This post will show you how to set up Trakt on kodi and guide you through the process of creating a Trakt account, configuring it, installing the Trakt addon on Kodi, integrating it with other Kodi addons, and more. Get ready to revolutionize your movie and TV watching experience with Trakt!
The steps described below were run on the latest kodi version which is 20 Nexus and apply to previous versions of Kodi, such as Kodi 19 Matrix. In addition, the same steps work for any platform on which you have Kodi installed.
If you love watching TV shows and movies, but don’t have time to remember every release date and find the best new content when it comes out, it might be time to consider installing and using Trakt on Kodi.
Finding a series or movie to watch seems to be a tedious task. Sometimes it takes longer to decide on the right movie than the movie itself. Fortunately, there are many services with more or less accurate information, such as IMDB lists, Just Watch, Yidio, and TV Time where you can search for the best movies by rating or genre, among other factors.
However, Trakt is the service you need if you want to keep a record of the movies and series you have seen. Also, it provides you with recommendations based on your preferences.
About Trakt
Before installing and configuring Trakt, let’s see what this service is and what it consists of.
Trakt is a free service that keeps track of the movies and TV shows you’ve watched and connects you with recommendations based on your watching history to help you discover content highly rated by the community.
Within Trakt, you can rate each show or movie you watch. Most importantly, you can get recommendations for similar movies or TV shows you might enjoy. You can also share your list on social media so your friends can see what you’ve watched and exchange recommendations with them.
Trakt is available in multiple formats, and one of them is an addon for Kodi. This is one of those addons that don’t seem useful until you start using it.
The first time you use it, you need to create a small list with the movies and series you have watched; this way it will be able to start offering you recommendations. After a while, the recommendations will be more and more personalized.
When you install Trakt on Kodi, the addon will start tracking the content you watch from Kodi, including everything you watch using other addons. Most movie addons support this service.
With this add-on, you’ll also be able to discover new movies or series that you could potentially like that you hadn’t even heard of. When you are looking for something to watch, Trakt will not only search for content on Kodi, but it will also tell you which streaming platforms to watch it on, be it Netflix, Amazon Prime, or YouTube. Trakt will also provide you with information about all the content you are looking for, whether it is user reviews or ratings.
How to create a Trakt account?
To use this addon you will need to create a Trakt account. If you don’t have one yet, go to the official website of this service and create an account by clicking on this link.
You will have to enter your email address, among other data.
Next, you will have to enter some data about your favorite movies and genre. These data must be as accurate as possible, as they will be used to offer you recommendations.
How to configure Trakt?
Once you have registered in Trakt, you need to configure it and take into account certain considerations. In this section, we will see how to customize and use Trakt.
For Trakt to be able to offer you recommendations, you should add the movies and series you have watched.
It can be a bit tedious, but the interface helps a lot because as you add movies, you will be presented with options with movies you could potentially have seen. In addition to adding movies, you can also give them a rating and tell the application if you own a copy. It is also important that you add any movies you did not like.
Once you have configured your profile, you can install the Trakt.TV addon on Kodi.
How to install Trakt on Kodi?
Installing Trakt on Kodi couldn’t be easier, since installing official addons doesn’t require you to add any additional repository. You just need to download and activate the addon.
To install Trakt.tv addon, follow these steps :
Launch Kodi Settings page …
… and go to Add-ons Browser option
Select Install from a repository.
Select Kodi Add-on repository.
Select Program Add-ons
Select Trakt.
Click on Install.
The add-on installation will start and after a few seconds, you will see a notification that the addon is installed and activated.
As soon as you install the addon you should see a message with the necessary instructions to follow.
In case they are not displayed, access the Addons section of Kodi and right-click on the Trak addon icon. Select Information, then click on Configure and finally click on the button about how to authorize access to Trakt.
A window will appear displaying an authorization code.
After logging in to the Trakt website, you must access the URL https://trakt.tv/activate. You will be asked for the Kodi authorization code. Enter it and click Continue.
Click Yes to confirm access and link Trakt to the Kodi addon.
If everything goes well, a confirmation message will be displayed.
And with this, you will be able to use all the features of the Trakt addon for Kodi
How to set up Trakt on Kodi?
After installing and activating the addon, it is advisable to configure it so that Trakt can keep track of the content you watch on Kodi.
To access the Trakt configuration you must go to the Kodi home screen and click on Add-ons. Next, you must click on Program Addons. You must right-click on the Trakt icon that you will see on the right side and select Settings. You will also be able to access it if you select Information and then click on Configure in the addon preview.
