How to install Kodi media player in Ubuntu?

Kodi which was formally known as XBMC is a free and open-source media player developed by the XBMC Foundation. You can play local audio video files as well as from the internet. The modified version of Kodi along with JeOS used as a software framework in a variety of devices including smart TV, setup boxes, digital signage, etc. You can enhance the functionality by using available addons.

In this article, I will discuss how to install and use Kodi media player in Ubuntu.

Features of Kodi media player

The key features of Kodi media player are –

Supports a variety of audio and video formats
Live TV with EPG and PVR/DVR frontend
You can enjoy additional features using addons and plugins
You can customize the player using skins and themes
It is cross-platform

How to install Kodi in Ubuntu

There are multiple ways to install Kodi in a Ubuntu system. It is available in the Ubuntu repository so you can directly install it using the apt package manager.

Installing Kodi from Ubuntu repository

First, run the following command to update the package repository on your system.

sudo apt update

Next, use the following command to install Kodi –

sudo apt install kodi

Press y and then enter when it asks for your confirmation.

Installing Kodi using its PPA repository

First, add the Kodi PPA repository using the given command –

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

Refresh the package repository by using –

sudo apt update

Finally, use the given command to install the Kodi media player on your system –

sudo apt install kodi -y

Once completed you can verify the installation using the given command in your terminal –

kodi --version

This will display the version of the Kodi media player which is installed on your system.

Start Kodi media player in Ubuntu

After installing Kodi successfully on your system you can launch it from the activities dashboard. Search Kodi and click on its icon when it appears as you can see in the image below.