Transform your GNOME desktop on Kali Linux with modular appearance customization, an interactive terminal wizard, and compatibility-aware GNOME extension management.
git clone https://github.com/realmadede/macKali.git && cd macKali && ./install.sh --interactive
Modular Architecture
macKali decouples visual styling from system packages, giving you complete macOS elegance without modifying Kali penetration testing tools or core services.
Experience seamless Light and Dark mode transitions with bundled 4K Day/Night abstract wallpapers, genuine WhiteSur vector cursor sets, left-aligned window traffic lights, and Libadwaita color scheme integration.
Transform Dash to Dock into a centered, bottom-floating dock with intelligent autohide, 48px icons, and running indicators—while strictly preserving all your pinned Kali security tools and favorite application launchers.
Evaluates extensions dynamically against your running GNOME version without hardcoded maximums. Conservative handling ensures untested or unknown versions are never forced.
The dedicated terminal UI adapts automatically to whiptail, dialog, or clean ANSI text mode. It performs system detection, explains compatibility per extension, offers granular component toggles, and requires explicit user confirmation before applying any changes.
Visual Showcase
Explore the authentic high-resolution wallpapers, cursor themes, and layout presets packaged directly within the macKali project.
Pixel-crisp macOS cursor themes rendered from scalable SVGs. Includes light and dark variants, smooth busy spinners, text selectors, and precision crosshairs designed for high-resolution displays.
Installed to: ~/.local/share/icons/WhiteSur-cursors
Structured Tiers
macKali defines three structured tiers tailored to performance, daily workflow, and visual nostalgia. Presets are loaded dynamically from repository manifests.
Clean, lightweight macOS layout with minimal resource footprint for everyday efficiency.
./install.sh --preset minimal
The quintessential macOS desktop experience with frosted glass blur and smooth animations.
./install.sh --preset balanced
The complete effects suite with classic Compiz physics and experimental 3D transitions.
./install.sh --preset full
Dynamic Compatibility
macKali does not treat GNOME 50 as a hard ceiling. It evaluates each component independently and adheres to strict safety boundaries.
| Extension / Component | Classification | Tested Baseline | Safety Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Components (Wallpapers, Cursors, GTK) | Verified Compatible | GNOME 45 – Future Releases | Universal user-space assets; never blocked by GNOME version checks. |
| Dash to Dock (Bottom macOS dock) | Verified Compatible | Tested: GNOME 50.3 • Dynamic Forward Check | Preserves favorite apps; reverts cleanly via --dock-revert. |
| Blur My Shell (Frosted glass panel/overview) | Verified Compatible | Tested: GNOME 50.3 • Dynamic Forward Check | Lightweight pipeline; preserves terminal contrast and readability. |
| Compiz Magic Lamp (Genie minimize animation) | Verified Compatible | Tested: GNOME 50.3 • Dynamic Forward Check | Opt-in only; skipped automatically if compatibility is unverified. |
| Compiz Windows Effect (Wobbly physics) | Verified Compatible | Tested: GNOME 50.3 • Dynamic Forward Check | Opt-in only; independent disable toggle provided. |
| Desktop Cube (3D workspace transitions) | Experimental Opt-In | Tested: GNOME 50.3 • Dynamic Forward Check | Explicit user consent required; never enabled by default. |
Installation
Choose Automatic (Guided Terminal Wizard) or Manual (Step-by-Step Package Control). Completely rootless, non-destructive, and reversible anytime.
Runs with a single command. The wizard automatically detects your environment, checks for new releases on GitHub, creates a timestamped safety backup, and guides you through preset choices in ~15 to 30 seconds:
Official verified standalone packages and SHA-256 checksum manifests are now available on GitHub Releases (v1.0.0). You can install either via the quick Git clone interactive wizard (Method A) or by downloading the cryptographically verified standalone release archive (Method B):
./install.sh
./scripts/install.sh --dock-only
./install.sh --check-update
Want to inspect everything macKali does before touching your desktop? Run a 100% read-only simulation—or test live in a secondary Linux user account or VM snapshot without affecting your primary workspace:
./install.sh --dry-run --full
./scripts/appearance.sh --preview
./tests/run-tests.sh
sudo), you can also test a live install inside a secondary Linux user account or VM snapshot while keeping your main account untouched.
The wizard detects your Linux distribution, GNOME version, and Wayland/X11 session.
Select Minimal, Balanced, or Full, and toggle individual visual components.
Inspect the compatibility report and create a timestamped configuration backup.
Cancel cleanly at any time, or restore anytime with single-command rollback.
./scripts/restore.sh or switch to TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F3).
Toolkit Integration & Troubleshooting
While GTK 4, Libadwaita, and GTK 3 applications display circular traffic lights automatically, browsers, Electron suites, and Qt apps require one-time toggles to adopt native system window controls.
