With version 2019.4 in November 2019, the default user interface was switched from GNOME to Xfce, with a GNOME version still available.

The first version, 1.0.0 'moto', was released in March 2013. The tagline of Kali Linux and BackTrack is 'the quieter you become, the more you are able to hear', which is displayed on some backgrounds. Tools highlighted in the show and provided by Kali Linux include Bluesniff, Bluetooth Scanner (btscanner), John the Ripper, Metasploit Framework, Nmap, Shellshock, and Wget. Kali Linux's popularity grew when it was featured in multiple episodes of the TV series Mr. Most packages Kali uses are imported from the Debian repositories. Kali Linux is based on the Debian Testing branch. It was developed by Mati Aharoni and Devon Kearns of Offensive Security through the rewrite of BackTrack, their previous information security testing Linux distribution based on Knoppix.

Kali Linux has approximately 600 penetration-testing programs (tools), including Armitage (a graphical cyber attack management tool), Nmap (a port scanner), Wireshark (a packet analyzer), metasploit (penetration testing framework), John the Ripper (a password cracker), sqlmap (automatic SQL injection and database takeover tool), Aircrack-ng (a software suite for penetration-testing wireless LANs), Burp suite and OWASP ZAP web application security scanners, etc. It is maintained and funded by Offensive Security. Kali Linux is a Debian-derived Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing.

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