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Athena OS WSL Image

Installation

Athena OS WSL image is based on Athena Arch and uses pacman as package manager.

Make sure WSL is enabled in you system by following Microsoft documentation. You can install Athena OS WSL from Microsoft Store.

Click the icon above to explore Athena OS WSL in Microsoft Store App!

After installation is complete from Microsoft Store, when you open the app, you will be presented with a screen to create a user account. Go ahead with it and complete the account creation to finish installation.

WSL-Installed

Win-KeX

Win-KeX allows you to enjoy a GUI experience on Athena OS. It is based on Kali Linux Win-KeX adapted for systemd. You can work in three modes:

  • Window mode: start a Athena OS desktop in a dedicated window
  • Enhanced session mode: use RDP for a more feature rich experience
  • Seamless mode: share the Windows desktop between Windows and Athena XFCE application and menus

Window Mode

WSL Window Mode

It sets a VNC server and run a VNC client in order to get a fullscreen GUI environment of Athena OS directly on your Windows.

You can run KeX in Window Mode by running inside of Athena WSL:

Terminal window
kex --win -s

Kali docs has a well documented page about Win-Kex Window Mode. Visit Win-KeX Window Mode usage documentation for further information.

Enhanced Session Mode

WSL Enhanced Session Mode

It sets a RDP server and run a RDP client in order to get a fullscreen GUI environment of Athena OS directly on your Windows.

You can run KeX in Enhanced Session Mode by running inside of Athena WSL:

Terminal window
kex --esm --ip -s

Kali docs has a well documented page about Win-Kex Enhanced Session Mode. Visit Win-KeX Enhanced Session Mode usage documentation for further information.

Seamless Mode

WSL Enhanced Session Mode

It sets a VNC server and places in Windows desktop applications and elements of Athena OS XFCE environment.

You can run KeX in Seamless Mode by running inside of Athena WSL:

Terminal window
kex --sl -s

Kali docs has a well documented page about Win-Kex Seamless Mode. Visit Win-KeX Seamless Mode usage documentation for further information.

Getting Started

When you start Athena OS WSL, it is a best practice to use the fastest mirrors for your location and update all the packages. To do this, run:

Terminal window
mirrorxx
sudo rate-mirrors --concurrency 40 --allow-root --disable-comments --save /etc/pacman.d/chaotic-mirrorlist chaotic-aur
init-keys
sudo pacman -Syyu