MySQL/Setting up Kodi

NOTICE: Since it seems that using "single file" export/import might be having issues with the image URLs for thumbnails in XBMC v12, this page of the MySQL guide has been recently simplified to say just use multiple file export as a safe method to both update the library to use network paths and to import the library for MySQL.

Each device that will be sharing a library will need an advancedsetting.xml file.

Make files accessible over the network

If you haven't already done so, you will need to make your media files accessible to all your XBMC devices by sharing them on the network through file sharing. XBMC itself or the MySQL server will not share the actual files for this set up. Do not use mapped drives on the OS-level, as XBMC will see those as local drives. Most operating systems have built-in methods for sharing files to the network, or a NAS device can be used.

Most of XBMC's file sharing protocols will work except for UPnP, which does not work with the Library feature.

See Category:File Sharing for some of the file sharing methods that work with XBMC.

Note: If you use passwords on your network shares then you will need to copy (or sync) your passwords.xml file from the userdata folder to each XBMC device.

Exporting/importing and advancedsettings

advancedsettings.xml:

<advancedsettings> <videodatabase> <type>mysql</type> <host>***.***.***.***</host> <port>3306</port> <user>xbmc</user> <pass>xbmc</pass> </videodatabase> <musicdatabase> <type>mysql</type> <host>***.***.***.***</host> <port>3306</port> <user>xbmc</user> <pass>xbmc</pass> </musicdatabase> <videolibrary> <importwatchedstate>true</importwatchedstate> </videolibrary> </advancedsettings> See also this note about using the <name> tag: #Name tag <importwatchedstate> is only needed when you're importing a previous library from exported files.

1. Open XBMC on the computer that has the library you want to share (If you have not created a library yet you can skip this step)
   1. Export the Video Library by doing the following:
      1. Go to System/Settings -> Video -> Library and select Export library
      2. Select Multiple files
   2. Export the Music Library by doing the following:
      1. Go to System/Settings -> Music -> Library and select Export library
      2. Select Multiple files
2. Create (or add to, if you already have one) an advancedsettings.xml file:
   1. Open up a plain text editor
   2. Copy and paste the text from the right-hand box into a new text document
   3. Replace the two instances of ***.***.***.*** with local network IP address of your MySQL server. If you installed MySQL on a Windows machine, do not use its NetBIOS name, as not all devices may be able to resolve them.
   4. Save the file as advancedsettings.xml
3. Copy this advancedsettings.xml file you just created to the userdata folder of every XBMC install you want to sync with:

Operative system	Path
Windows XP:	Documents and Settings\<your_user_name>\Application Data\XBMC\userdata\advancedsettings.xml
Vista/Windows 7:	Users\<your_user_name>\AppData\Roaming\XBMC\userdata\advancedsettings.xml
Mac OS X:	/Users/<your_user_name>/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
iOS:	/private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
Linux:	$HOME/.xbmc/userdata/advancedsettings.xml

4. Open any of your XBMC installs and re-import your library data (If you have not created a library yet you can skip this step)

4.1 Import the Video Library by doing the following: Add the networked video source to XBMC and scan it in as if you were setting up your library for the first time (see adding videos to the library). However, XBMC will read the exported nfo files and images and use those instead of rebuilding the library from scratch. The end result will be an identical library, and your watched status for videos will be preserved.

Note: You must add a network source using XBMC's standard formatting. For example, use "smb://BOBPC/Videos/" and not "\\BOBPC\Videos\".

Also, do not use the OS to mount network shares as local drives. Finally, not all devices support NetBIOS names. To make sure this works on all devices, use a static ip address as in "smb://***.***.***.***/Videos/"

4.2 Import the Music Library by doing the following: Same idea as videos, but using the steps for adding music to the library. You'll end up with an identical library.

5. You can now add files and update the library from any of your XBMC devices and the library for all of them will stay in sync.

Advanced settings

See Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmusicdatabase.3E.2F.3Cvideodatabase.3E for various technical details about the advancedsettings.xml tags.

Name tag

An additional <name> tag can be used for both the video and music entries in advancedsettings.xml if you want to change the name of the database.

The name tag is not required (XBMC will use a default "MyVideos" and "MyMusic" DB name) and it is recommended to not include it if you only need one library, as some users have reported problems/bugs when it was included.

The tag is only needed if you want to have separate databases on the same MySQL server, like for more than one shared library. For example, if you want to create multiple profiles, each with their own shared library, so that each XBMC device can "log-into" that library.