This post demonstrates how to build an updated Kali Linux ISO with the latest patches and package updates for the current 2019.2 release. This is helpful for offline environments, when you want a different desktop experience or you want every package available for Kali in one ISO. This is done as the root user.
1) Build a Kali Linux physical or virtual system. Downloads are available here:
https://www.kali.org/downloads/
2) Once built, update your system.
> apt update
> apt upgrade
3) Setup the build environment.
> mkdir -p /root/ISO
> cd /root/ISO/
> apt install -y curl git live-build cdebootstrap
> git clone https://gitlab.com/kalilinux/build-scripts/live-build-config.git
4) Modify the package list to get everything bundled into your ISO.
> cd /root/ISO/live-build-config/kali-config/variant-default/package-lists
> vi kali.list.chroot
Under the Kali applications header, set the file to look like the lines below. Basically, comment kali-linux-default (in red) and remove the comment on kali-linux-everything (in green). Leave the defaults for everything else in the file. When done, wq! to save your changes.
# Kali applications
#<package>
# You can customize the set of Kali metapackages (groups of tools) to install
# For the complete list see: https://tools.kali.org/kali-metapackages
# kali-linux-default
# kali-linux-large
kali-linux-everything
# kali-tools-top10
5) Build your ISO. Depending on your host’s CPU and internet speed, this could take an hour or more to complete.
> cd /root/ISO/live-build-config
> ./build.sh –verbose
Note: if you want a different desktop, run the associated build.sh variant below. Options are MATE, Gnome, XFCE, KDE, E17, I3WM, LXDE. For example:
For XFCE
./build.sh –variant xfce –verbose
For KDE
./build.sh –variant kde –verbose
For MATE
./build.sh –variant mate –verbose
6) When done, cd to the images folder and list the contents.
> cd /root/ISO/live-build-config/images
> ls -l
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 8184537088 Aug 31 14:23 kali-linux-rolling-amd64.iso
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 1619921 Aug 31 14:24 kali-linux-rolling-amd64.log
To check the size of the ISO:
> du -h kali-linux-rolling-amd64.iso
7.7G kali-linux-rolling-amd64.iso