Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/V0rt3xS0urc3/RedTeam-Portfolio/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Kali Portable is configured entirely through Docker — no config file on the host is needed. Behavior is driven by two mechanisms: environment variables baked into the image at build time (via ENV statements in the Dockerfile), and volume mounts declared in run-kali.sh at container launch time. Understanding both lets you customize paths, share data with the host, and tune GPU or network capabilities without rebuilding the image.
Environment Variables
These variables are set inside the container by the Dockerfile and are available to every tool and script running within it. You can override any of them at runtime with docker run -e VAR=value.
| Variable | Default Value | Description |
|---|
DEBIAN_FRONTEND | noninteractive | Suppresses interactive apt prompts during package installation |
HASHCAT_RULES_PATH | /usr/share/hashcat/rules | Default directory for Hashcat mutation rules (best64.rule, d3ad0ne.rule, etc.) |
WORDLISTS_PATH | /usr/share/wordlists | Default directory for wordlists; rockyou.txt and gobuster symlinks live here |
SECLISTS_PATH | /usr/share/seclists | Full SecLists collection installation path |
HASHCAT_RULES_PATH and WORDLISTS_PATH are used by the built-in helper scripts (auto-crack-wpa2.sh) to resolve paths automatically. If you mount a custom wordlists directory, override WORDLISTS_PATH to match.
Volume Mounts
run-kali.sh mounts four directories into the container every time it launches. The host path is relative to the directory from which you run the script (${PWD}).
| Host Path | Container Path | Access | Purpose |
|---|
./data | /root/pentest | rw | Persistent pentest data — everything you save here survives container restarts |
./scripts | /root/pentest/scripts | ro | Custom user scripts dropped in from the host; read-only inside the container |
/usr/share/wordlists | /host-wordlists | ro | Host system wordlists (if Kali or Parrot is the host OS); read-only pass-through |
/tmp/.X11-unix | /tmp/.X11-unix | rw | X11 socket for GUI application forwarding (Burp Suite, Wireshark) |
The ./data mount is your single source of truth for persistent work. Files written anywhere else inside the container (e.g., /tmp, /opt) are lost when the container exits because --rm is always set.
Persistent Directory Structure
The ./data/ folder on your host maps to /root/pentest/ inside the container. The Dockerfile pre-creates all subdirectories at image build time; run-kali.sh also creates most of them on the host at launch (excluding vpn/, which is only created inside the container by the image). After the first run, your ./data/ folder on the host will contain:
data/
├── scripts/ # Custom pentesting scripts (also mounted read-only from ./scripts/)
├── wordlists/ # Downloaded wordlists — rockyou.txt, custom lists
├── loot/ # Cracked hashes, credentials, and findings
├── reports/ # Pentest reports and notes
├── tools/ # Additional tools not included in the image
├── handshakes/ # Captured WPA2 handshakes (.pcapng, .hc22000)
├── pcaps/ # Other packet captures
└── vpn/ # OpenVPN configuration files (.ovpn) for THM/HTB
Place your TryHackMe or HackTheBox .ovpn files in data/vpn/ before launching the container. Inside the container, connect with openvpn --config /root/pentest/vpn/your_file.ovpn --dev tun.
Docker Run Flags Reference
run-kali.sh assembles the docker run command dynamically. The following flags are always present (normal mode) or conditionally added (wpa2 mode):
| Flag | Mode | Purpose |
|---|
--rm | All | Remove the container automatically on exit — keeps the Docker environment clean |
-it | All | Allocate an interactive pseudo-TTY; required for the shell and tools like msfconsole |
--network host | All | Share the host network stack; needed for VPN tunnels, raw packet capture, and pivoting |
--cap-add NET_RAW | All | Grant raw socket access for tools like tcpdump, nmap, and hcxdumptool |
--cap-add NET_ADMIN | All | Grant network administration capabilities for interface manipulation |
--gpus all | All (auto-detected) | Pass through NVIDIA GPU to the container for Hashcat CUDA acceleration |
--privileged | wpa2 only | Full kernel privilege required by hcxdumptool for USB WiFi adapter access |
The --privileged flag is only applied when you launch with ./run-kali.sh wpa2. Never use privileged mode for general pentesting — it grants the container unrestricted access to the host kernel.
Updating the Image
The image is built from kalilinux/kali-rolling:latest. To pull the latest Kali packages and rebuild:
cd kali-portable/docker
docker build --pull --no-cache -t kali-pentest-full .
--pull forces Docker to re-fetch kali-rolling:latest even if a local copy exists. --no-cache ensures every RUN layer is re-executed so package versions are current. The build takes approximately 30–45 minutes depending on your internet connection.