General

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Everything you need to know about OSMC.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most common questions asked by new OSMC users. What is the difference between OSMC and Kodi? Kodi is a media center application and OSMC is the operating system that runs Kodi and brings it to your device. OSMC is not a fork of Kodi but rather a Linux distribution that ships Kodi as the main application. This is a similar concept to Kodi running on top of Windows or Android. OSMC is based on Debian (a flavour of GNU/Linux) and has been heavily optimised to provide the bes…

Supported Devices

OSMC is a cross-platform media center and runs on a multitude of devices. If there is significant demand for a device and we can support it, we will do so. Here’s what we currently run on: Vero Vero is OSMC’s flagship device. It is the best way to enjoy OSMC and offers the full power of OSMC, whether you’re new to OSMC or not. If you’re someone who takes their TV seriously, and you want the very best of OSMC, check out Vero here. Raspberry Pi OSMC runs on all models of Raspberry Pi. We recom…

Finding out what version of OSMC you are on

Finding out your Kodi version You can find out what version of Kodi you are running under the System Info section. This is usually available via the Settings menu, but can vary if you are using a different skin. You can also find out your Kodi version via the command line: grep Kodi .kodi/temp/kodi.log | head -3 Finding out your OSMC version You can find out what version of OSMC you are running via ‘My OSMC’. This can be found on the home menu if you are using the OSMC skin or the Settings …

Keeping your OSMC system up to date

How often is OSMC updated? OSMC receives a monthly update. This update brings bug fixes, stability improvements, performance improvements and new features. There are times when we need to deliver an update more urgently. In recent times we have seen some critical vulnerabilities, such as Heartbleed and Shellshock that needed addressing immediately. Kodi updates are made available as soon as they have been tested by the OSMC team to ensure that they deliver an experience to the standard you woul…

Using the App Store

App Store The App Store allows OSMC users to install common applications without any complicated set up. These applications are optimised for OSMC to deliver the best performance and stability. What’s more, OSMC will manage updates for all of your applications installed via the App Store via its update system. Accessing the App Store The App Store can be accessed via My OSMC. If you are using the default OSMC skin, then My OSMC will be accessible via your Home screen. If you are using Confluenc…

Using AirPlay

AirPlay allows you to stream audio and video from a compatible iOS device to OSMC. OSMC ships with AirPlay enabled by default, however it can be enabled or disabled at any time. Simply go to Settings -> Network in Kodi. AirPlay can be used by selecting the triangular play icon in the corner of a compatible iOS application. Supported iOS versions The following iOS versions are supported: iOS 6 iOS 7 iOS 8 If you are using iOS 8 or later, you should enable ‘iOS 8 AirPlay support’ in Settings ->…

Configuring a remote

Supported remotes OSMC supports a wide range of remotes out of the box. OSMC also supports CEC (Consumer Electronic Control) which allows you to control OSMC using your TV remote – this requires a compatible TV and a CEC compliant HDMI cable (HDMI 1.3 and above). OSMC produces and sells an official remote which is designed for OSMC. It works on all devices which can run OSMC, as well as Windows, Linux and Mac OS X systems running Kodi. Configuring remote profiles A wide variety of remote pro…

Setting up your network connection

Before installing OSMC As part of the OSMC installer you can specify networking options and as part of the first boot the system will attempt to configure them To do this on the page after you have selected where you want OSMC installed you can select wired connection or wireless connection. By default both wired and wireless connection will default to DHCP configuration. To configure a static IP address select the configure network manually and then the next page will ask you for IP Addre…

Backing up Settings

Importance of backups It’s important to keep your OSMC system backed up. This will make it easy to upgrade your OSMC device, move settings to another system and ensure peace of mind Backing up via My OSMC OSMC offers its own backup utility to help you make backups. It can be accessed via My OSMC. If you are using the default OSMC skin, then My OSMC will be accessible via your Home screen. If you are using Confluence then it will be available via the Settings sub-menu. For other skins, My OSMC c…

Usernames and passwords

The default username and password for SSH, (S)FTP and SMB in OSMC is: username: osmc password: osmc Changing the default password To change the default password for the osmc user, run the following command: passwd Enabling root access By default, OSMC ships with the root user disabled, but allows privilege escalation with the sudo command. If you would like to enable the root username, run the following command: sudo passwd root

Accessing the command line

You can get to the console in two ways: A local console login, using a connected keyboard Logging in over the network via SSH using an SSH client on a Windows, Mac or Linux system Default Username and Password username = osmc password = osmc It is highly recommended that users use the command passwd osmc to change this to a strong password of their choosing. Exposing OSMC to the internet by port forwarding without changing the default password will result in your system being compromised …

Working with OSMC via the command line

OSMC is based on Debian which allows us to deliver a very powerful and expansive system. While OSMC can be fully managed and configured via a graphical interface, we have preserved access to the unfettered level of configuration that a full Linux system promises, giving you complete access and control over your device. For newcomers, this can be quite daunting – however with some patience and guidance, you can pick up how to use the command line. If you have any suggestions or questions, let us…

Installing packages via APT

Overview OSMC is based on Debian. Debian uses a packaging system called APT (Advanced Packaging Tool) to retrieve and install packages. OSMC includes all upstream Debian packages, giving you access to over 40,000 packages to install quickly and easily. APT can be invoked via the command line. Updating your sources APT needs a way to keep track of the packages that are available for installation, as well as any packages on your device that can be upgraded. This is kept track of via a ‘sources’…