The Trakt general options will be displayed. In the left menu, you will see five sections. Let’s see what each of them consists of:
- General:
From this section, you will be able to select different users. This way, each Kodi user will be able to use his Trakt account.
Every time a new user wants to use Trakt, you will have to authorize his account in the same way as explained above.
- Exclusions:
From this section, you will be able to create a list of sources that will be excluded from Trakt. For example, you will be able to exclude all the contents you watch with addons that allow you to watch TV.
In the same way, you can also create streaming content exclusions or even exclude directories within your local library.
- Scrobbling:
In this section, you will see the options related to Trakt’s monitoring of the contents you watch. For example, you will be able to filter the types of files that Trakt will use. You can activate the tracking of movies, series, and so on.
If you activate the “Show notification when Scrobble” option, you will always know what data is sent to Trakt. It’s always nice to know when and how your data is being used.
- Synchronize:
In this section, you can configure the synchronization options between Kodi and Trakt, Kodi will send your data every time you finish watching something. This information will be stored on Trakt servers. However, if you activate the synchronization, you will also see reflected in Kodi the changes you make in the Trakt web.
There is an option to synchronize movie ratings. You can also synchronize your movie collection. This way, the movies you watch will be added to your Trakt collection.
- Rating:
The rating of Trakt movies is enabled by default. This means that a message will be displayed for you to rate a movie every time you finish watching it. If you prefer, you can disable this option.
You will be able to adjust the percentage of the movie or chapter-length that you must have watched before the option to rate it is displayed. You can also set the score that will be displayed by default.
How to integrate Trakt with Kodi addons?
Besides using Trakt with Kodi, it also integrates with some of the most used Kodi addons such as The Crew addon or the Promise addon
In general, it will be enough to access the Addon’s settings. From here you should be able to authorize the addons to integrate with Trakt.
Keep in mind that not all addons support integration with Trakt, but for the sake of this guide, we will see how to integrate Trakt with The Crew addon. The same steps can be applied to integrate any other addon that support Trakt integartion
Launch The Crew from the Video Add-ons section and right-click on the addon’s icon. Select the Settings option, where you can find various configuration options.
In the left menu, click on Trakt, where you will see an option to authorize The Crew access to Trakt.
Clicking on this option will display an authorization code.
After logging in to the Trakt website, you must access the URL https://trakt.tv/activate. You will be asked for the Kodi authorization code. Enter it and click Continue.
The procedure is the same as the one you followed to authorize Kodi access, so remember that you must be logged in to the Trakt web service. When you enter the code, the process will be finished.
If you have followed this procedure successfully, you will also be able to integrate other addons such as The Oath or The Magic Dragon.
Useful information about Trakt
- Your activity in Trakt
Trakt offers a calendar where you can see information about the episodes of the series you are watching. For example, you will be able to see the airing or availability dates of the episodes of the series you are watching, as well as the streaming services where they will be available. You will be able to see these details both in a simplified calendar and in a more complex calendar, which shows more information.
You will also be able to see what your favorite genres are and how many movies you have seen of each of them. This data will be displayed in different formats, either textual or graphical. Similarly, the time you have spent in total or for each genre will also be displayed. Be warned that you may go into shock when you see that you have dedicated months of your life to this.
- Trakt recommendations
Undoubtedly, the most valuable feature of Trakt is the recommendations. At the beginning you will not get the expected results, but over time the recommendations will hit the nail on the head. To improve the initial recommendations, you should add as many movies or series as possible. If recommendations are not your thing and you prefer to use this service for other purposes, you can always take a look at some of the many tops you can find that use data from IMDB, Rottean Tomatoes and other applications.
- Trakt Privacy Policy
This application collects as much information as possible within the framework of the applications or services you give it access to, since this is precisely what Trakt is all about. However, it never hurts to know how this data will be used and if it will be used by third parties. In general Trakt will not share data with third parties except for the government upon explicit request, either for national security reasons or due to a police investigation. This is something that all US companies are subject to and has not happened yet. Anyway you can always use the service anonymously, and if you use Kodi with a VPN, no one will be able to track your location.
Final thoughts
Trakt.tv is one of the best tools that you can use with kodi to enhance your streaming experience. It allows you, not only, to keep your watching history and synchronized across many addons and applications, but also offers recommendations based on your own taste.
With Trakt, you are to filter all the Movies and TV Shows and quickly decide what to watch without spending hours and hours trying to figure out the right choice
However, don’t forget to use a VPN before streaming anything on kodi to protect your online streaming activities and avoid copyright infringement issues.
With a good VPN you will prevent yourself from malware. It masks your original IP and assigns you a new one to maintain anonymity while streaming.
