Install and Set Up the TRAKT Add-on for Kodi in Minutes
Watching tons of free TV shows on Kodi is great, but how in the world are you supposed to keep track of them all? That’s where the Trakt.TV add-on comes into play, which ties in with the website to help you discover new content as well as track which shows you watch across devices. Whether you’re checking out full shows on Kodi or watching Netflix content on your Android set top TV box, this handy service can help you stay organized. Read on for all you need to know about setting up the Trakt.TV add-on for Kodi.
Before Using Kodi, Find a Good VPN
Each time you log onto the internet, you send private data to computers around the world. Anyone can use this information to track your activity or even find out where you live. Kodi users are under even more scrutiny thanks to piracy concerns raised in recent years. Whether it’s hackers, government surveillance efforts, or ISPs, it seems like someone is always out to take advantage of your digital footprint.
The good news is you can protect yourself from these invasions by running a virtual private network. VPNs use powerful encryption to create a hidden tunnel between you and the internet. Your identity stays safe no matter what you download or stream, preventing any third parties from watching what you do.
The Best VPN for Kodi – IPVanish
IPVanish knows what Kodi users need in a VPN. The service goes to great lengths to provide fast streams, high-quality downloads, and excellent privacy policies to ensure you stay safe online. The anonymity begins with a foundation of over 40,000 shared IP addresses spread across the entire network of more than 850 servers in over 60 different countries. This gives you plenty of options for finding a fast, low-latency connections around the world, and it also ensures your activity disappears along with the other IPVanish users.
For privacy, IPVanish uses 256-bit AES encryption to lock down the data leaving your system. The local software features both an automatic kill switch and DNS leak protection for improved privacy and protection, and there’s an incredible zero-logging policy that covers all traffic for an extra layer of anonymity. No matter which Kodi add-ons you install or what websites you visit, IPVanish has you covered. Simply install and activate for a fast and private online experience every time.
IPVanish offers a 7-day money back guarantee which means you have a week to test it risk-free. Please note that Addictive Tips readers can save a massive 60% here on the IPVanish annual plan, taking the monthly price down to only $4.87/mo.
How to Install Kodi Add-ons and Repositories
Kodi’s add-ons are packaged in repositories, which are big zip files hosted on external servers that contain dozens or hundreds of individual add-ons. You need to install the right repository to access the add-on you’re looking for, which sounds like a bit of a hassle. In the long run, though, repos help you discover new content as well as keep installed content up to date. It’s much easier to use repositories rather than hunt down tons of add-on files individually.
There are multiple methods of installing repos, but we prefer the “external sources” method since it’s so easy to use, even on smartphones. Before you begin, follow the quick steps below to enable Kodi’s internal download setting. With the settings in place you’ll be able to add repo URLs, let Kodi install them, then choose whatever add-ons you like!
- Open Kodi and click on the gear icon to enter the System menu.
- Go to System Settings > Add-ons
- Toggle the slider next to the “Unknown sources” option.
- Accept the warning message that pops up.
Note: The Kodi community includes a wide variety of content from hundreds of different sources. Some of these add-ons may contain links to unverified or even pirated content. AddictiveTips does not condone or encourage any violation of copyright restrictions. Please consider the law, victims, and risks of piracy before accessing copyrighted material without permission.
How to Set up Trakt.TV for Kodi
Register on Trakt.TV
Using the Trakt.TV service is a multi-stage process. The Kodi add-on and all associated Trakt apps tie in with the website, so before you can get started with the installation, you need to set up an account on the Trakt.TV website. It’s completely free to do, and it only takes a few moments.
- Click the red “Join Trakt for Free” button.
- Choose a username and enter your details, then click “Join Trakt”.
- Select your favorite genres from the tag cloud, then click “next step”.
- Trakt will show a few popular items. From here you can mark them as watched, add them to your collection, put them on a wish list, rate them, or find where to watch them online. When you’re done, click “next step”.
- Set up your social media sharing preferences and notifications before moving on.
- You’ll end up at your Trakt dashboard. You can continue managing your account here, or go back to Kodi to complete the add-on setup process.
Note: You can skip steps four and five by clicking the gray “exit” link at the top left of the page. Going through the genre screens does help you in the long run, though.
Install the Add-on
The Trakt.TV add-on doesn’t contain any video content whatsoever. This, combined with the fact that it’s an official add-on, makes it incredibly safe to use. To install Trakt on Kodi all you need to do is access it from the included Kodi repository. This comes with every app download right out of the box, so you don’t have to worry about installing a repo first. Just follow the steps below and you’ll be ready.
