Kodi

Last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · 805 words

Kodi is the best 10-foot interface ever put on a television, and it is not a media server. It plays files; it does not transcode, stream to your phone, or manage users. Accept that and the setup stops being fiddly: Kodi on the TV, Jellyfin or plain network shares behind it holding the library. People who try to make Kodi do the server's job end up with 3 TVs that each think a different episode is next.

Choose the box by what it decodes in hardware

Kodi's 512 MB minimum is real, but the number that matters is the decoder list. A Raspberry Pi 4 running LibreELEC handles 1080p H.264 and HEVC and manages 4K HEVC 10-bit, with no AV1. The Pi 5 decodes HEVC in hardware up to 4K60 and does H.264 in software, which is fine at 1080p. Neither touches AV1. A used Intel mini PC from the 11th generation onward decodes everything including AV1 through Quick Sync, idles around 7 to 10 W against the Pi's 3 to 5 W, and costs about the same as a Pi 5 with a case and storage. On an Android TV or a Shield, install Kodi from the Play Store and skip the hardware question entirely.

LibreELEC is the way to run Kodi on a Pi or mini PC: a purpose-built Linux image that boots straight into Kodi in about 10 seconds and has nothing else to maintain. Full desktop installs make sense only when the box also does other work.

Jellyfin for Kodi turns a player into a system

The official "Jellyfin for Kodi" add-on syncs your Jellyfin library into Kodi's local database, so browsing is instant, artwork comes from the server, and watched status flows both ways. Files direct-play over the network with no transcoding, which is the whole appeal: the server never sweats and the Pi never buffers. Add Jellyfin's Kodi repository (the repository.jellyfin.kodi.zip file from the project's download page) via Add-ons, install the add-on from it, sign in, and the first sync of a few thousand items takes a couple of minutes. JellyCon is the lighter sibling that streams on demand without the local sync; pick it for a box with a slow SD card.

The Jellyfin setup guide covers the server half, and the Jellyfin vs Plex comparison is where to go if you wonder why Plex is not in this picture: Plex ended its Kodi add-on years ago and wants you inside its own app.

No server at all: MariaDB makes the library shared

If your files simply sit on a NAS, Kodi can keep its library in MariaDB so every box shares one watched-list. Drop an advancedsettings.xml into each Kodi's userdata folder:

<advancedsettings>
  <videodatabase>
    <type>mysql</type>
    <host>192.168.1.10</host>
    <port>3306</port>
    <user>kodi</user>
    <pass>kodi</pass>
  </videodatabase>
</advancedsettings>

Two rules make this work: every Kodi must run the same major version, because each version uses its own database schema, and every box must see the media at the identical path, so use one NFS or SMB source URL everywhere. NFS beats SMB on LibreELEC for throughput and simplicity. This setup is older and cruder than Jellyfin's, but it has no server process to run at all.

Naming decides how good the library looks

Kodi's scrapers want Show Name/Season 01/Show Name S01E01.mkv and Film Title (2019)/Film Title (2019).mkv. Name files that way before the first scan and TMDB fills in artwork, plots and ratings for 95% of a normal collection; name them badly and you will spend evenings fixing mismatches one at a time. If Jellyfin is the source, do the naming on the server and Kodi inherits the result.

The add-on reputation, and how to stay out of it

The official repository is fine: YouTube, the Tvheadend PVR client for live TV, subtitle services, skins. The third-party repositories offering free streams of everything are what gave Kodi its reputation, and they break monthly, leak your IP, and turn a fast box into a slow one. Stick to the built-in repo and a Jellyfin or shares source, and the "fiddly" complaint mostly disappears.

What I'd do

Jellyfin on the always-on machine, LibreELEC on a Pi 5 or an old Intel mini PC behind each TV, Jellyfin for Kodi installed on every one, files named properly at the server. Phones and laptops use Jellyfin's own apps; the TVs get Kodi's interface, which is still nicer than anything a media server ships. Budget an evening for the first box and 20 minutes for each one after.