

The Fire TV’s support for external storage is great, but it has one major flaw. You cannot move an apps “data” files to external storage. You can only move the app itself. For the case of Kodi, its “data” files include the vast majority of the storage space it uses. Luckily, Kodi supports advanced features which allow you to reassign where it stores its data files. Through these advanced settings, you can move all of Kodi’s data files to external storage. This guide will show you how to move all of Kodi’s data files to external storage, or if you prefer, just Kodi’s thumbnail directory.

How to move all Kodi data to External Storage

This method will move all of Kodi’s data files to external storage. Below the guide you will find instructions to undo everything and move the files back to internal storage if you experience too much lag. This can only be done with Kodi v14 or higher.



Pros Moves the most possible amount of Kodi files to external storage.

Cons May result in noticeable Kodi interface lag depending on the size of your Kodi database.

Guide

Ensure that your USB drive or microSD card is inserted into your Fire TV, that Kodi is installed on your Fire TV, and that you’ve launched Kodi at least once before proceeding with this guide. It does not matter if Kodi is installed on the Fire TV’s internal storage or on external storage. Force stop Kodi on your Fire TV by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, selecting Kodi, and selecting the Force stop option. Connect to your Fire TV via ADB. Open a Fire TV shell prompt by running the command:

adb shell Create directories on your external storage where we will move Kodi’s files by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… mkdir -p /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… mkdir -p /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… mkdir -p /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… mkdir -p /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files Copy Kodi’s files to your USB drive by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB drive… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/ NOTE: This step may take a long time depending on the size of your Kodi installation. Create a blank Kodi configuration file by running the command:

touch /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties Fill the configuration file by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… echo xbmc.data=/storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files > /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… echo xbmc.data=/storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files > /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… echo xbmc.data=/storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files > /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… echo xbmc.data=/storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files > /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties Launch Kodi and verify everything is working correctly. Delete Kodi’s files from your Fire TV’s internal storage by running the command:

rm -rf /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi

Undo Instructions

If you change your mind and want to move Kodi’s files back to internal storage, follow these steps.

Force stop Kodi on your Fire TV by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, selecting Kodi, and selecting the Force stop option. Connect to your Fire TV via ADB. Open a Fire TV shell prompt by running the command:

adb shell Copy Kodi’s files back to internal storage by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… cp -r /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… cp -r /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… cp -r /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… cp -r /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/

Note: This step may take a long time depending on the size of your Kodi installation. Delete the configuration file that tells Kodi to look for its files on external storage by running the command:

rm -f /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties Launch Kodi and verify everything is working correctly. Delete Kodi’s files from your external storage by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… rm -rf /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… rm -rf /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… rm -rf /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… rm -rf /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi

How to move only Kodi’s thumbnails to External Storage

This method will move only Kodi’s thumbnail files to external storage. Kodi’s thumbnail directory usually takes up the most space out of a Kodi installation. If you prefer not to move all of Kodi’s files, then this method will free up most of the space on internal storage that Kodi consumes.



Pros Should not result in as much interface lag as moving all data files to external storage.

Cons Only moves part of Kodi's data files to external storage.

Guide

Ensure that your USB drive or microSD card is inserted into your Fire TV, that Kodi is installed on your Fire TV, and that you’ve launched Kodi at least once before proceeding with this guide. It does not matter if Kodi is installed on the Fire TV’s internal storage or on external storage. Force stop Kodi on your Fire TV by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, selecting Kodi, and selecting the Force stop option. Connect to your Fire TV via ADB. Open a Fire TV shell prompt by running the command:

adb shell Create directories on your external storage where we will move Kodi’s thumbnail files by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… mkdir -p /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… mkdir -p /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… mkdir -p /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… mkdir -p /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata Copy Kodi’s thumbnail files to external storage by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata

Note: This may take a long time depending on the size of your Kodi installation. Create a blank Kodi configuration file by running the command:

touch /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml Fill the configuration file by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… echo \<advancedsettings\>\<pathsubstitution\>\<substitute\>\<from\>special://thumbnails/\</from\>\<to\>/storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails/\</to\>\</substitute\>\</pathsubstitution\>\</advancedsettings\> > /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… echo \<advancedsettings\>\<pathsubstitution\>\<substitute\>\<from\>special://thumbnails/\</from\>\<to\>/storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails/\</to\>\</substitute\>\</pathsubstitution\>\</advancedsettings\> > /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… echo \<advancedsettings\>\<pathsubstitution\>\<substitute\>\<from\>special://thumbnails/\</from\>\<to\>/storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails/\</to\>\</substitute\>\</pathsubstitution\>\</advancedsettings\> > /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… echo \<advancedsettings\>\<pathsubstitution\>\<substitute\>\<from\>special://thumbnails/\</from\>\<to\>/storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails/\</to\>\</substitute\>\</pathsubstitution\>\</advancedsettings\> > /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml Launch Kodi and verify everything is working correctly. Delete Kodi’s thumbnail files from your Fire TV’s internal storage by running the command:

rm -rf /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails

Undo Instructions

Force stop Kodi on your Fire TV by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, selecting Kodi, and selecting the Force stop option. Connect to your Fire TV via ADB. Open a Fire TV shell prompt by running the command:

adb shell Copy Kodi’s thumbnail files back to internal storage by running the command: For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… cp -r /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… cp -r /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… cp -r /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… cp -r /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/

Note: This may take a long time depending on the size of your Kodi installation. Delete the configuration file that tells Kodi to look for its thumbnails on the USB drive by running the command:

rm -f /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml Launch Kodi and verify everything is working correctly. Delete Kodi’s thumbnails from your external storage by running the command:

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 3… rm -rf /storage/extUsb/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails

For 1st-gen Fire TV on Fire OS 5… rm -rf /storage/usbdisk/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a USB Drive… rm -rf /storage/usbotg/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails

For 2nd-gen Fire TV using a microSD card… rm -rf /storage/sdcard1/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails

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