This guide will show you to dual-boot macOS/OS X with Kali Linux using rEFInd boot manager. If you wish to replace macOS/OS X completely, please refer to our single boot Kali on Mac hardware guide.īy using using the 3rd party boot manager rEFInd (a fork of rEFIt) we are able to increase our control when booting over macOS/OS X OS’s default option. This makes it perfect for dual booting, as a keyboard shortcut does not need to be used every time the device is powered on to boot Kali Linux.

rEFInd also has the advantage of helping older hardware to boot from USB devices that would not be able to otherwise (e.g. Once Kali Linux has been installed, rEFInd can be customized to be hidden during boot or removed completely. In our example, we will be installing Kali Linux on a Mac Mini (Mid 2011) using macOS High Sierra (10.13). In-built wireless may not work, as firmware-b43-installer is not included in the default images.When using the graphical installer, you may notice the tracepad does not function (but will after Kali Linux is installed).You may be able to increase the chances of booting (especially older hardware and non-EFI) from a USB drive by having rEFInd pre-installed.Different results when trying to boot by using either a CD/DVD or a USB drive.Depending on the Mac hardware model & year, you may find.Currently running macOS/OS X 10.7 or higher (later versions are more preferred) as this means the hardware is Intel (and not a PowerPC CPU).A single disk to install to (rather than a dedicated disk per operating system).When downloading Kali Linux, pick the live image, rather than the installer option.You have read our single boot Kali Linux install guide, as this has the same Installation Prerequisites (System requirements & setup assumptions).This guide will make the following assumptions: The same procedure has also been tested on a Mac Book Air (Early 2014) using macOS Catalina (10.15). We need to use a different image from the single boot Kali Linux install guide, as we need the live image.

Kali linux on macos