How to Install Kodi on Fedora Linux

Kodi turns your Fedora system into a full-featured media center for playing videos, music, podcasts, and streaming content from local drives, network shares, or the internet. Whether you want to organize a movie library, stream live TV through IPTV add-ons, or build a dedicated home theater PC, Kodi provides an interface optimized for big-screen navigation with remotes and controllers.

Below, you will install Kodi on Fedora using either RPM Fusion or Flatpak, configure FirewallD for remote access, and launch the application. By the end, your system will be ready for media playback, library management, and add-on configuration.

Choose Your Kodi Installation Method for Fedora

Before diving into the installation steps, consider which method suits your workflow. Fedora offers two primary ways to install Kodi, each with different trade-offs for updates and system integration.

Method	Channel	Version	Updates	Best For
RPM Fusion	RPM Fusion Free	Latest stable	Automatic via dnf upgrade	Users who prefer native packages integrated with system libraries
Flatpak	Flathub	Latest stable	Automatic via flatpak update	Users who want sandboxed installation with cross-distro portability

For most users, the RPM Fusion method is recommended because it integrates directly with Fedora’s package management and receives updates alongside system packages. The Flatpak method provides sandboxing and is useful if you prefer isolated application environments.

Install Kodi on Fedora via RPM Fusion

Update Fedora Before Installation

Before installing Kodi, update your system packages to ensure all dependencies are current:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

This guide uses sudo for commands that need root privileges. If your user is not in the sudoers file yet, run the commands as root or follow the guide on how to add a user to sudoers on Fedora.

Import the RPM Fusion Repository

Add RPM Fusion on Fedora before installing Kodi. RPM Fusion provides packages unavailable in the official Fedora repositories, including Kodi and multimedia codecs it depends on.

Import both the RPM Fusion free and non-free repositories:

sudo dnf install -y https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

The $(rpm -E %fedora) expression expands to your current Fedora release number (such as 42, 43, or 44), so this command works on any supported version.

Verify the repositories are active:

dnf repo list | grep rpmfusion

Expected output showing the RPM Fusion repositories:

rpmfusion-free                RPM Fusion for Fedora XX - Free
rpmfusion-free-updates        RPM Fusion for Fedora XX - Free - Updates
rpmfusion-nonfree             RPM Fusion for Fedora XX - Nonfree
rpmfusion-nonfree-updates     RPM Fusion for Fedora XX - Nonfree - Updates

Install the Kodi Package

With RPM Fusion configured, install Kodi along with its dependencies:

sudo dnf install -y kodi

Verify the installation by checking the installed package version:

rpm -q kodi

Expected output confirming Kodi is installed:

kodi-X.X-X.fcXX.x86_64

Install Kodi on Fedora via Flatpak

Alternatively, you can install Kodi using Flatpak from Flathub. Since Flatpak is pre-installed on Fedora Workstation, you only need to ensure Flathub is configured as a remote.

Enable Flathub Repository

Add the Flathub repository if it is not already configured:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Verify that Flathub is available:

flatpak remotes

Expected output showing Flathub:

Name    Options
fedora  system,oci
flathub system

Install Kodi from Flathub

With Flathub configured, you can now install Kodi:

flatpak install flathub tv.kodi.Kodi -y

After the installation completes, verify that Kodi is properly installed by checking its details:

flatpak info tv.kodi.Kodi

Expected output showing installation details:

Kodi - Ultimate entertainment center

          ID: tv.kodi.Kodi
         Ref: app/tv.kodi.Kodi/x86_64/stable
        Arch: x86_64
      Branch: stable
      Origin: flathub
     Version: X.X-Omega

Configure FirewallD for Kodi on Fedora

This section is optional. FirewallD configuration is only needed if you plan to access Kodi’s web interface or control Kodi remotely from other devices on your network. Skip to the launch section if you only need local playback.

Kodi uses several network ports for remote control features. The following table lists the default ports for each service:

Service	Port	Protocol	Purpose
Web Interface	8080	TCP	Browser-based remote control
JSON-RPC	9090	TCP	Third-party app communication
EventServer	9777	UDP	Remote device input

Install the Kodi FirewallD Service Files

RPM Fusion provides a kodi-firewalld package that includes pre-built FirewallD service definitions for all Kodi network services. This is cleaner than manually creating XML files:

sudo dnf install -y kodi-firewalld

The kodi-firewalld package requires RPM Fusion. If you installed Kodi via Flatpak without RPM Fusion, open the ports directly instead: sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8080/tcp --add-port=9090/tcp --add-port=9777/udp --permanent && sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Verify the service files were installed:

ls /usr/lib/firewalld/services/kodi-*

Expected output showing the available service definitions:

/usr/lib/firewalld/services/kodi-eventserver.xml
/usr/lib/firewalld/services/kodi-http.xml
/usr/lib/firewalld/services/kodi-jsonrpc.xml

