Development builds

Isengard is the code name for the next version of Kodi, v15. These development builds, often called "pre-release" builds, are what will eventually lead to the final v15 version. In contrast to the stable builds (v14 Helix) you don't have to wait for the release in order to benefit from new features or fixes that made it into.

THESE BUILDS MAY BE LESS STABLE and are only for users that do not fear bugs or occasional crashes. They are mostly used for development. If you want a stable HTPC, this is not the place for you! They do help us in testing for the upcoming releases.

Unstable - Nightly builds
Nightly Builds are made on a daily basis and contain the most recent changes. They are also the most unstable of the development builds, until "feature freeze" where only bug fixes are made.

Make sure you always download and run the most recent builds.

ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR SETTINGS WHEN USING THESE BUILDS

http://mirrors.kodi.tv/nightlies/


 * Nightly builds for Android (ARM, most users)
 * Nightly builds for Android (x86)
 * Nightly builds for Windows


 * Nightly builds for Mac OS X
 * Nightly builds for Ubuntu
 * Nightly builds for iOS - iPad, iPhone, iPod touch

Semi-stable - Monthly, Beta, and Release candidate builds

 * Monthly
 * Monthly builds ( http://mirrors.kodi.tv/snapshots/ ) are semi-stable nightly snapshots of the current development version. They are a step between (often) unstable nightly builds and stable release builds, though they can sometimes still be very unstable depending on various factors.


 * Beta
 * When Kodi gets close to a stable release, public betas will be released. These are similar to nightlies and monthlies in that they still contain bugs, but are more stable and are encouraged to be tried out. At the point where Kodi reaches beta, most known bugs have been fixed, and developers are now looking for bugs they might not know about.


 * Release candidate
 * When Kodi beta gets to a point where it seems ready for a final release a "Release Candidate", or "RC", is released to flesh out any final bugs. Depending on any issues found, there may be multiple release candidates.


 * Final release
 * After release candidates comes a final stable build that becomes Kodi v15.

ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR SETTINGS WHEN USING THESE BUILDS



Other test builds
Keep an eye out here for special tests that developers want users to try out.

BluRay java menus
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=213352

DirectX 11 testing
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=218274

Linux - VAAPI scaler and deinterlacing improvements
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=165707

Media importing and library integration of UPnP
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=224794

Raspberry Pi specific testing
Raspberry Pi (both Pi 1 and Pi 2) specific tweaks for Kodi, using OpenELEC. Very awesome: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=231092

RetroPlayer
Kodi with RetroArch game emulator support baked in: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=173361

Steam OS repo testing
Test the new Kodi repo for easy install on Steam OS: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=197422

Windows audio DSP
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=226499

Special notes about development builds

 * Bugs
 * As development builds are bleeding edge code you might find a bug here and there. In order to get rid of this bugs, it's important that these will be reported: HOW-TO:Submit a proper bug report.


 * Feature requests
 * If you have a feature that you think should be added to appear in the next stable version of Kodi, you can make a feature request: HOW-TO:Submit an official feature request.