This guide has been tested with Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial) x86_64. It is meant to cross-compile Kodi for Android using Kodi's unified depends build system. Please read it in full before you proceed to familiarize yourself with the build procedure.
It should work if you're using macOS. If that is the case, read macOS specific prerequisites first.
- Document conventions
- Install the required packages
- Prerequisites
3.1. Extract Android SDK
3.2. Configure Android SDK
3.3. Create a key to sign debug APKs - Get the source code
- Build tools and dependencies
5.1. Advanced Configure Options - Build binary add-ons
- Build Kodi
- Package
- Install
- Debugging Kodi
This guide assumes you are using terminal, also known as console, command-line or simply cli. Commands need to be run at the terminal, one at a time and in the provided order.
This is a comment that provides context:
this is a command
this is another command
and yet another one
Example: Clone Kodi's current master branch:
git clone https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc kodi
Commands that contain strings enclosed in angle brackets denote something you need to change to suit your needs.
git clone -b <branch-name> https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc kodi
Example: Clone Kodi's current Krypton branch:
git clone -b Krypton https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc kodi
Several different strategies are used to draw your attention to certain pieces of information. In order of how critical the information is, these items are marked as a note, tip, or warning. For example:
Note
Linux is user friendly... It's just very particular about who its friends are.
Tip
Algorithm is what developers call code they do not want to explain.
Warning
Developers don't change light bulbs. It's a hardware problem.
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Install build dependencies needed to cross-compile Kodi for Android:
sudo apt install autoconf bison build-essential curl default-jdk flex gawk git gperf lib32stdc++6 lib32z1 lib32z1-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev unzip zip zlib1g-dev
Note
If you're running a 32bit Debian/Ubuntu distribution, remove lib32stdc++6 lib32z1 lib32z1-dev from the command.
Note
Gradle 8.0+ requires JDK 17+. Check java version by running java --version. If version is < 17, set JAVA_HOME environment variable to java 17+ home directory.
Building Kodi for Android requires Android NDK revision 27c. For the SDK just use the latest available. Kodi CI/CD platforms currently use r27c for build testing and releases, so we recommend using r27c for the most tested build experience
- Android SDK (Look for
Get just the command line tools)
Create needed directories:
mkdir -p $HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux
Extract Android SDK Command line tools:
unzip $HOME/Downloads/commandlinetools-linux-6200805_latest.zip -d $HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux/
Note
Since we're using the latest SDK Command line tools available, filename can change over time. Adapt the unzip command accordingly.
Before Android SDK can be used, you need to accept the licenses and configure it:
cd $HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux/cmdline-tools/bin
./sdkmanager --sdk_root=$(pwd)/../.. --licenses
./sdkmanager --sdk_root=$(pwd)/../.. platform-tools
./sdkmanager --sdk_root=$(pwd)/../.. "platforms;android-35"
./sdkmanager --sdk_root=$(pwd)/../.. "build-tools;34.0.0"
./sdkmanager --sdk_root=$(pwd)/../.. "ndk;27.2.12479018"
All packages must be signed. The following command will generate a self-signed debug key. If the result is a cryptic error, it probably just means a debug key already existed.
keytool -genkey -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore -v -alias androiddebugkey -dname "CN=Android Debug,O=Android,C=US" -keypass android -storepass android -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000
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Change to your home directory:
cd $HOME
Clone Kodi's current master branch:
git clone https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc kodi
Prepare to configure build:
cd $HOME/kodi/tools/depends
./bootstrap
Tip
Look for comments starting with Or ... and only execute the command(s) you need.
Configure build for aarch64:
./configure --with-tarballs=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-tarballs --host=aarch64-linux-android --with-sdk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux --with-ndk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux/ndk/27.2.12479018 --prefix=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-depends
Or configure build for arm:
./configure --with-tarballs=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-tarballs --host=arm-linux-androideabi --with-sdk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux --with-ndk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux/ndk/27.2.12479018 --prefix=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-depends
Or configure build for x86:
./configure --with-tarballs=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-tarballs --host=i686-linux-android --with-sdk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux --with-ndk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux/ndk/27.2.12479018 --prefix=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-depends
Or configure build for x86_64:
./configure --with-tarballs=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-tarballs --host=x86_64-linux-android --with-sdk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux --with-ndk-path=$HOME/android-tools/android-sdk-linux/ndk/27.2.12479018 --prefix=$HOME/android-tools/xbmc-depends
Note
Android x86 and x86_64 are not maintained and are not 100% sure that everything works correctly!
