Practical guide
How to back up and restore Kodi add-on settings
Kodi Manager can back up supported add-on configuration and save the skin, helpers and players together as a checkpoint. Restores keep undo backups, but this is not a full Kodi or Android-device image.
Use this workflow before experimenting with supported settings or restoring an earlier working configuration. Keep an independent private copy before replacing a customized installation.
Choose the backup that matches the change
| Backup | Use it for | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Add-on backup | A supported add-on settings change. | That add-on's configuration folder in the active Kodi profile. |
| Configuration checkpoint | Saving the skin, helpers and players together. | The configuration components recorded in its manifest. |
| Independent private copy | Protecting important configuration before replacing a customized installation. | The files you explicitly copy and verify; plan separately for device/app recovery. |
Create a checkpoint
- Install and connect Kodi Manager, then confirm the active Kodi profile.
- When viewing has finished, enable writes and open Backups → Create checkpoint.
- Confirm the checkpoint appears and check its components. Keep credentials and backup files private.
Supported edits also make backups before writing. An idle nightly checkpoint can run after 03:00. If playback starts, Kodi quits or the profile changes during the copy, that partial checkpoint is deleted and retried later. A schedule is not a substitute for checking a backup before an important change.
Restore, verify and undo
- Finish viewing and confirm the intended profile. Open Backups → Single add-on backups, or select the checkpoint you need.
- Inspect its contents and date. Enable writes before restoring.
- Restore the backup. The current configuration is backed up first; the result notice provides Undo restore.
- Check the relevant add-on and actual behavior. If it has not reloaded its settings, restart Kodi after viewing has finished.
- If needed, use the recorded undo backups to restore the configuration that existed immediately before the restore.
A successful dashboard request proves the operation completed, not that every add-on has reloaded. Restoring makes a folder match the backup: newer files are removed from it and retained in the undo copy. Do not repeat a restore blindly after an uncertain result.
Where backups live and how long they stay
Backups are profile-local under special://profile/addon_data/service.kodi.addonadmin/backups, with per-add-on folders and _stack checkpoints. They may contain tokens or passwords. The default retention is the newest 20 backups per add-on and the checkpoint folder separately; older entries are pruned when a new backup is made.
What this cannot recover
Configuration recovery does not downgrade Kodi, restore Android private app data, migrate cloud history or provide a filesystem-wide transaction. Playback-setting backups marked kind: pipeline need the manual file-restoration workflow in the recovery documentation. Restoring Manager's own folder preserves its current access settings and device identity.
On experimental Apple TV support, tvOS can purge non-XML backup manifests and directories. Keep independent private copies and read the platform-specific recovery limits. Live validation remains limited to one customized Shield; the public ZIP and other devices still need installation checks.