Starting and stopping Kodi

Starting Kodi Kodi should start by default with OSMC. If it does not, this is likely a sign of a bigger problem with your system and you should look at obtaining some logs instead to find out what’s wrong. It can be started via the command line as follows: sudo systemctl start mediacenter Stopping Kodi Kodi can be stopped via the command line as follows: sudo systemctl stop mediacenter Preventing Kodi from starting on boot You may wish to run OSMC in a ‘headless’ mode. You can disable Kodi …

How to submit a useful support request

Overview Sometimes things can go wrong. By collating and submitting a detailed bug report OSMC developers and the wider community can resolve the issue more quickly. Where should you report these issues? Unless it has been ascertained that the issue a confirmed bug in OSMC itself, GitHub should be avoided. We ask kindly that users initially use our support forum until it is indeed verified that the issue is caused by a bug in OSMC. Please clearly explain the problem In your report, please let …

Keeping OSMC secure

If you are using OSMC in a home environment, your system will be secure in its default configuration. We have written some guidelines to help explain how to keep OSMC secure and which precautions should be undertaken if you customise your OSMC environment. Port forwarding If you are port forwarding services to access them remotely (outside of your home), we recommend that you change any default passwords. We also recommend that you keep your system up to date to ensure that you have the latest…

Connecting A Bluetooth Device

Bluetooth configuration Bluetooth is part of the Networking module, accessed via My OSMC by selecting this option [image] Note: Vero 4k and some Raspberry Pis have bluetooth hardware built in. Otherwise, the Bluetooth tab will only appear if you are using a compatible Bluetooth dongle. OSMC manufactures and sells a compatible dongle, available for purchase here. The Bluetooth page of the Networking module allows you to connect and disconnect devices. You can enable or disable the Bluetooth…

Exploring Kodi file locations

Where is the .kodi directory ? OSMC has the .kodi directory in the following location: /home/osmc/.kodi/ Why can’t I find the .kodi directory ? In Linux, any directory or file that has a period at the beginning of the name, will be hidden from normal view. Kodi also, will normally hide these files from view. To enable viewing of these files from within Kodi, you need to enable: Settings->Media->General->Show hidden files and directories To list hidden files and directories via command l…

Running scripts on startup and shutdown

Overview As you come to customise OSMC and tweak it to your liking, you may start writing your own scripts or installing additional software. You may wish to run a script or start a program when OSMC starts, and run a script just before OSMC shuts down. This article expects you to be familiar with accessing the command line in OSMC. If you’re not sure how to do this, you can learn more here. Running a script on startup The rc.local approach Most Linux distributions have a file called rc.local.…

Transferring and editing files

From time to time you may need to transfer files between your OSMC device and your computer to edit, add or change files that are already there. Some reasons to do this are: To edit /etc/fstab to add NAS mounts to your OSMC install To edit /etc/apt/sources.list to allow you to use test versions of OSMC and install other software not found in the default Debian repositories To transfer backups to and from your device For basic file transfer you don’t really need much background knowledge but i…

File sharing with a NAS, media server, windows share or other device

Whether you already have a media sharing system on your network or are setting one up for the first time the options can be bewildering. To stream high-quality video you will want the fastest possible connections. Unfortunately, the easiest systems to set up are also the least efficient so some effort is needed to get the best performance. Here are some recommendations. This assumes you have already set up the wired or wireless LAN connections between the server where you store your media an…

Mounting network shares with autofs (alternative to fstab)

This how-to describes how to mount your network shares via autofs. Autofs should be as performant as fstab based mounting but has the advantage that your shares are mounted on demand which also should give you more reliability in case of network interuptions. First install the autofs package sudo apt-get install autofs If you already have mounted your shares already via fstab comment out that line in fstab and reboot. For this how-to we are going to use a directory for each server, if you wa…

Audio hardware and software configuration

This wiki article should cover all your general questions about how to connect up your OSMC device to get the best audio possible. There’s also a section with explanations of some of Kodi’s audio settings as well as information about the audio capabilities of our OSMC devices. Supported devices OSMC supports a range of devices: All Raspberry Pis and our own Vero series (Vero 1, Vero 2, Vero 4K, Vero 4K + and Vero V). Veros have an HDMI port for video and audio, a 3.5mm port for analogue au…

OSMC Remote - Long Press Keymap Guide

Introduction This guide is intended to serve as a reference for users who want to modify the button behavior of their OSMC remote controls. This is not intended as a general guide on key mapping in Kodi, or a thread for general keymap questions. If you need to familiarize yourself with keymaps, or what things you can do with them your first step should be Kodi’s wiki on the subject. OSMC Legacy Behaviour The first two generations of the OSMC remote using OSMC prior to the March 2020 update …

The OSMC Skin

This wiki article should cover most of your general questions about what the OSMC Skin features, how it works and how you can customize it. Design principles of the OSMC Skin Our main objective is to deliver a minimalistic, sleek and simple skin that is easy to understand for beginners as well as successful at delivering lots of toggles to those interested in customizing their OSMC experience to their taste and habits. Having said that, we always try to keep the balance between easily under…