Enable Kodi FirewallD Services

Fedora Linux defaults to using FirewallD as its firewall management tool. Verify that FirewallD is running before adding rules:

sudo systemctl status firewalld --no-pager

If FirewallD is active, add the Kodi services you need. For web interface access, enable the HTTP service:

sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=kodi-http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

To enable all three Kodi services at once (web interface, JSON-RPC, and EventServer):

sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=kodi-http --add-service=kodi-jsonrpc --add-service=kodi-eventserver --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

These rules allow any device on the same network to reach Kodi’s control ports. Only apply them on trusted home or private networks. If your Fedora system is directly exposed to the internet, restrict access to specific IP addresses using FirewallD rich rules instead.

Verify the services were added to your active zone:

sudo firewall-cmd --list-services | grep kodi

Expected output showing the enabled Kodi services:

kodi-eventserver kodi-http kodi-jsonrpc

Launch Kodi on Fedora

Launch from Terminal

Once installed, you can launch Kodi from the terminal using the following command:

For RPM Fusion installation:

kodi

For Flatpak installation:

flatpak run tv.kodi.Kodi

After launching, Kodi opens in a new window. From here, you can add media sources, install add-ons, and customize the interface.

Launch from Applications Menu

Alternatively, you can open Kodi from your desktop environment:

1. Open Activities and type “Kodi” in the search bar.
2. The Kodi media player icon appears in the search results.
3. Click the Kodi icon to launch the application.

Update Kodi on Fedora

To ensure you’re using the latest version of Kodi with all the newest features and security patches, keep it updated using your package manager.

For RPM Fusion installation:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

For Flatpak installation:

flatpak update

Troubleshoot Kodi on Fedora

Kodi Fails to Start with Graphics Errors

In some cases, Kodi crashes on launch with OpenGL errors, which usually means your graphics drivers need updating. Check your current driver status:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

When the output shows “llvmpipe” instead of your GPU name, your hardware drivers are not loading correctly. For NVIDIA users, install the proprietary drivers from RPM Fusion. For AMD and Intel users, ensure Mesa is up to date:

sudo dnf upgrade mesa*

No Audio Playback

Similarly, if Kodi plays video but produces no audio, check your audio output settings. Verify that PipeWire is running:

systemctl --user status pipewire

In cases where the service is inactive, start it with the following command:

systemctl --user enable --now pipewire pipewire-pulse

Within Kodi, navigate to Settings, then System, then Audio and ensure the correct audio device is selected.

Remote Access Not Working

For remote access issues, if you cannot access Kodi’s web interface from another device, verify that the firewall rules are active and the web server is enabled in Kodi:

1. In Kodi, navigate to Settings, then Services, then Control.
2. Enable “Allow remote control via HTTP” and note the port number (default: 8080).
3. Verify the firewall rule is active: sudo firewall-cmd --list-services | grep kodi

If the service does not appear in the output, re-add it using the commands from the FirewallD configuration section above.

Remove Kodi from Fedora Linux

When you no longer need Kodi on your Fedora system, remove it using the appropriate command for your installation method.

Remove RPM Fusion Installation

To remove Kodi installed via RPM Fusion:

sudo dnf remove kodi kodi-firewalld

DNF automatically removes orphaned dependencies during the removal process. Verify that Kodi is no longer installed:

rpm -q kodi

Expected output confirming removal:

package kodi is not installed

If you enabled FirewallD rules for Kodi, remove them to close the open ports:

sudo firewall-cmd --remove-service=kodi-http --remove-service=kodi-jsonrpc --remove-service=kodi-eventserver --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Remove Flatpak Installation

To remove Kodi installed via Flatpak:

flatpak uninstall tv.kodi.Kodi -y
flatpak uninstall --unused

The second command removes any unused runtimes that were installed as dependencies. Verify removal:

flatpak list | grep -i kodi

If Kodi was successfully removed, this command produces no output.

Remove Kodi User Data

The following commands permanently delete all Kodi user data including your media library configuration, installed add-ons, watch history, and custom settings. Back up any important configurations before proceeding.

Kodi stores user settings, library databases, and add-on data in your home directory. To completely remove all Kodi data, delete the appropriate directory:

For RPM Fusion installation:

rm -rf ~/.kodi

For Flatpak installation:

rm -rf ~/.var/app/tv.kodi.Kodi

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

You now have Kodi installed on Fedora using either RPM Fusion or Flatpak. Add your media sources through Settings, then explore add-ons for live TV, streaming services, and enhanced playback. For hardware-accelerated 4K playback, see the guide on installing NVIDIA drivers on Fedora. To stream media to other devices, consider Plex Media Server on Fedora, and for additional codec support, see our guide on installing FFmpeg on Fedora.