Got a massive collection of local TV shows, movies, and music? Kodi is the powerful, open-source media center you've been missing to organize and stream it all seamlessly.
This expert guide—available as a free PDF download—walks you through everything. Download How to Set Up and Use Kodi: For Beginners Now. Share it freely with friends and family.
Or perhaps you're seeking legal video-on-demand and live TV options, with easy casting to screens around your home. From our years of testing media servers, your top choices are Plex or Kodi. We've covered Plex in depth: Your guide to Plex: The Awesome Media Center. Read More. For local libraries, Plex excels—but Kodi offers unmatched customization.
Keep reading to master Kodi installation, initial setup, repositories, and add-ons. As Kodi veterans, we've streamlined this for newcomers while stressing legal use.
Kodi is a versatile home theater app born in 2002 as Xbox Media Player, evolving into XBMC, then Kodi in 2014. Full XBMC setup guide: How to set up your XBMC Media Center. Read More.
Its open-source nature fuels a global developer community—you can even tweak the code yourself. Alone, Kodi is just an interface; the community delivers the magic through add-ons.
Skip Kodi if: No local media and no interest in repositories/add-ons. No content ships with Kodi. See 7 Essential Kodi Tips for New Users. Read more.
Customization takes effort—unlike plug-and-play Plex. Expect tweaking for peak performance.
Supports Windows, Mac, Linux, Android (phone/TV), iOS, Raspberry Pi.
Desktop/Android: Download from official site or stores. Prefer Play Store for easy updates over APK.
iOS: No App Store—requires Xcode build (iOS 10.9+, Kodi DEB, Xcode 7+, signer, Apple ID). Too advanced for beginners; detailed non-jailbreak guide: How to Install Kodi for iOS Without Jailbreaking. Read more.
Jailbreak via Cydia is simpler but risks warranty. Other platforms: Run installer—ready in minutes.
Download: Kodi
Launch reveals a clean interface—no content or wizard yet. Left sidebar: Movies, TV Shows, Music, Music Videos, Live TV, Radio, Add-ons, Pictures, Video Add-ons, Weather. Customize: Settings > Skin Settings > Main Menu Items—toggle off unused.
Keyboard trumps mouse for pros—100+ shortcuts. Key ones:
Note: Remap via keymap editor or userdata files.
Focus: Videos, music, photos.
Videos are Kodi's core. Follow this for metadata-rich library (artwork, synopses, cast via scrapers).
TV: /ShowName/Season XX/ (e.g., Friends/Season 05/). Episodes: sXXeYY or sXXeYY-YY.
Specials: /ShowName/Specials/.
Movies: Movies/[Film Name] (Year).mp4 or subfolder.
Messy files? Use FileBot ($19.99) for auto-renaming. Separate movies/TV folders.
Videos > Files > Add Videos.
Name source (e.g., Movies). Set content type (TMDB/TheTVDB).
Options: Scan frequency, naming. OK—imports (hours for large libs).
Structure: Artist/Album/Song. Tag via MusicBrainz (1.2M+ artists).
Download: MusicBrainz (free, cross-platform).
Music > Files > Add Music > Browse.
Name source. Scan to library (Yes). Then Music > Artists > Right-click > Lookup info for all (300/hr; rerun if throttled).
Pictures > Add Pictures > Browse.
Features: Slideshows, randomize, zoom.
Unlock VOD/live TV legally (e.g., BBC iPlayer). Guides: How to Watch Live TV with Kodi and NextPVR; Top 12 Kodi Addons for Live News. Read more.
Legal warning: Stick to legit sources. See Amazon Fire TV Stick and Kodi Legal Risks; What are Kodi Boxes?. Read more.
Repos house add-ons. Official repo pre-installed.
Legal add-ons: BBC iPlayer, Pluto TV, etc. Add-ons > Download.
Browse/install/launch.
Research URLs/ZIPs online. Enable Settings > System > Add-ons > Unknown sources.
Install: Add-ons > Box icon > Install from ZIP.
Add-ons > Box > Install from repo > [Repo] > Install.
Edit advancedsettings.xml:
<cache>
<buffermode>1</buffermode>
<memorysize>20971520</memorysize>
<readfactor>8</readfactor>
</cache>More: Fix Kodi Buffering: 3 Tips. Read more.
Update DirectX from Microsoft.
Adjust Audio Options > Sync playback to display.
Update Kodi/add-ons. Remove recent installs.
Mastered setup, media, add-ons? Uninstall risky repos: 13 Kodi Repos to Ditch. Read more.
Questions? Comment below—we're here to help.
Pro tip: Pair with cloud storage for private Netflix. Kodi + Dropbox/Google Drive/OneDrive. Read more. Use a VPN for best streaming.