====== Installing Kodi 20.1 on GNU/Linux Debian 12 ======

This is an updated recipe to install Kodi as a media center on a Debian machine. The service will start automatically at bootstrap and will run under an unprivileged user. A login manager (e.g. LightDM) and a window system (e.g. X11 or Wayland) are not required.

  * **kodi 20.1 Nexus**
  * **Linux kernel 6.1.0**

===== Installing without X, Wayland, LightDM or whatever =====

During the Debian install, the **tasksel** will ask you what environment do you want to install. Deselect all the Debian desktop environments and enable only the SSH server.

Debian packages to install:

  * **kodi** - Depends on **kodi-bin** and **kodi-data**.
  * **kodi-inputstream-adaptive** - Required e.g. by the YouTube addon.
  * **kodi-peripheral-joystick** - Requied if you want to control Kodi e.g. with a SNES controller.
  * **kodi-repository-kodi** - The official Kodi repository addon.
  * **kodi-visualization-spectrum**
  * **acpi-support** - Required to support e.g. power button actions.


===== Starting Kodi as unprivileged user =====

It is advisable to run the Kodi media player under an unprivileged user, it is common practice to create the user **kodi**:

<code>
adduser kodi
</code>

Add the user to the standard Debian groups, to allow using the hardware (mainly the **video** and the **input** groups):

<file>
cdrom:x:24:kodi
floppy:x:25:kodi
audio:x:29:kodi
dip:x:30:kodi
video:x:44:kodi
plugdev:x:46:kodi
users:x:100:kodi
input:x:102:kodi
netdev:x:106:kodi
</file>

You can start Kodi from a console virtual terminal just executing **kodi-standalone**; the script will launch the program without a window manager and the windowing method will be the **Generic Buffer Manager** (GBM), because we did not install X11 nor Wayland.

===== Power off System and Reboot options in the Exit menu =====

There is an **[[..:hardware:raspberrypi_nas_kodi#kodi_power_options|obsolete recipe]]** that suggests to install **Kodi as a systemd service** under the control of the kodi user. Using **polkit** and **acpi-support** you should be able also to enable the **Power off System** and **Reboot** options in the Kodi exit menu. This seems no longer possibile, because the **systemd-logind.service** imposes that you have a full terminal session to do things like poweroff the system.

This means that if you run Kodi as a systemd service under the kodi user, you cannot give enough permissions to the process to let the Power off System and Reboot options appear in the **Exit menu** of Kodi.

So the recommended way to run Kodi as a startup service and as unprivileged user, is to enable the **aoutlogin** of the kodi user on a **virtual terminal** of the console and create a **.profile** script that will launch the **kodi-standalone** program.

===== Start at bootstrap =====

**/etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/autologin.conf**

<file>
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --autologin kodi --noclear %I $TERM
</file>

The first ''ExecStart='' line will clear the eventually existing definition inherited by the ''getty@.service'' service. The second ''ExecStart=-'' (with the dash) instructs systemd to execute the program **agetty** and threat any error as non fatal. The **%%%I%%** placeholder is replaced by the terminal name (tty1 in our example). Finally the environment variable ''$TERM'' is passed to agetty, hopely it is initailized by the system to the correct value.

**/home/kodi/.profile**

<code bash>
# Start the Kodi media center, only if text console on VT1.
if [ -z "$DISPLAY" -a "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
    while true; do
        kodi-standalone
        echo "Sleeping 15 seconds before restarting Kodi; press Ctrl-C to interrupt..."
        sleep 15
    done
fi
</code>

===== Installing Kodi 21 Omega on Debian 12 Bookworm =====

I decided to upgrade to **Kodi 21 Omega** on my home media center, based on **Debian 12 Bookworm**. I For this purpose I took advantage of the **Deb-multimedia** repository, which packages Kodi 21 ad **bookworm-backports**. So the upgrade was:

  * From: **Kodi 20.1** (Nexus) di **Debian 12 Bookworm**
  * To: **Kodi 21.2** (Omega) di **deb-multimedia bookworm-backports**

I added the Deb-multimedia repositories into a file named **/etc/apt/sources.list.d/dmo.sources**:

<file>
Types: deb
URIs: https://www.deb-multimedia.org
Suites: bookworm
Components: main non-free
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/deb-multimedia-keyring.pgp
Enabled: yes

Types: deb
URIs: https://www.deb-multimedia.org
Suites: bookworm-backports
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/deb-multimedia-keyring.pgp
Enabled: yes
</file>

It is required to install the deb-multimedia keyring to authenticate the packages:

<code>
wget https://www.deb-multimedia.org/pool/main/d/deb-multimedia-keyring/deb-multimedia-keyring_2024.9.1_all.deb
dpkg -i deb-multimedia-keyring_2024.9.1_all.deb
</code>

<code>
apt update
apt upgrade
</code>

Then I installed the new packages:

<code>
apt -t bookworm-backports install \
    kodi \
    kodi-data \
    kodi-eventclients-common \
    kodi-inputstream-adaptive \
    kodi-inputstream-ffmpegdirect \
    kodi-inputstream-rtmp \
    kodi-peripheral-joystick

apt --fix-broken install
</code>

The **kodi-data** package did not install cleanly because it needs to overwrite a file belonging to another package (due different packaging schemas between official Debian and Deb-multimedia). So I downloaded two packages and installed them with a force option:

<code>
apt download kodi/bookworm-backports
apt download kodi-data/bookworm-backports
dpkg -i --force-overwrite kodi*.deb
</code>

I installed the **kodi-inputstream-ffmpegdirect** package because it seems to be required to play streams that use MPEG-DASH or similar formats, especially those that are not DRM-protected. The Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP is used also by YouTube.

Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) is a proprietary network protocol developed by Adobe Inc. to transmit audio, video and  
other data over the Internet. YouTube does not uses RTMP.

===== Web resources =====

  * **[[https://fostips.com/install-kodi-debian-bookworm/|How to Install The Latest Kodi 21.2 in Debian 12 Bookworm]]**