File sharing: Difference between revisions

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One of the most convenient functions of XBMC is its ability to stream media from any networked PC (personal-computer). In this section, we look at some of the methods for configuring remote computers or storage devices to provide file access to XBMC.
To learn how to access these remote shares in XBMC, please look at XBMC [[Media Sources]].
== Windows Sharing Alternatives ==
* [[Windows File Sharing (SMB/SAMBA/CIFS)]] - This is the most capable XBMC method of sharing media. It is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders or entire drives, (including CD/DVD-ROM drives). It also allows you to secure shares with passwords and restrict access to users or groups, which makes it ideal for use on a public network. Because it utilizes a service that is already packaged with Windows, it does not require you to install any additional software on your Windows PC.
** You may, however, have to uninstall the Windows Live ID Sign in Assistant - http://www.avforums.com/forums/xbox/647944-xbmc-lock-issue-setting-up-smb.html
* [[UPnP Sharing]] - XBMC also supports UPnP shares (short for "Universal Plug and Play"). This is an extremely easy, user-friendly way to stream your media over your network. Like SMB/SAMBA/CIFS it is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders or entire drives. Note that you must be using an XBMC build from 10th of July 2006 or newer in order to use this functionality.
* [[iTunes (DAAP)]] - XBMC has the ability to stream audio files that you set up to share through iTunes. This method is extremely easy to set up and configure, although it is limited to audio files. It will not allow you to share videos, photos or other types of media. It also does not allow you to share entire folders or drives. iTunes version 7.0 has implemented changes to the DAAP protocol, namely the use of a new 'Client-DAAP-Validation' header hash when connecting to an iTunes 7.0 server. This does not affect 3rd party DAAP servers, however all current DAAP clients ( including official iTunes <=6.0 ) will fail to connect to an iTunes 7.0 server, receiving a '403 Forbidden' HTTP error.
* [[Media Source FTP]]
* SSHFS for Windows using commercial software like ExpanDrive


== Macintosh (Apple Mac OS X) Sharing Alternatives ==
One of the most convenient functions of Kodi is its ability to stream media from any networked PC (personal-computer). On this page is a list of file sharing related pages/topics on the Kodi wiki.
* [[Macintosh File Sharing using SMB (Windows File Sharing)|Windows Sharing (SMB) on Mac OS X]] - This is incorporated in Mac OS X (OS 10.2 and later), and is probably the most flexible of all of the options for sharing media between your computer and XBMC. (Earlier versions of Mac OS can serve SMB using [http://www.samba.org SAMBA]). It is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders (or entire drives - usually configured through the 3rd-party software SharePoints). It also allows for authentication by your Mac OS X username and password, making it good for use on public networks.
* [[Macintosh Network Filesystem (NFS)|Network Filesystem (NFS) sharing on Mac OS X]] - This is incorporated in Mac OS X (OS 10.5 and later). It is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders. It uses the UID of the user running XBMC for authentication. So no username and password is needed. For XBMC specific [[NFS]] server stetup read the [[NFS]] article. For a basic how to on setting up a NFS Server see this articles:
** [http://www.macuser.de/forum/f113/10-5-1-a-327813/ for 10.5 (leopard)]
** [http://seanmcgrath.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/setup-nfs-on-mac-os-x-10-6/ for 10.6 (snow leopard)]
** [http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/nfsmanager.html NFS Manager Configuration tool]
* [[UPnP Sharing]] - XBMC also supports UPnP shares (short for "Universal Plug and Play"). This is an extremely easy, user-friendly way to stream your media over your network. Like SMB/SAMBA/CIFS it is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders or entire drives. Note that you must be using an XBMC build from 10th of July 2006 or newer in order to use this functionality.
* [[iTunes (DAAP)]] - XBMC has the ability to stream audio files that you set up to share through Apple iTunes, and its database. This method is extremely easy to set up and configure, (although it is limited to audio files so it will not allow you to share videos, photos or other types of media, nor does not allow you to share entire folders or drives). Currently, XBMC is unable to browse libraries shared through iTunes 7.
* [[Media Source FTP]]
* SSHFS for Mac using commercial software like ExpanDrive


== Linux/UNIX/BSD/POSIX Sharing Alternatives ==
* [[Linux File Sharing (using samba)]] - Also, see [http://www.samba.org www.samba.org] and read/follow the online-manual for your specific Linux-distribution.
* [[Linux Network Filesystem (NFS)|Network Filesystem (NFS) sharing on Linux]] - This is incorporated in the linux kernel (current 2.6.x kernels and later). It is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders. It uses the UID of the user running XBMC for authentication. So no username and password is needed. For XBMC specific [[NFS]] server stetup read the [[NFS]] article. For a basic how to on setting up a NFS Server see this article:
** [http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/NFS for Ubuntu]
* [[UPnP Sharing]] - XBMC also supports UPnP shares (short for "Universal Plug and Play"). This is an extremely easy, user-friendly way to stream your media over your network. Like SMB/SAMBA/CIFS it is capable of streaming all types of media and gives the option of sharing individual folders or entire drives. Note that you must be using an XBMC build from 10th of July 2006 or newer in order to use this functionality.
* [[Media Source FTP]]
* [[SSHFS|SSH Filesystem]] - SSHFS can be used to mount content available over SSH to act as a part of the local filesystem.


