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Kodi Integration Guide

Complete guide for integrating Youtarr with Kodi media center.

Table of Contents

Overview

Youtarr provides comprehensive Kodi support through:

  • NFO metadata files for each video
  • Channel poster artwork (poster.jpg)
  • Proper folder organization
  • Full metadata including descriptions, dates, and tags
  • Multi-source support for content organization

Library Setup

Step 1: Add Video Source

  1. Navigate to Videos → Files → Add videos...
  2. Browse to your Youtarr download directory
  3. Enter a name for this media source (e.g., "YouTube")

Step 2: Set Content Type

When prompted for content type:

  1. Select Movies as the content type
  2. Choose information provider:
    • Recommended: Local information only
    • Alternative: Local NFO files (if available as option)

Step 3: Configure Scraper Settings

Configure the following settings:

  • Movies are in separate folders that match the movie title: Yes
  • Scan recursively: Yes
  • Selected folder contains a single video: No
  • Exclude path from library updates: No

Metadata Configuration

NFO Support

Youtarr generates comprehensive NFO files containing:

  • Title: Video title with channel prefix
  • Plot: Full video description
  • Premiered: Original YouTube upload date
  • Studio: Channel name
  • Genre: YouTube categories
  • Tag: Video keywords (up to 10)
  • Runtime: Video duration in minutes
  • Uniqueid: YouTube video ID

Poster Artwork

Channel posters (poster.jpg) are:

  • Automatically generated for each channel
  • Displayed in folder view
  • Used as fallback artwork
  • Updated when channel avatar changes

Metadata Settings

In Kodi settings:

  1. Enable: Use folder names for lookups
  2. Disable: All online scrapers
  3. Enable: Prefer local information

Multi-Library Organization

Creating Multiple Sources

Organize content by type using subfolders:

  1. Add separate video sources for each subfolder:

    Source 1: "YouTube - Kids" → /path/to/youtube/__kids
Source 2: "YouTube - Music" → /path/to/youtube/__music
Source 3: "YouTube - General" → /path/to/youtube

  2. Configure each source independently:

    • Kids: Family-friendly settings
    • Music: Music visualization options
    • General: Standard video settings

Benefits of Multiple Sources

  • Organization: Easy navigation to specific content
  • Permissions: Different access levels per source
  • Views: Custom view modes per content type
  • Scanning: Faster updates for specific sources

File Structure

See docs/YOUTARR_DOWNLOADS_FOLDER_STRUCTURE.md

Troubleshooting

Videos Not Appearing

Problem: Videos don't show in library after scanning

Solutions:

  1. Verify content type is set to "Movies"
  2. Check that NFO files exist: 
    find /path/to/youtube -name "*.nfo" | head -5
  3. Clean and rescan library
  4. Check Kodi log for errors

Metadata Not Displaying

Problem: Videos appear but without descriptions/details

Solutions:

  1. Confirm NFO support is enabled
  2. Verify NFO file format: 
    cat "video.nfo" | head -20
  3. Check scraper is set to "Local information only"
  4. Refresh individual items

Poster Issues

Problem: Channel posters not showing

Solutions:

  1. Verify poster.jpg exists in channel folders
  2. Check image permissions and format
  3. Clear thumbnail cache and rescan
  4. Try different view mode

Special Characters

Problem: Titles with special characters display incorrectly

Solutions:

  1. Ensure Kodi language is set correctly
  2. Check NFO encoding (should be UTF-8)
  3. Verify filesystem supports Unicode
  4. Update Kodi to latest version

Duplicate Entries

Problem: Videos appear multiple times

Solutions:

  1. Check for duplicate source paths
  2. Clean library before rescanning
  3. Verify no symbolic links causing loops
  4. Remove and re-add source