Parrot is published in several editions and image formats. They share the same Debian 13 base and the same software repositories; what changes is the software that is preinstalled and the kind of machine the image is meant for. This page helps you decide which Parrot Linux edition to download. For the official download links see the download guide.
Which Parrot Linux edition to download?
| Edition | Choose it if |
|---|---|
| Security Edition | You want a complete penetration-testing and forensics workstation with the security toolset preinstalled. |
| Home Edition | You want Parrot as a daily system for work, development and privacy, without the pentesting tools. |
| Hack The Box Edition | You mainly work on Hack The Box labs and want the Security Edition with HTB theming and defaults. |
| Minimal install (Architect / Core) | You want to start from a base system and add only the desktop and tools you choose. |
| Raspberry Pi images | You are installing on a 64-bit Raspberry Pi board. |
| Servers and containers | You need Parrot without a desktop: on a VPS, in Docker or in a lab. |
Security or Home edition?
The two editions are the same system. The only difference is the software that comes preinstalled: Home Edition ships without the security tools, Security Edition ships with them.
Because both use the same repositories, you can install Home Edition and add only the tools you actually need with sudo apt install, or pull in the whole set with the parrot-tools-full metapackage. See software management.
Image formats
- ISO. For installing on a real computer. Write it to a USB drive, boot it, try the system in live mode and install from there.
- Virtual machine images. Ready-made disks for VirtualBox, VMware, QEMU/KVM and UTM: import, set the resources and start. See Parrot on VirtualBox.
- Docker images. Run Parrot tools in containers on any host that supports Docker, without a full virtual machine. See Docker images for Parrot.
Before you write the image
- Check the system requirements.
- Verify the download against the signed hashes: hash and key verification.
- Create the boot media: how to create a Parrot USB drive.
- Follow the installation guide.