How to Set Up Kodi with Docker Compose: A Simplified Guide for Home Entertainment

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Kodi is a renowned open-source media center that allows users to seamlessly stream multimedia content such as videos, music, and podcasts from their local storage, network media, or the internet. It’s highly customizable with a wide range of add-ons, making it an ideal solution for creating a centralized home entertainment system. Running Kodi within Docker offers flexibility, portability, and ease of setup and teardown without affecting the host system’s configuration. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to deploying Kodi using Docker Compose, ensuring a smooth setup process for your home media center.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

Docker installed on your system.
Docker Compose installed on your system.
Basic understanding of Docker concepts and the YAML syntax used in Docker Compose files.

Step 1: Prepare Your Docker Environment

Create a directory dedicated to your Kodi setup. This directory will contain your Docker Compose file (docker-compose.yml) and any additional configuration files or directories for Kodi to run smoothly.

mkdir kodi-docker && cd kodi-docker

Step 2: Create a Docker Compose File

Create the docker-compose.yml file:

touch docker-compose.yml

Open this file in a text editor and insert the following configuration:

version: '3.8'
services:
  kodi:
    image: linuxserver/kodi-headless:latest
    container_name: kodi
    environment:
      - PUID=1000 # Replace with your user ID
      - PGID=1000 # Replace with your group ID
      - TZ=Europe/London # Replace with your timezone
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config/.kodi
      - /path/to/your/media:/media # Replace with the path to your media files
    ports:
      - "8080:8080" # Web interface
      - "9777:9777/udp" # ES (EventServer) port
    restart: unless-stopped

Configuration Explained:

image: Specifies the Docker image to use. linuxserver/kodi-headless is a popular choice for running a headless instance of Kodi that doesn’t require a display.
container_name: Sets a custom name for your Kodi container.
environment: Configures environment variables for the container. PUID and PGID ensure that file permissions match your host system. TZ sets the container’s timezone.
volumes: Maps volumes for Kodi’s configuration files and your media library. The first path is where Kodi will store its configuration on your host machine, and the second path should be replaced with the location of your media files.
ports: Exposes ports for Kodi’s web interface and EventServer. These allow you to interact with Kodi from web browsers and remote applications.
restart: Configures the container to restart automatically unless explicitly stopped.

Step 3: Launch Kodi

With your docker-compose.yml file ready, launch Kodi by running:

docker compose up -d

This command will download the necessary Docker image (if not already present) and start the Kodi container in detached mode.

Step 4: Access Kodi’s Web Interface

Once the container is up and running, you can access Kodi’s web interface by navigating to http://localhost:8080 from any web browser on your network. If everything is set up correctly, you should be greeted with Kodi’s web interface, where you can manage your media library, install add-ons, and configure Kodi settings.

Conclusion

Deploying Kodi with Docker Compose offers an efficient and streamlined method for setting up a versatile home media center. This setup simplifies the installation process and encapsulates Kodi within a container, making it easy to manage, update, or remove without impacting the host system. Whether you’re looking to organize your media library, stream content across devices, or explore the vast ecosystem of Kodi add-ons, running Kodi in Docker provides a solid foundation for your home entertainment needs. Enjoy your personalized media center with the flexibility and power of Docker and Kodi.

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Anastasios Antoniadis

Anastasios Antoniadis is the founder and editor-in-chief of BORDERPOLAR... He is a software engineer, blogger, and avid gamer covering tech, gaming, and coding guides for over 4 years. He is a 2014 graduate of the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the University of Athens, an M.Sc. holder in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. student in Program Analysis.