Kodi v18 (Leia) FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions for upgrading to Kodi v18 (codename Leia) from a previous version. Includes how to enable some of the new features and functions, where some controls got moved to, etc.

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What is Kodi? What is Leia?

Kodi is the new name for XBMC media center. "Leia" is the codename for version 18 of Kodi, just as "Krypton" was the codename for Kodi v17 and "Jarvis" was the codename for Kodi v16. You will often see "v18" and "Leia" used interchangeably in the community.

Changelog

See: Kodi v18 (Leia) changelog. Skinners should also read the respective sticky posts in the Skin Development Forum for full changelog on changes to the skinning engine.

What are some of the noticeable new features?

In addition to many "under the hood" improvements, some of the more visible additions to Kodi v18 (Leia) include:
  • Added a "Games" window and RetroPlayer player core supporting game clients addons as well as emulator cores via libretro API
  • Major GUI (Graphical User Interface) refactoring of PVR and Live TV in Kodi
    • Other than previous PVR addons having been updated there are also new PVR addons for Teleboy PVR Client, Zattoo PVR Client, and Sledovanitv.cz PVR Client
  • Major refactoring of Kodi's core handling and GUI management of binary addons (Add-ons Framework, API, and Manager)
    • Implemented a Python 3 interpreter (plus enforcing Python 2 & 3 compatibility in Leia addon repository)[1]
    • Implemented online binary addon repository from which Kodi can now automatically installs/updates binary addon[2][3]
    • Improved and updated "InputStream" (input stream) client addons for common network streaming protocols and popular services
    • Added support for Python (script) based web scrapers for Kodi[4]
  • Added support to render directly on DRM/KMS without the need for any display manager (implementation uses GBM to create the required surfaces)[5]
  • Improved support to compiling Kodi for Microsoft's UWP (Universal Windows Platform) APIs
  • Added support for speech-to-text in Kodi OSD keyboard on Android TV (triggered by voice button on remote)
  • Added support for BD-J / Blu-ray Disc Java menu support (requires system Java runtime environment)

New system requirements

Android

Kodi v17 and later requires that Android devices run at least Android 5.0 or later.
If you want to auto-update Kodi using Google Play then keep in mind that Google Play won't update Kodi unless Android 5 or higher is installed.

Upgrading

Stop hand.png Always backup your settings before upgrading, just incase!


How do I upgrade from v17 to v18?

  • ANDROID USERS: Don't uninstall an earlier version of Kodi/XBMC before installing the new version. Uninstalling first would remove all of your settings. Just install the new version and it will replace the older version and retain your settings.
  • In most cases you can just install Kodi v18 over Kodi v17. All your settings and library are saved and will continue to work in the new version. See Installing for specific install instructions.
  • Most basic (video, audio, etc) add-ons that worked in Kodi v17 should still work in v18.
  • If you have any issues (settings not being copied over, blank screens, etc) when updating from versions older than v14: remove the new version, install the older version of Kodi/XBMC from http://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/ , and then upgrade to the next version. In other words, if you have v14, first install v15 and run Kodi, Quit Kodi and then install v16 and run Kodi. Quit Kodi again and install v17, then run Kodi. Quit Kodi again and install v18, then run Kodi.

MySQL

As long as your MySQL server is set up to allow XBMC/Kodi to make new databases for the upgrade itself (see MySQL/Upgrading) then you don't need to do anything for upgrading a MySQL set up for Kodi. Even if you use "XBMC" in your advancedsettings.xml file, you can leave this the same and everything will still work.

Where can I get more help?

The Kodi support forums: http://forum.kodi.tv, and/or the #kodi IRC chat channel on irc.freenode.org.

Notes