Here’s the simplest way to start a Kali Linux virtual machine on your desktop or laptop: run it as a Vagrant box! First, download the latest version of Vagrant , you need at least version 1.6 or newer. You’ll also need VirtualBox .
Next, make a new directory on your filesystem and import the Kali Linux box.
$ mkdir kali-linux-vm
$ cd kali-linux-vm
$ vagrant init kalilinux/rolling
The Kali Linux box is now imported and you can run it via Vagrant, that will start the Virtualbox VM for you.
$ vagrant up
Bringing machine 'default' up with 'virtualbox' provider...
==> default: Checking if box 'svigneux/kali-linux-1.0.6-amd64-mini' is up to date...
==> default: Clearing any previously set forwarded ports...
==> default: Clearing any previously set network interfaces...
==> default: Preparing network interfaces based on configuration...
default: Adapter 1: nat
==> default: Forwarding ports...
default: 22 => 2222 (adapter 1)
==> default: Booting VM...
==> default: Waiting for machine to boot. This may take a few minutes...
default: SSH address: 127.0.0.1:2222
default: SSH username: vagrant
default: SSH auth method: private key
default: Warning: Connection timeout. Retrying...
==> default: Machine booted and ready!
==> default: Checking for guest additions in VM...
==> default: Machine already provisioned. Run `vagrant provision` or use the `--provision`
==> default: to force provisioning. Provisioners marked to run always will still run.
To get inside your Kali Linux machine, use “vagrant ssh” to get a bash shell. Then use sudo to become root.
$ vagrant ssh
$ sudo su -
The official box ships the full Kali desktop and weighs in around 10GB once downloaded, so it’s no longer the tiny minimal image this post originally described. The box supports both the VirtualBox and VMware providers. Have fun!