== Advanced configuration of shares/sources (editing sources.xml) ==
== Supported file sharing protocols ==
:For advanced configuration instructions about shares/bookmarks, (by editing sources.xml), see the [[Adding Media Sources]] and [[Types of Media Sources]] articles.


[[Category:File Sharing|*]]
=== FTP ===
{{Main|FTP}}
{{#lst:FTP|intro}}
 
 
=== HTTP ===
{{Main|HTTP}}
{{#lst:HTTP|intro}}
 
 
=== NFS ===
{{Main|NFS}}
{{#lst:NFS|intro}}
 
 
=== RSS media source ===
{{Main|RSS media source}}
{{#lst:RSS media source|intro}}
 
 
=== SFTP ===
{{Main|SFTP}}
{{#lst:SFTP|intro}}
 
 
=== SMB ===
{{Main|SMB}}
{{#lst:SMB|intro}}
 
 
=== UPnP ===
{{Main|UPnP}}
{{#lst:UPnP|intro}}
 
 
=== WebDAV ===
No content
 
 
 
== Other file sharing topics ==
 
=== Avahi Zeroconf ===
{{Main|Avahi Zeroconf}}
{{#lst:Avahi Zeroconf|intro}}
 
 
=== Auto wake on lan ===
{{Main|Wake_on_lan}}
{{#lst:Wake_on_lan|intro}}
 
 
== Library sharing ==
{{main|Syncing and sharing}}
{{list2|MySQL}}
 
 
 
 
{{Isengard updated}}
 
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:File sharing|*]]
[[Category:Index]]

Latest revision as of 23:30, 29 January 2021

Home icon grey.png   ▶ Video library
▶ Music library
▶ File sharing

One of the most convenient functions of Kodi is its ability to stream media from any networked PC (personal-computer). On this page is a list of file sharing related pages/topics on the Kodi wiki.


Supported file sharing protocols

FTP

If you have media-files on a computer and you want to share them to a Kodi device, an FTP server is one option you can use. By default Kodi (namely XBMCbuntu) does not have any FTP server software installed, that does not mean you cannot add a FTP server to the installation and use it. Here we defer to vsftpd as a example.


HTTP

Kodi contains an HTTP-client with which you can add sources in all sections in the Kodi interface.


NFS

Network File System, or NFS, is a way to share folders over a network, and was added to XBMC in v11 (Eden). The main benefits of using NFS instead of SMB are its low protocol overhead (which allows it to send data across a network more quickly) and its use of simple UID's to authenticate users rather than username/password combinations. This part bears repeating, as many people are confused on this point and try to create usernames and passwords to get Kodi to work with NFS.

Stop hand.png NFS does not use usernames or passwords as logins; it uses a UNIX-based "userID" (UID) alone.


RSS media source

Kodi supports RSS feeds as video and audio sources. Adding an RSS source in Kodi will make the individual RSS entries browsable in the Kodi interface, along with thumbnails and other metadata if available. RSS feeds cannot be scanned into the video or music library, so they are only accessible from the files view..


SFTP

Kodi ships with SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) (not to be confused with FTP) client support for accessing file shares.


SMB

Windows File Sharing, aka Server Message Block (SMB), is the standard client-server protocol used by Windows to share resources over a local network. SMB is available on all Windows computers and can be easily setup by the home user. SMB can also be accessed by other operating systems, which makes SMB the most commonly used network protocol to access content on a NAS or other remote hardware.


UPnP

Kodi can be used as a UPnP Server that will stream its library contents to other players on the network, or it can be used as a UPnP Client that can receive music and video from a UPnP Server on the network.


WebDAV

No content


Other file sharing topics

Avahi Zeroconf


Auto wake on lan

Starting in v13, Kodi can automatically issue a 'wake-on-lan' packet to MySQL or a file sharing server right before it needs to connect to it.


Library sharing

MySQL
If you have more than one Kodi device on your local network then you might want to synchronize them by sharing the Kodi library databases via the MySQL protocol. Using shared library databases allows you to store information for either your video or music library in a central database, so that multiple devices can access the same information at the same time.