Skin Add-On Development

Kodi includes a GUI library that allows you to skin/change everything you see. The images, sizes and positions of controls, colours, fonts, text, through to altering navigation and even adding new functionality.

The skin system is quite complex. This portion of the manual is dedicated to providing in depth information on how it all works. It contains tips to make the experience a little more pleasant.

If you are just getting started with skinning Kodi, then it is suggested that the best way to learn is by modifying one of the many existing skins that are available. The default skin, Estuary, includes almost all the various tricks and features that make the Kodi skinning engine so powerful, so is an ideal place to start. You may wish to start by having a look through the tutorial section on skinning Kodi as well as the "Skinning Kodi" article, and try modifying a window or two by adding a button, or altering the textures or layout.

Controls - Controls are the substance of your skin.
WindowIDs - List of available window names, definitions, IDs and the matching XML-file