is there something like a terminal VM?

What i mean is that you know how you can create a VM in VM ware, for example, i was wondering is there an easy way to create a VM without all the big iso files and just make a system based on command line with no UI stuff just navigating with cd and stuff you getting me? so because i don’t really feel like you do much with the UI in Linux and mostly use the terminal now idk how well this would work with windows but I’m primarily interested in setting up this “tool” in Linux so if you got any suggestions of programs or something just drop them below will you thx

You could use a container solution like Docker. If you want a Windows 10 solution, you can try WSL.

Type your comment> @LiterallyNaked said:

You could use a container solution like Docker. If you want a Windows 10 solution, you can try WSL.

Docker overview | Docker Docs
Install WSL | Microsoft Learn

Sincerely appreciate that solution. Will try that as an option

If you want a simple linux command line vm that you can run in windows, might be worth looking at levinux? Have not played with it yet, but it looks like it might meet your needs or be possible to modify to meet your needs. The download seems to be tinycore linux running on qemu so you should be able to run it on the desktop in Windows / linux //mac.

With qemu, you could swap tinycore for the mini iso version of kali, then install just what you needed leaving off the desktop gui stuff.

If you’re using Ubuntu this might help