The primary source for both source code and pre-compiled binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows is the refresh-bio/KMC GitHub Releases page .
If you encountered a "kmc.rar" file on a third-party or unofficial site, exercise caution. Unofficial RAR archives are frequently used to deliver malware through spear-phishing or "cracked" software sites. Always verify the file's MD5 checksum against the one provided on the official download page to ensure the software has not been tampered with.
KMC (K-Mer Counter) is a disk-based utility designed to count sequences of consecutive symbols (k-mers) in genomic reads. It is widely used for:
Fast multiple sequence alignment and repeat detection.
Building de Bruijn graphs for new genome reconstructions.
Official releases are typically distributed as .tar.gz or .zip files rather than .rar . You can find the latest versions (currently up to v3.2.4) through the following official channels:
KMC is a command-line tool. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where you extracted the files.
Accurate profiling and large-scale genome searching. How to Download and Install KMC