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How to Add Media Sources to Kodi

By Novak Bozovic / September 3, 2020

Importing your locally stored files to Kodi is done via media sources. These are files on your device (or an external device) containing videos, music, and photos. Therefore, if you’re wondering how to add media sources to Kodi, this means you want to know how to create your very own (locally stored) library. And that’s precisely what we’ll teach you.

The only requirement you need to meet is to have media files on your device. We’ll soon tell you how to organize those files to make adding new media sources to Kodi as easily as possible.

Related Content: What is Kodi – Everything You Need to Know / Beginner’s Guide to Kodi

Let’s dive into this process. Here’s how to add media sources to Kodi.

Step #1: Organize Your Locally Stored Files!

Before we go any deeper, it’s essential to understand the basics of this process. In other words, it’s crucial to know how Kodi sees your videos, music, and photos.

Step #2: Add Media Sources to Kodi

We need to instruct Kodi where to look for media files. Here’s how to ‘connect’ your media sources to Kodi.

1. Launch Kodi and select ‘Videos’ from the main menu.

Accessing Files Sources in Kodi

2. Take a look at the top of the screen and click on ‘Files.’

3. Next, you need to click on ‘Add Videos,’ and a pop-up window should appear.

Kodi Adding New Movies to Library

4. Click on ‘Browse’ (on the right side) and navigate to your locally stored media source. Once done, click on ‘OK’ to confirm the file path.

Browsing Media Sources in Kodi

5. You also need to name your new source. Go with any name (something you’ll quickly recognize later on), and click ‘OK’ to dismiss the pop-up.

Step #3: Set a Suitable ‘Content Type’

So far, you’ve connected your media source with Kodi. However, we now need to tell Kodi what kinds of files you’re adding - so that Kodi can categorize those files correctly.

1. At this moment, you should see the ‘Set Content’ pop-up on your screen. In case you don’t see it, right-click on the newly added source and pick ‘Set Content.’

Set Content Popup in Kodi

2. Select the ‘This Directory Contains’ field, and you’ll get to pick from several categories. Based on what you’re trying to add, pick either ‘movies,’ ‘music videos,’ or ‘TV shows.’

3. Based on your selection (movies, music videos, or TV shows), this is where Kodi will display one of three possible branches of settings. As we want to make this guide as helpful as possible, keep on reading based on what you’ve selected at this point.

If You’ve Selected ‘Movies’…

Movie Scrapping in Kodi

Here, we have two main groups of settings. You need to select an information provider (and adjust additional settings), and then you can pick content scanning options.

If You’ve Selected ‘TV Shows’…

TV Show Scrapping in Kodi

Very similar to the previously described content category, you’ll see two groups of settings. So, here’s what you need to know about those.

If You’ve Selected ‘Music Videos’…

Music Scrapping in Kodi

Once you pick an information provider, you’ll get to fine-tune your music-related collected by tweaking the following settings.

Step #4: Add Files to Your Kodi Library

Finally, we need to confirm all the settings we’ve tweaked. This step will force Kodi to start indexing the newly added media source.

1. Once you fine-tune everything in the ‘Set Content’ pop-up, click on ‘OK.’

Forcing Kodi to Refresh Library Files

2. The pop-up will now close, and a new one will open – asking to refresh your source.

3. You can click on ‘OK,’ and Kodi will begin to import your media files. Depending on the size of your library, this might take some time.

Kodi Adding New Movies to Library

So, that would be all on how to add media sources to Kodi. If you have any questions, make sure to post your comment below. And of course, do not forget to share this article online. Thanks – and enjoy using your new Kodi library!



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