Trace Labs OSINT VM 2026.05: Rebuilt on Debian

We at the Trace Labs OSINT VM team are happy to announce the release of the Trace Labs OSINT VM 2026.05! This version migrates the entire underlying operating system from Kali Linux to Debian 13. This change reduces the overall image size and gives us tighter control over the final output by eliminating tools that don't support our mission.

The Trace Labs mission is to crowdsource OSINT to find missing people. We don't need exploit kits, packet analyzers, or port scanners to facilitate this mission because we rely on information that's publicly available. Removing these tools from our VM image by starting with a clean Debian base allows us to focus on delivering a high-quality tool specifically designed for OSINT collection rather than a hybrid OSINT/red team tool.

We've also included a lot of quality-of-life and documentation changes across this release cycle:

• New interactive system updater with notification alerts so you always know when updates are ready
• Updated Trace Labs Coach and Participant Guides are now bundled directly in the VM
• Brave Browser is now available as a supported browser option, including some useful extensions
• Addressed an issue that prevented sn0int from installing and the updater from running
• Documentation overhaul: new contributing guide, release process docs, and standardized PR and issue templates
• ShellCheck is now integrated into our CI pipeline to catch script issues earlier
• Reorganized documentation structure (TOOLING.md moved into `docs/`) and a new CODEOWNERS file
• Simplified branching strategy: the long-lived `development` branch has been retired in favor of `main` plus feature branches

‍

We also have a couple of new tools available:

• Obsidian is now installed by default and includes our templates on the desktop
• Owlculus has been added to `tlosint-tools.sh` and is included in the full build by default
• The Forensic OSINT browser extension is available for use in Brave Browser

‍

We're already busy planning for our next quarterly release! Some planned changes include:

• Support for GNOME in addition to XFCE as a downloadable option
• Enhanced build processes and distribution infrastructure (moving away from GDrive)
• First-class support for QubesOS (community OSINT qube)
• And more! (the "more" is tools, probably)

For download options on the 2026.05 release, we've included VirtualBox and VMware downloads that come bundled with the `tlosint-tools.sh` script to set up and customize your own VM. We also have the script available by itself if you'd prefer to install it on a Debian system you've already configured. Finally, we have a full build of the virtual machine with all tools installed for those of you who prefer a fully configured solution.

As always, we love to hear feedback. The best way to share it is to open an issue on GitHub, or chat with us directly in the #vm-user-feedback channel on Discord. I'm nearly always watching 👀

Thank you all for being a part of this great community, and we'll see you at the next quarterly release!

‍