Send any video link from your browser or phone to Kodi, and watch it on the big screen.
SendToKodi is a Kodi add-on that turns links from YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Dailymotion and
1000+ other websites into playable streams,
powered by yt-dlp.
Features • Install • Send links • Integration • Documentation • Troubleshooting • FAQ
📖 Documentation: https://firsttris.github.io/plugin.video.sendtokodi/
You find a video on your laptop or phone and want to watch it on the TV. With SendToKodi you share the link to Kodi and it plays there, in the best quality the site offers, with Kodi's own player, subtitles and remote. No casting app, no screen mirroring, no server in between: Kodi fetches the video itself, so your phone can go to sleep.
It works like a "cast to Kodi" button for the whole web: YouTube videos, playlists and channels, Twitch streams and VODs, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Reddit, TikTok, the media libraries of public broadcasters, direct links to media files, and every other site yt-dlp supports.
- 🎬 Plays 1000+ websites on Kodi: everything yt-dlp supports, resolved on the Kodi device itself.
- 📺 Best quality: adaptive streaming (DASH and HLS) through InputStream Adaptive, up to 4K and 8K, with a built-in DASH manifest builder for sites that serve video and audio separately, like YouTube.
- 🔄 Keeps itself current: yt-dlp and the Deno JavaScript runtime are downloaded and updated automatically, with a nightly channel for site fixes weeks before the next release and a version switcher to roll back.
- 📋 Playlists and queue: send a whole playlist or channel, or queue videos one by one without interrupting playback.
- 🌐 Send from anywhere: browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, Kore on Android, an Apple Shortcut on iPhone and Mac, or any JSON-RPC call from scripts and Home Assistant.
- 💬 Subtitles, title and artwork from the website appear in Kodi's player.
- 💾 Optional download before playback, for unstable connections or to keep a copy.
- 🔐 Logins and options: a yt-dlp config file for cookies, proxies and extractor arguments, or per-request options over JSON-RPC.
- 🆓 Free and open source (MIT), no tracking, nothing in between you and the website.
Requires Kodi 19 or newer on any platform: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, LibreELEC, CoreELEC. The add-on is not in the official Kodi repository, so install the SendToKodi repository first; it keeps the add-on updated automatically.
- Download repository.sendtokodi-1.0.0.zip to a place your Kodi can reach.
- In Kodi, go to Add-ons → Install from zip file and install the ZIP (allow Unknown sources once if Kodi asks).
- Go to Add-ons → Install from repository → SendToKodi Repository → Video add-ons and install SendToKodi.
On the first playback, the add-on downloads yt-dlp and, for YouTube, the Deno JavaScript runtime. Details, including manual installation, updating and the first start: Installation guide.
The add-on receives links; one of these sends them:
| From | With | Get it |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera | SendToKodi browser extension: one click, keyboard shortcut or right-click Play on Kodi | Chrome Web Store · Edge Add-ons |
| Firefox | SendToKodi browser extension | Mozilla Add-ons |
| Android | Kore, the official Kodi remote, via the share menu | Google Play |
| iPhone, iPad, Mac | Apple Shortcut via the share sheet | SendToKodi-OSX.shortcut |
| Scripts, Home Assistant, playlists | Kodi's JSON-RPC API or a plugin:// URL |
Integration |
The browser extension has its own repository and documentation: firsttris/chrome.sendtokodi · firsttris.github.io/chrome.sendtokodi.
Open them in Kodi via Add-ons → My add-ons → Video add-ons → SendToKodi → Configure. The important ones:
- yt-dlp release channel (Stable, Nightly, System) and Update yt-dlp now: a site that stopped working is usually fixed by a newer yt-dlp, and Nightly gets fixes first.
- JavaScript runtime mode: YouTube needs a JavaScript runtime; the add-on manages Deno, with QuickJS as the option for 32-bit ARM devices.
- yt-dlp config file: cookies for logins, proxies, extractor arguments, in yt-dlp's own format.
- Maximum resolution, Ask which stream to play and the DASH manifest builder under Adaptive.
- Auto-download resolved media before playback and the download path.
Every setting is explained in the settings reference.
Anything that can make Kodi play a plugin:// URL can use SendToKodi: JSON-RPC, M3U playlists, STRM files, other
add-ons, Home Assistant.
{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"method": "Player.Open",
"params": {
"item": {
"file": "plugin://plugin.video.sendtokodi/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTLNdBIRTNM4"
}
},
"id": 1
}Send it as a POST to http://<kodi-ip>:8080/jsonrpc with Kodi's web server credentials. Add action=queue to
queue instead of play, and yt-dlp-options with a JSON object for per-request yt-dlp options such as a login. The
full URL format, curl and Python examples, playlists, STRM files and Home Assistant are in the
integration guide.
- A video doesn't play: update yt-dlp (Settings → yt-dlp → Update yt-dlp now), try the Nightly channel, and
check the URL with
yt-dlp --simulate "<url>"outside Kodi. If yt-dlp fails there too, the fix has to come from yt-dlp; the add-on picks it up automatically. - YouTube doesn't play: make sure Installed Deno version shows a version and the runtime mode is not disabled. On a 32-bit Raspberry Pi 2 or 3, use QuickJS.
- Only 720p on YouTube: turn on the DASH manifest builder and raise Maximum resolution.
- The extension or app can't reach Kodi: enable Allow remote control via HTTP in Kodi's Settings → Services → Control.
More in the troubleshooting guide, with the log location and the common yt-dlp error messages.
Which sites work? Everything on yt-dlp's list, plus direct links to media files. DRM-protected services (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video) do not work.
Is this like Chromecast? Similar in effect: the link goes to Kodi and Kodi fetches the video itself. Your phone or laptop is not involved in the playback.
Why isn't it in the official Kodi repository? The official repository doesn't allow add-ons that download code at runtime, and SendToKodi has to update yt-dlp on its own to keep up with the websites.
Does it work on Android TV, Fire TV, Raspberry Pi? Yes, on every platform Kodi 19+ runs on. Only the YouTube JavaScript runtime needs a 64-bit system or QuickJS.
More answers in the FAQ.
The full documentation is at firsttris.github.io/plugin.video.sendtokodi: installation, usage, settings, integration, how it works, troubleshooting and development. The source is in docs/.
git clone https://github.com/firsttris/plugin.video.sendtokodi.git
cd plugin.video.sendtokodi
python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
pytestThe logic lives in core/ and is unit-tested without Kodi; service.py is the entry point Kodi runs. Symlink the
checkout into Kodi's addons folder to run it. Setup, project structure, CI and the release process:
Development.
Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome. Before reporting a site that doesn't play, check it with yt-dlp outside Kodi; if it fails there, yt-dlp's issues are the right place.
⭐ Like SendToKodi? A star on GitHub helps others find it.
🐛 Report a bug · 💡 Request a feature
License: MIT · © Tristan Teufel and contributors
Kodi is a trademark of the XBMC Foundation. This project is not affiliated with the XBMC Foundation or yt-dlp.