DevOps/Kodi/Advanced settings/Special protocol.md

Special protocol

The "Special Protocol" is Kodi's solution to platform dependent directories. Common directory names are assigned a special://[name] path which is passed around inside Kodi and then translated to the platform specific path before the operating system sees it.

Available Paths Below is a list of commonly used protocols. Further protocols for specific and limited uses can be found on GitHub.

Path	Description
library://music/	This path points to the Music Library folders and to the File Sources
library://video/	This path points to the Video Library folders and to the File Sources
* * * * *
special://cdrips	This path contains the tracks from CDs you rip with Kodi. You will be asked to specify this directory the first time you rip a CD.
special://database	This path contains the database files Kodi uses to store library info. Normally special://masterprofile/Database.
special://home	Leads to the Kodi_data_folder.
special://home/addons	Directory where addons are installed after installation. Does not include default addons installed with Kodi.
special://home/media	Leads to the \media\ folder in the Kodi_data_folder.
special://home/media/Fonts	Directory where user defined fonts are located.
special://logpath	This path points to the path where the log file is saved.
special://masterprofile	Kodi's main configuration directory. Normally located at special://home/userdata, this directory contains global settings and sources, as well as any Kodi profile directories. Normally special://home/userdata
special://musicartistsinfo	This path points to the Artist_information_folder if one has been set.
special://musicplaylists	This path contains saved music playlists. Normally special://profile/playlists/music.
special://profile/playlists	Parent folder of special://videoplaylists and special://musicplaylists and will allow access to the Mixed playlist folder
special://profile/addon_data	This path leads to the addon_data folder located in the Userdata folder. It contains user modified settings for installed add-ons.
special://profile	Kodi's currently active profile directory. This directory points at special://masterprofile/profile_name (or special://masterprofile if no profile is in use) and contains per profile overrides for settings and sources.
special://recordings	This path contains saved PVR recordings.
special://screenshots	This path contains Kodi screen shots. You will be asked to specify this directory the first time you take a screen shot.
special://skin	This path points to the currently active skin's root directory.
special://subtitles	User defined custom subtitle path. Set it in Video Settings.
special://temp	Kodi's temporary directory. This path is used to cache various data during normal usage. Unless you need the log, nothing in this directory is detrimental to Kodi's operation. Normally special://home/temp
special://temp/fonts	A temporary font path where MKV fonts are extracted and temporarily stored.
special://thumbnails	This path contains cached thumbnails. Normally special://masterprofile/Thumbnails
special://userdata	Alias from special://masterprofile.
special://videoplaylists	This path contains saved video playlists. Normally special://profile/playlists/video.
special://xbmc	Kodi's installation root directory. This path is read-only contains the Kodi binary, support libraries and default configuration files, skins, scripts and plugins. Users should not modify files or install addons in this directory. Note: The special://xbmc/ path is still valid . special://kodi/ does not exist yet.
special://xbmc/media/Fonts	Directory where Kodi bundled fonts files are located.
special://xbmc/system	This path points to the System folder in Kodi's installation root directory.
special://xbmcbinaddons	This path points to the addon folder in Kodi's installation root directory.
* * * * *
sources://music	This path points to the music source folders.
sources://video	This path points to the video source folders.