All disk images labeled 64-bit or 32-bit refer to images suitable for CPUs, found in most modern
desktop and laptop computers. If you are downloading for use on a fairly modern machine, it most
likely contains a 64-bit processor. If you are unsure, rest assured that all 64-bit processors can run
32-bit instructions. You can always download and run the 32-bit image. The reverse is not true,
however. Refer to the sidebar for more detailed information.
If you are planning to install Kali on an ARM-based device, you must refer to
Offensive Security’s
download page
1
for the list of available devices.
Is My CPU 64-bit or
32-bit?
Under Microsoft Windows, you can find this information by running the
System Infor-
mation
application (found in the Accessories > System Tools folder). On the System
Summary screen, you can inspect the System Type field: it will contain ”x64-based
PC” for a 64-bit CPU or “x86-based PC” for a 32-bit CPU.
Under OS X/macOS, there is no standard application showing this information but
you can still infer it from the output of the
uname -m
command run on the terminal.
It will return
x86_64
on a system with a 64-bit kernel (which can only run on a 64-bit
CPU), systems with a 32-bit kernel, it will return
i386
or something similar (
i486
,
i586
, or
i686
), and on systems with an arm64 kernel, it will return
arm64
. Any 32-
bit kernel can run on a 64-bit CPU, but since Apple controls the hardware and the
software, it is unlikely you will find this configuration.
Under Linux, you can inspect the flags field in the
/proc/cpuinfo
virtual file. If it
contains the
lm
attribute, then your CPU is a 64-bit; otherwise, it is a 32-bit. The
following command line will tell you what kind of CPU you have:
$
grep -qP ’^flags\s*:.*\blm\b’ /proc/cpuinfo && echo 64-bit
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