With the launch of our brand-new forums, we thought we would update our documentation and explore how everyone can contribute to the growth of Kali Linux. Kali is a multi-platform project that thrives on the the contributions of its community. Whether you’re curious about how you can pitch in or simply want to learn more about how contributions shape our platform, keep reading. For a deeper dive, don’t forget to check out the relevant Kali Docs pages.
Where Contributions Happen
Kali Linux currently benefits from community support in four primary areas: Documentation, Packages, Hardware, and Community. Let’s break down each one:
Documentation: This is hosted on our website and includes Kali Tools and Kali OS Docs. Users can contribute by improving pages and grammar written in Markdown. Check out the Kali Docs and Kali Tools sections for more details.
Packages: These are the heart of Kali Linux. They contain tools, drivers, documentation, and unit tests based on the Debian standard. Packaging is a useful skill, helpful for handling tool package upgrades or adding new tools to the Kali repository. Learn about packaging new tools or handling upstream updates in the Kali Packaging section.
Hardware: Contributions in this area help to test the stability of certain devices or port Kali to new devices or platforms, ensuring that Kali is Everywhere. Also included here is hosting Kali content, such as seeding the torrents or hosting a mirror. If you’re interested in developing Kali for a new device, explore projects related to ARM, cloud, and the Porting Kali To A New Platform section.
Community: This involves Kali users helping one another on various platforms, including the Forums, Discord, IRC, and social media. Engaging with the community can be as simple as answering questions, sharing tools, or providing feedback.
How to Contribute
So, how can you help? First, decide how much time you can commit. We appreciate all forms of contributions, whether it’s recommending a tool to another Kali user or submitting a package with an autopkgtest. Here’s a rough estimate of the time commitment for various tasks:
- Documentation: 5-30 minutes. This can involve anything from correcting typos to writing whole new pages.
- Packages: 30 minutes to several hours. Packaging updates or new tools requires more in-depth knowledge and testing.
- Hardware: Hours to days. Helping to test specific devices, porting Kali to new platforms, or setting up mirrors can be more involved and may require future updates.
- Community: 1-5 minutes. A quick comment or sharing a useful tip goes a long way.
For more information on how to get involved, check out our comprehensive Kali Documentation.
Your contributions are extremely helpful to both the community and the Kali team. We hope to see your name in future work!