# Kodi

> Kodi is a free, open-source app you can self-host in the media servers category. Multimedia/Entertainment center, formerly known as XBMC. Runs on Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS and Windows. It has 21,286 GitHub stars, is released under the GPL-2.0 license. It is a self-hosted alternative to Plex and Netflix.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc |
| Website | https://kodi.tv/ |
| GitHub stars | 21,286 |
| Forks | 6,613 |
| Open issues | 265 |
| License | GPL-2.0 |
| License type | Open source |
| Language | C++ |
| Docker image | No |
| Platforms | C++, deb |
| Categories | Media Servers |
| Commits, last 12 months | 3,658 |
| Last commit | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Latest release | 21.3-Omega (Oct 31, 2025) |
| Created | Jan 3, 2011 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained |
| Archived | No |

Topics: kodi, home-theater, media-center, multimedia, c-plus-plus, python, xml, android, linux, ios

## Install

Kodi installs natively; follow the README at https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc.

Need it installed for you? [appsgit installation help](https://appsgit.com/services/install): a fixed quote by email, single app installs from $79.

## Kodi replaces

- [Plex alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/plex): A media server and streaming app for personal movie, TV and music libraries.
- [Netflix alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/netflix): A subscription streaming service for movies and TV series.

## Similar apps in Media Servers

- [Jellyfin](https://appsgit.com/apps/jellyfin): Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and… (57,817 stars, GPL-2.0, C#, Docker)
- [SRS](https://appsgit.com/apps/srs): A simple, high efficiency and real-time video server, supports RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP-FLV and SRT. (29,319 stars, MIT, C++, Docker)
- [Invidious](https://appsgit.com/apps/invidious): Alternative YouTube front-end. (25,131 stars, AGPL-3.0, Crystal, Docker)
- [MediaMTX](https://appsgit.com/apps/mediamtx): Ready-to-use, zero-dependency real-time media server and proxy to publish, read, record, playback and route video/audio streams over SRT, WebRTC, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS, RTP. (20,345 stars, MIT, Go, Docker)
- [PeerTube](https://appsgit.com/apps/peertube): Decentralized video streaming platform using P2P (BitTorrent) directly in the web browser. (15,345 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript)
- [Stash](https://appsgit.com/apps/stash): A web-based library organizer and player for your adult media stash, with auto-tagging and metadata scraping support. (13,058 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker)
- [Owncast](https://appsgit.com/apps/owncast): Decentralized single-user live video streaming and chat server for running your own live streams similar in style to the large mainstream options. (11,575 stars, MIT, Go)
- [Tube Archivist](https://appsgit.com/apps/tube-archivist): Organize, search, and enjoy your YouTube collection. Subscribe, download, and track viewed content with metadata indexing and a user-friendly interface. (8,499 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker)

## Articles

- [Jellyfin vs Emby: open-source vs freemium media server](https://appsgit.com/blog/jellyfin-vs-emby): Jellyfin vs Emby in 2026: shared history, Emby Premiere pricing, hardware transcoding, apps, licences and privacy compared, with a clear pick for your server.

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Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/apps/kodi
Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly.
Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.