Another maybe straight-forward answer that I’m not thinking of, but how can I install Whonix w/ KVM on Kicksecure if the user and sysmaint is split and sysmaint can’t access user files?
I can’t access the Whonix images in user, can I?
The only way I can think of is uninstalling user-sysmaint-split. Can I reinstall it after?
You can download the Whonix images while logged into the sysmaint account using scurl-download. Write down the URLs to download in a text file, then reboot into sysmaint mode, open a root terminal, and read those URLs while in sysmaint mode. You can then run scurl-download commands to download them as account sysmaint (try not to do downloads with the root account), unpack them, and install them as documented. (It is a bit clunky since you have to do the installation procedure without documentation to refer to, or you have to refer to the documentation on a separate device. There are plans that may make it safe(r) to run a web browser in sysmaint mode, but those may not be implemented for a while.)
More info about scurl-download:
You will also have to add account user to the libvirt group so that you can manage the VMs when not booted into sysmaint mode. Note however that adding users to the libvirt group has security implications. See:
In the end, if you need to use KVM, and aren’t too concerned about your user account becoming compromised, removing user-sysmaint-split may be the easiest way to go.