Kali Linux Can Now Run in Containers on macOS

Red Dog Security

— 2 min read
Kali Linux Can Now Run in Containers on macOS

The Kali Linux team has officially announced support for running Kali in containers on macOS Sequoia, leveraging Apple’s new virtualization and containerization features. This marks a significant step for developers and security professionals who use Apple Silicon devices and want direct access to Kali’s tools without a full VM setup.

Background

During WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled a new container system that allows Linux distributions to run in isolated, lightweight virtual machines—similar in concept to Microsoft’s Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2). This system is available exclusively on Apple Silicon, enabling native performance without the overhead of traditional hypervisors.

How to Run Kali Linux on macOS Sequoia

To get started, follow these steps:

  1. Install the container CLI tool via Homebrew:

brew install --cask container
  1. Start the container system:
container system start
  1. Run Kali Linux:
container run --rm -it kalilinux/kali-rolling

This pulls the official Kali image from Docker Hub and runs it inside a macOS-managed virtualized container.

  1. (Optional) Mount a local directory:

To access local files within the container:

container run --rm -it \
  --volume $(pwd):/mnt \
  --workdir /mnt \
  docker.io/kalilinux/kali-rolling:latest

This mounts your current working directory to /mnt inside the container for easy file sharing.

Limitations & Known Issues

Before you dive in, here are a few caveats:

  • Apple Silicon only: This feature does not support Intel-based Macs.
  • Networking bugs: Some containers, especially on macOS Sequoia 15, may not receive an IP address or experience network isolation. Follow Apple’s official guidance if you encounter this issue.
  • No hardware passthrough: USB devices, GPU acceleration, and other low-level hardware features are inaccessible due to the nature of containerized isolation.

The Kali Linux team notes that this is an early implementation and encourages users to provide feedback as the container system matures.

Conclusion

This update offers a streamlined way to run Kali Linux natively on Apple hardware—without setting up dual boot or full VMs. It’s fast, lightweight, and developer-friendly, but it comes with limitations that may affect advanced users.

If you're a security researcher, pen tester, or developer working on macOS Sequoia, this might be the easiest way yet to get Kali running on your machine.

Read more