Chromium-based browsers draw custom titlebars by default with their own window buttons. To enable native macOS traffic lights:
+ button) and check “Use system title bar and borders”.Firefox can be switched from internal CSD tab drawing to full native GTK titlebars in three clicks:
Modern code editors render an Electron custom titlebar by default. Switching to native window styling restores system controls:
window.titleBarStyle in the search bar.custom to native. Restart or reload the editor window to enjoy authentic window controls.Electron applications offer native window options or Wayland ozone platform flags for clean window integration:
--enable-features=UseOzonePlatform --ozone-platform=wayland for native compositor integration.Containerized applications are sandboxed from reading host desktop configurations by default. Grant theming permissions with:
flatpak override --user --filesystem=xdg-config/gtk-4.0:ro to grant GTK and traffic lights stylesheet access.sudo snap connect <app>:gtk-3-themes whitesur-gtk-theme.Qt applications leverage the Kvantum engine for macOS widgets while aligning buttons to the top-left:
./scripts/providers/qt-provider.sh --install to style buttons, tabs, tables, and dialogs.close,minimize,maximize:).QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb <app> to route titlebars through Mutter on Xwayland.Questions & Answers
Everything you need to know about safety, rolling updates, security tools, and rollback mechanisms.
/etc. All changes reside inside your home directory (~/.local/share, ~/.config) and user dconf keys.
./install.sh --check or ./install.sh --interactive --dry-run to inspect compatibility and every planned action without modifying a single file or setting; (2) Temporary Sandbox: Run ./tests/run-tests.sh to verify all 69 automated checks in an isolated /tmp directory; (3) Secondary Linux User Account: Because macKali is 100% rootless and user-scoped, testing it in a separate Linux user account leaves your primary account completely untouched; or (4) Virtual Machine Snapshot: Take a snapshot in VirtualBox/VMware, test the full preset, and revert in one click.
./install.sh --recheck re-evaluates extension compatibility against the new GNOME version and official GNOME Extensions metadata, gracefully skipping unsupported extensions without breaking your themes or wallpapers.
sudo to install cursors, wallpapers, themes, or extensions. If optional utilities like curl or unzip are missing, macKali detects them and explains how to install them rather than escalating privileges automatically.
~/.config, ~/.local/share), and standard GSettings/dconf schemas. Because it avoids distro-locked binaries, it works cleanly across Debian (12 Bookworm, 13 Trixie, Testing, Sid), Ubuntu (22.04, 24.04, 24.10), Fedora Workstation (39 to 42+), Arch Linux / Manjaro, and Pop!_OS. On desktop environments: GNOME Shell (42 to 50+) offers the full experience; XFCE is supported via built-in xfwm4 fallback hooks; and KDE/Cinnamon receive cursor, wallpaper, and GTK application theming.
--preset minimal|balanced|full, --mode dark|light, --extensions, --wallpaper) let you opt in to the centered floating bottom dock, dual 4K day/night wallpapers, 3D window effects (Magic Lamp, Wobbly Windows), and standalone modular providers.
qt-provider.sh) configures the Kvantum (QStyle) engine, which styles all interior controls (menus, buttons, tabs, tables, packet lists) in WhiteSur macOS style. On GNOME Wayland, however, the window manager does not provide server-side window frames; Qt 6 uses its internal Wayland decoration client with hardcoded monochrome icons (_, □, ✗). macKali guarantees the buttons are on the top-left in macOS order (close,minimize,maximize:). If server-side decorations are desired, launching via Xwayland (QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb wireshark) routes window framing to Mutter.
~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, shell aliases, environment paths, custom scripts, or security tool configurations.
~/.config/mackali/backups/. You can restore your previous appearance anytime with ./scripts/restore.sh, or run ./scripts/uninstall.sh --purge to remove all macKali assets and configurations cleanly without affecting your personal files.
./install.sh --check-update at any time. When Kali Linux upgrades GNOME, running ./install.sh --recheck re-evaluates extension compatibility dynamically without reinstalling your wallpapers or themes.
sudo apt install -y virtualbox-guest-x11). The recommended preset for virtual machines is Balanced (or Minimal for 2GB–4GB RAM VMs). In addition, if you run the VirtualBox manager application inside macKali, the Qt Provider (qt-provider.sh) themes its interface and dialogs with the WhiteSur macOS look.
--no-update-check for air-gapped environments). It sets user configuration files (~/.config/gtk-4.0/gtk.css, ~/.config/environment.d/10-mackali-qt.conf) and applies standard GSettings D-Bus window layouts. It never touches shell configs (~/.zshrc), Metasploit, Wireshark packet engines, proxies, or network interfaces.
Documentation
Read complete technical documentation, architecture blueprints, and recovery instructions directly in the repository.
Detailed walkthrough for the interactive wizard, non-interactive CLI flags, and manual configuration.
Decoupled component architecture, 4-tier compatibility engine, and safety design principles.
Manifest schema, GNOME Shell verification logs, and upstream EGO API query mechanics.
How to tune dock sizes, custom wallpapers, light/dark behavior, and keyboard shortcuts.
Resolutions for Wayland vs X11 differences, graphics acceleration, and extension conflicts.
Zero-trace purge commands, dconf restore details, and emergency virtual console (TTY) recovery.