📂 Files

Dockerfile + Distrobox commands (single block)

FROM docker.io/kalilinux/kali-rolling

ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive TZ=Etc/UTC

# install essentials: zsh sudo tzdata chrony util-linux iproute2
RUN apt update && apt install -y \
    zsh sudo tzdata chrony util-linux iproute2 \
  && useradd -m -s /usr/bin/zsh kali \
  && echo "kali:kali" | chpasswd \
  && usermod -aG sudo kali \
  && apt clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

USER kali
WORKDIR /home/kali
ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/bin/zsh","-l"]

🛠️ Build Image

Run from the folder with the Dockerfile

docker build -t kali-zsh-vm:distrobox .

🚀 Create Distrobox (privileged with host TZ)

This creates a Distrobox named kali from your built image. It uses privileged mode and sets timezone to Asia/Kathmandu.

distrobox create \
  --hostname podman \
  --name kali \
  --image kali-zsh-vm:distrobox \
  --additional-flags "--privileged --env TZ=Asia/Kathmandu" \
  --nvidia \
  -I

🧭 Enter the Box

Enter as kali user with a login shell so dotfiles load

distrobox enter kali -- sudo su kali -s /usr/bin/zsh