Build tools and dependencies:
make -j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN)
Tip
By adding -j<number> to the make command, you can choose how many concurrent jobs will be used and expedite the build process. It is recommended to use -j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN) to compile on all available processor cores. The build machine can also be configured to do this automatically by adding export MAKEFLAGS="-j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN)" to your shell config (e.g. ~/.bashrc).
Warning
Look for the Dependencies built successfully. success message. If in doubt run a single threaded make command until the message appears. If the single make fails, clean the specific library by issuing make -C target/<name_of_failed_lib> distclean and run makeagain.
All platforms:
--with-toolchain=<path>
specify path to toolchain. Auto set for android. Defaults to xcode root for darwin, /usr for linux
--enable-debug=<yes:no>
enable debugging information (default is yes)
--disable-ccache
disable ccache
--with-tarballs=<path>
path where tarballs will be saved [prefix/xbmc-tarballs]
--with-cpu=<cpu>
optional. specify target cpu. guessed if not specified
--with-linker=<linker>
specify linker to use. (default is ld)
--with-platform=<platform>
target platform
--enable-gplv3=<yes:no>
enable gplv3 components. (default is yes)
--with-target-cflags=<cflags>
C compiler flags (target)
--with-target-cxxflags=<cxxflags>
C++ compiler flags (target)
--with-target-ldflags=<ldflags>
linker flags. Use e.g. for -l (target)
--with-ffmpeg-options
FFmpeg configure options, e.g. --enable-vaapi (target)
Android Specific:
--with-ndk-api=<ndk number>
specify ndk level (optional for android), default is 24.]
--with-ndk-path=<path>
specify path to ndk (required for android only)
--with-sdk-path=<path>
specify path to sdk (required for android only)
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You can find a complete list of available binary add-ons here.
Change to Kodi's source code directory:
cd $HOME/kodi
Build all add-ons:
make -j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN) -C tools/depends/target/binary-addons
Build specific add-ons:
make -j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN) -C tools/depends/target/binary-addons ADDONS="audioencoder.flac pvr.vdr.vnsi audiodecoder.snesapu"
Build a specific group of add-ons:
make -j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN) -C tools/depends/target/binary-addons ADDONS="pvr.*"
Clean-up binary add-ons:
make -C tools/depends/target/binary-addons clean
For additional information on regular expression usage for ADDONS_TO_BUILD, view ADDONS_TO_BUILD section located at Kodi add-ons CMake based buildsystem
Configure CMake build:
cd $HOME/kodi
make -C tools/depends/target/cmakebuildsys
Tip
BUILD_DIR can be provided as an argument to cmakebuildsys. This allows you to provide an alternate build location. Change all paths onwards as required if BUILD_DIR option used.
mkdir $HOME/kodi-build
make -C tools/depends/target/cmakebuildsys BUILD_DIR=$HOME/kodi-build
Build Kodi:
cd $HOME/kodi-build
make -j$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN)
CMake generates a target called apk which will package Kodi ready for distribution.
Create package:
make apk
Generated apk file will be inside $HOME/kodi.
Connect your Android device to your computer through USB and enable the Unknown sources option in your device settings.
Make sure adb is installed:
sudo apt install adb
Install Kodi:
cd $HOME/kodi-android
adb devices
adb -s <device-id> install -r <generated-apk-name-here>.apk
The device-id can be retrieved from the list returned by the adb devices command and is the first value in the row representing your device.
To be able to see what is happening while running Kodi you need to enable USB debugging in your device settings (already enabled in the Android Emulator).
Access the log output of your Android device:
adb -s <device-id> logcat
Install a new build over the existing one:
adb -e install -r images/xbmcapp-debug.apk
Launch Kodi on Android Emulator without the GUI:
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n org.xbmc.xbmc/android.app.NativeActivity
Kill a misbehaving Kodi:
adb shell ps | grep org.xbmc | awk '{print $2}' | xargs adb shell kill
Filter logcat messages by a specific tag (e.g. Kodi):
adb logcat -s Kodi:V
Enable CheckJNI (before starting the Kodi):
adb shell setprop debug.checkjni 1
Note
These commands assume that current directory is $HOME/kodi-build/tools/android/packaging and that the proper SDK/NDK paths are set.
GDB can be used to debug, though the support is rather primitive. Rather than using gdb directly, you will need to use ndk-gdb which wraps it. You can use the -p/--project switches or instead you will need to cd to $HOME/kodi-build/tools/android/packaging/xbmc and execute it from there.
ndk-gdb --verbose
This will open the installed version of Kodi and break. The warnings can be ignored as we have the appropriate paths already setup.