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Setting Up Kodi with USB and Google Drive

This guide will show you how to setup Kodi as your media center for your media. This will show you the following:

  • Mounting your USB seedbox to Kodi as your Media source via FTP
  • Setting Google Drive as a source

Take note that Kodi only does direct play. It does not transcode your media

Prerequisites

  • You must download and install Kodi to your devices. Visit the Kodi Downloads Page to learn more.
    • The setup below is done on a Windows PC using Kodi 18.7.
  • You must setup a FTP/SSH password on your slot. You must also know the path to where your media is. Refer to this link to learn more.
  • Mount your Google Drive to your slot. You can refer to this link to learn more.

Setting Up Kodi

FTP

  • This part of the guide sets the seedbox as your media source via FTP. In this case, we'll be adding our movies folder.
  • Highlight Movies and click on Enter Files Section

  • Click Add Videos. The Add video source appears. Click Browse.

  • Click Add network location and add the following info. Click OK to save the remote location
Protocol: FTP Server
Server address: lwxxx.usbx.me
Remote Path: path/to/media/folder|auth=TLS&verifypeer=false
Port: 21
Username: {username}
Password: {set FTP password}

  • Select the remote you just created and verify if you have the correct path. Once that's done click OK.

  • Then add a name to your added path. In this guide, we'll be using USB_Movies

  • A Set content window comes up. Since the path contains Movies, change the This directory contains dialogue to Movies.
  • Select the information provider that you want. In this case, it's The Movie Database.

  • Click OK. Kodi will scan your FTP location and add your Movies. This'll go to the Movies section.

Google Drive

  • Install the Google Drive Plugin by going to Settings -> Add-ons -> Install from repository

  • Scroll down then click on video add-ons and click on Google Drive.

  • Finally, click Install. It'll ask for you to install other dependinces, click OK to proceed.

  • Go back to the Home screen -> Add-ons and select Google Drive

  • Click Add an account

  • A window appears with instructions on how to connect your Google Drive account to Kodi. Either scan the QR code or visit the link and enter the code to connect.

  • Next, create a folder somewhere on your device that you can save exported GDrive *.strm files to.

    • In this example, C:\Users\{username}\strm is used

  • Reopen your Google Drive add-on and browse through your account

  • Right click to the media folders you want to set. Right click it and select export to .strm files...
  • Set the destination folder to the folder you set, which in this case is C:\Users\{username}\strm
  • Enable Update library after export and Watch for changes in the Cloud folder then click OK. Let Kodi scan for all of the files in your Google Drive folders.

  • Go back to Enter Files Section

  • Click Add Videos. The Add video source appears. Click Browse then browse to where you created your folder, which should have the folders with .strm files.

  • Select the folder you just created and verify if you have the correct path. Once that's done click OK.

  • Then add a name to your added path. In this guide, we'll be using TV

  • A Set content window comes up. Since the path contains TV SHows, change the This directory contains dialogue to Movies.
  • Select the information provider that you want. In this case, it's choose TVDB. You can select that from the Get More button.

  • Click OK. Kodi will scan your Google Drive location and add your TV Shows. This'll go to the TV Shows section.
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