop-kde (same) | KDE (DE) |
| kali-desktop-lxde | kali-desktop-lxde (same) | LXDE (WM) |
| new | kali-desktop-mate | MATE (DE) |
| new | kali-desktop-pantheon | Pantheon (DE) |
| kali-desktop-xfce | kali-desktop-xfce (same) | XFCE (WM) |
If you wish to create your own metapackage, see how we do it here, before you create your own package.
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