All of the major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, tvOS, Apple TV, and FreeBSD, support Kodi, a free and open source media player. While Kodi is a very capable piece of software for playing local media files on your device, if you haven’t tried out the several extra addons to stream media content from a staggering array of sources from around the world, you’re only scratching the surface of its capabilities. Given that, let’s look at how to add both official and unofficial addons to Kodi to improve its functionality:
Note:As long as you’re using the most recent Kodi version, the procedure outlined below should work with Kodi 17 Krypton on desktop Windows as well. Use the navigation buttons on your remote to switch between options if Kodi is being used on your TV. Just like you would use Enter on your keyboard to choose an option and Backspace to return to the previous page, press OK to select an option and Back to navigate to the previous page.
How to Install Kodi Addons From The Official Kodi Repository
Because Kodi provides sophisticated users so many options and capabilities, setting it up can be intimidating for a beginner. However, once you’ve downloaded the application from the official website and installed it on your device, downloading addons from the Kodi repository is among the simplest things you can do. Just carry out the subsequent easy procedures to begin:
- On the main menu, just hover your mouse cursor over the Add-ons menu item, which will automatically be highlighted, and will bring up multiple different options as shown in the image below.
- Now just move your mouse over to Install from repository and click on that to get to the next set of options.
- The screen that you re now on, lists a number of genres that you can choose from, so you may choose addons related to music, videos, weather or anything else that may tickle your fancy. For the purpose of this article, I ll add a video addon to demo the whole process.
- Scroll through the list on the right either by using the scroll wheel on your mouse, or the Up/Down navigation keys on your keyboard until you find a channel you like. I like CollegeHumor a lot on YouTube,which is why I ve decided to install that on my Kodi.
- Once you ve found your preferred option, just click on that, and you ll be presented with the screen shown below.
- Now just click on the Install option and within a few seconds you ll get a message saying that you ve successfully installed the addon of your choice. You can always repeat the process to install any number of addons on your device. I have four official ones on my office computer right now, as you can see in the image below.
While it is simple and educational to install addons from the official Kodi repository, not all addons accessible on the platform can be found there. You’ll need to search elsewhere to download and install those addons that Kodi or the XBMC Foundation hasn’t yet endorsed for a variety of reasons. You can either accomplish this through third-party repositories or from one of the many ZIP files that are readily available online, but be careful what you’re dealing with as installing some of them might land you in legal trouble.
How To Install Kodi Addons From Third Party Repos
Similar to the procedure previously mentioned, downloading unapproved Kodi addons from third-party repositories involves two steps. Although the second step of that process is nearly identical to the one previously explained, you must install third-party repositories first, which can be a little perplexing for novice users. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to change your settings so that you can get new repos on your device:
CHANGE THE SYSTEM SETTINGS TO ALLOW INSTALLATION FROM UNKNOWN SOURCES AS THE FIRST STEP
- Go over to the main menu and the select the Settings option by clicking on the gear icon on the top-left panel.
- On the next page, click on System Settings as shown in the image below.
- Highlight Add-ons on the left-hand panel and make sure that the Unknown Sources toggle is set to Enabled . The option is turned off by default for privacy and security reasons, but needs to be turned on to install addons from outside the official repository.
Step 2: Installing Individual Add-Ons or Third-Party Repositories from ZIP Files
Now that Kodi is installed, you are ready to download and install unofficial addons. To achieve that, you can either add whole third-party repositories that offer dozens of addons to pick from, or if you prefer, add addons one at a time. Installing SuperRepo, a well-known repository with access to over 2,000 addons that put a wealth of free entertainment at your fingertips, is what we’ll accomplish for the sake of this essay. However, as a statutory warning, we must remind you that some of the addons you can discover in third-party repos may facilitate the unauthorised streaming of copyrighted video. As a result, you should exercise caution if you don’t want to run afoul of the law. In either case, protect yourself with a VPN connection before beginning to use third-party repos to avoid legal issues.
- To download SuperRepo (or any other third-party repository like Aeres, Noobs and Nerds or Mighty Duck) you ll need to go over to the Main Menu -> Settings as described in the earlier section. However, instead of selecting System Settings on the next page, click on File manager as shown in the image below.
- From the next screen, double-click on Add Source on the left.
- In the resultant pop-up window, double-click on <None> .
- Now you ll be asked to type in the exact path of the third-party repository you re trying to install. Since we re trying to install SuperRepo, we ll need to input the SuperRepo address, which is http://srp.nu . You can just copy and paste the URL (without the double quote) and click on OK .
- Now type in a name so that you can start using the repo. I chose to name it SuperRepo before clicking on OK .
That’s all; SuperRepo is now installed on your Kodi. You can carry out the same procedure to install virtually any third-party repository on your device. In the future, you can select to install addons from any repo you install on your system, including SuperRepo, the official Kodi repo, and others.
Installing addons from the repository is much different from simply having the repository on your PC. You must understand how to install addons from SuperRepo now that you have it installed on your computer. You’ll need to find your way through the compressed ZIP file format they’ll be in order to access them.
- To install SuperRepo addons, go back to the Main Menu and click on Addons on the left pane. You ll get to the following screen, on which, you ll need to click on the Addons icon on the top-left corner as shown in the image below.
- Double-click on Install from ZIP file .
- Choose SuperRepo (or whatever you chose to name your repository) from the popup.
- Click on your version of Kodi. As I mentioned earlier, I m running Kodi 17 Krypton, so that s exactly what I chose.
- On the resultant screen, click on All , and you ll be presented with an option to download the ZIP file that you ve been waiting for all this while.
- In my case, I downloaded a tiny 55.79KB ZIP file that has literally thousands of addons to enhance my entertainment options. And it s all free!
It only takes a few seconds to complete the installation, and once it is, a small notice popup will appear in the top-right corner of your Kodi window to let you know everything went according to plan. When you select the Install from repository option from Main Menu -> Addons, SuperRepo will now be visible. The process of installing addons from the recently installed repository will thereafter be essentially identical to how it was detailed in the very first section of this guide.
If you know the precise download URL for the ZIP file, you can easily install individual addons in the same way.
SEE ALSO: Raspberry Pi 3 Kodi Installation (Guide)
Install Kodi Addons From Both Official and Unofficial Sources
If you’re seeking to cut the cord, Kodi is one of the best things that have ever occurred to entertainment and is something you should certainly try out. Although Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other subscription-based services provide a sizable selection of very entertaining shows, Kodi’s offering is difficult to match from any angle. especially when you take into account the cost. You can be sure that the party will continue for the popular open source media-streaming platform and its users for some time to come even though some of the older addons and repositories are currently dying off. Instead, we are already beginning to see forked versions of these addons and repositories popping up on a daily basis. In any case, try out some of the greatest Kodi add-ons now that you’re a bit of an expert and let us know how your experiments go; we enjoy hearing from you.