- Open Kodi on your local device and go to the main menu.
- Select “Add-ons”
- Click the open box icon at the top of the menu bar.
- Choose “Install from repository”
- Find and click “Kodi Add-on repository”
- Open the “Program add-ons” folder.
- Scroll down and select “Trakt”.
- When the installation process completes, you can access Trakt from the add-ons menu.
Configuring the Add-on
The preliminary steps are complete, now it’s time to get things running! The Trakt add-on needs to be officially connected to your Trakt website account before it can start tracking your shows. This only takes a moment to complete, so have Kodi and your web browser open, then follow the steps below.
- Sign into your Trakt.TV account in your web browser.
- Open Kodi and run the Trakt add-on.
- A verification window pops up. Note the code written in the center.
- Visit trakt.tv/activate and enter the code from Kodi.
- After clicking “yes”, the Trakt add-on will sync with the site.
Note: If you accidentally cancel the verification window, don’t worry! Simply go to Add-ons > My Add-ons > Program add-ons, open the Trakt info window, click “configure”, then choose the “How do I authorize” link near the top. The same verification window will open and you can continue with the installation.
How to Use the Trakt.TV Add-on
Now that Trakt and the website are ready to go, how exactly do you use it? Unlike most Kodi add-ons, you don’t actually run Trakt to take advantage of it. Instead, Trakt silently sits in the background, integrating with your other add-ons, noting which TV shows you watch, and sending that data to the website. It’s largely a one-way action and you’ll still need to use the website to manage your dashboard, but with Trakt active you’ll suddenly see a lot of information and show suggestions in your browser.
TV Show Add-ons to Use with Trakt
A few months before this article was written, half a dozen Kodi add-ons worked just fine with Trakt. In that short span of time, however, most of them dropped support or shut down altogether. This happens a little too frequently in the unofficial Kodi add-on community, but it’s something we learn to work around. There are still a few TV streaming add-ons that support Trakt scrobbling and tracking. Our favorite is SALTS (Stream All the Sources), a multi-purpose add-on that features a ton of movies, TV shows, and more.
How to use SALTS with Trakt:
- Follow the instructions to install the SALTS add-on.
- In Kodi, go to Add-ons > My Add-ons > Program add-ons
- Open SALTS, then select the “configure” button at the bottom.
- In the settings menu that opens, scroll down to the Trakt.tv tab.
- Choose the “How do I authorize SALTS” link near the top.
- A window will open. Note the code, then visit trakt.tv/activate in your web browser.
- Enter the authorization code and SALTS will be verified. Your TV shows will automatically be tracked through Trakt.TV.
Some users report limited success with a few other add-ons. We couldn’t replicate those results when working on this article, however. If you already have any of the below add-ons installed or would like to see if they’ve been fixed in the interim, simply install by using the links below, then follow the same instructions as above to authorize the add-on to interact with your Trakt account.
What about the Other Trakt Add-ons?
When downloading Trakt from the official Kodi repository you might notice a handful of similarly titled add-ons right next to the main one. Most of these add new features to the Kodi experience, including a built-in ratings button and a watch list menu. They’re completely optional to the Trakt experience, as all of these actions can be done on the website without any installation.
One additional add-on you may be interested in is the Trakt.TV List Manager. This combines a handful of features found on the website and in the other add-ons and lets you curate your lists without leaving Kodi. Again, it’s optional since the site has these features, but it can be useful. If you want to install the list manager, simply follow the guide for the main Trakt.TV add-on above, then choose Trakt.TV List Manager.
Is it Safe to Install Kodi Add-ons?
Unofficial Kodi add-ons have a reputation for being unreliable at best, unsafe at worst. While it’s common to find content that’s filled with broken links or doesn’t work quite as advertised, it’s rare to encounter malicious extensions. It does happen on occasion, however, which is why you should take a few easy precautions just to be on the safe side.
Whenever you use Kodi you should always have a VPN active. This helps anonymize your data to keep your identity secure and can prevent things like ISP throttling and surveillance efforts. Keep your virus scanner and firewall active at all times, as well, and the more you stick to official repositories and well maintained unofficial repos, the better. We also download and verify each add-on before featuring it in our articles. If it appears on the list above, everything was working and safe at the time of writing.
Reader Favorite Trakt Tips
Keeping up with which Kodi add-ons work with Trakt, which don’t, and which have fixes that suddenly make everything work is almost a full-time job! If you know of a good add-on that still has full Trakt support, let us know in the comments below.
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lol you didn’ t list the repo link.