Manage Path Replacement???

[KodiUser1138]

I just set-up my JF server wit ha reverse proxy and in the process my home IP changed. I now need to update all my Kodi instalations to the new server destination. There's been issues recently that once setting up JF in Kodi I have not been able to go back to add new or refresh/repair JF libraries and had to completely kill my movies database and start with a fresh new scan from JF.

Now I am attemtping to do that while using Native mode for my home media systems because using direct paths is far easier (and helps with other aspects of Kodi) than the add-on. Once I confirm my SAMBA is working I go to a screen I've never seen before, Manage Path Replacement, and the 2 options don't seem to do anything. I have no idea what these are for and if I select Finish nothing happens with my library. There is no scren to select libraries and Kodi does not scan anything from JF.

Then going ito the add-on to try and refresh libraries I only have the option fo ALL  ( which I don't realyl want) but that still does nothing. So now my Kodi has no media library.

I am lost to understand what is now going on.

*** Now atempting to use Add-on mode on a local machine and I get the same results. I previously got this to work on my laptop which I do want in add-on because I use it remotely to access my server. It is set up, minus the ability to make any future changes/repairs.

[mcarlton00]

Native mode now functions entirely client side. The server no longer provides path replacements.

Remote path is how the server sees the files, local path is how the client sees the files.

https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-kodi/pull/938

[KodiUser1138]

So I have to manually add all the paths to every shared drive, the same as if I'm just using Kodi to manage the database anyways?

This also doesn't explain why when I tried again using add-on I still got th same results. No ability to add individual libraries and nothing at all scanned into the DB. It all just.... doesn't work. But it did the first time I tried any of this on my laptop.

[mcarlton00]

So I have to manually add all the paths to every shared drive, the same as if I'm just using Kodi to manage the database anyways?

In short, yes.  Path replacement was deprecated in in the server in the 10.9 release cycle, and it doesn't exist at all in release 10.10.0.  If you want to use native mode, it has to be configured client side.

In regards to your library selection issue, that's less clear.  I've never seen that behavior before.  If I had to guess, either there's something that's gone wrong in your authentication to the server so it's unable to actually retrieve library info, or switching between native and addon mode has made things go very screwy.  In the case of the former, I would expect there to be log messages within Kodi to indicate such an issue.  In the latter, there's no telling what you'll find in the logs.  Either way, I would think that doing a full database reset within Kodi would get things back to a normal state.

[KodiUser1138]

Each time I try to setup the library I delete all the MYMovies and jellyfin files in the userdata and addon data to give a clean start. Still have the issue of asking for paths while attempting add-on mode.

And regardless I've not been able to re-access the libraries to repair or anything for some time now. And this is all through the default skin as my customized skin has a few faws in using JF menus.

For native, how does JF now manage the library? Does JF tell Kodi there's new/changed media at xxx location but expects Kodi to go looking for that info directly through the file paths? What I lvoed about JF in Kodi previous was I didn't have to worry about any of that and everything just worked.

For Add-on mode there's a number of issues created in skins requiring file name and path information.

Lastly, I've never been able to simply "repair" a library, especially TV Shows, when I just want to refresh some artwork or resolve some other issue. It always had to be repair which required removing the entire library and then rescraping the entire library. Is that the expected action?

[mcarlton00]

There's either something corrupted in your addon source code itself, or you have some garbage data that isn't being cleared out properly.

Addon mode opens the libraries dialog directly and populates everything.
Native mode first displays the popup about making sure your network shares are available, then the path replacements dialog, then the libraries.

I've just started from a fresh kodi install to verify, and all is working as intended here.  So you definitely have some old data stuck somewhere.  Have you tried the "reset database" option in the addon menu instead of playing with your filesystem?

For native, how does JF now manage the library? Does JF tell Kodi there's new/changed media at xxx location but expects Kodi to go looking for that info directly through the file paths? What I lvoed about JF in Kodi previous was I didn't have to worry about any of that and everything just worked.

Exactly the same as it always has.  Nothing has changed here.  All metadata comes through the JF server and it notifies clients when there's new media to be found.

Lastly, I've never been able to simply "repair" a library, especially TV Shows, when I just want to refresh some artwork or resolve some other issue. It always had to be repair which required removing the entire library and then rescraping the entire library. Is that the expected action? 

The "Refresh" option is exactly what it sounds like.  It runs the sync code to get recent items based on the last access timestamp.  A "Repair" ensures that your local copy matches what the server has by redoing everything in that library.

[KodiUser1138]

For native, how does JF now manage the library? Does JF tell Kodi there's new/changed media at xxx location but expects Kodi to go looking for that info directly through the file paths? What I lvoed about JF in Kodi previous was I didn't have to worry about any of that and everything just worked.

Exactly the same as it always has.  Nothing has changed here.  All metadata comes through the JF server and it notifies clients when there's new media to be found.

So now I need to enter every drive path from the JF server into Kodi? Or am I still missing some step here?

[quote]
Lastly, I've never been able to simply "repair" a library, especially TV Shows, when I just want to refresh some artwork or resolve some other issue. It always had to be repair which required removing the entire library and then rescraping the entire library. Is that the expected action? 

The "Refresh" option is exactly what it sounds like.  It runs the sync code to get recent items based on the last access timestamp.  A "Repair" ensures that your local copy matches what the server has by redoing everything in that library.

I should clarify, I have been able to access these options in the past. For the past 6 months, at least, I have not been able to so I've had to do a complete remove and replace of all the JF settings and library DB in order to "fix" things. Once I do the initial set-up the option to even see the added libraries let alone manage any just doesn't work (empty clicks).

[KodiUser1138]

Finally had the chance to look into this matter again and I am fully confused. I removed all of JF from Kodi and re-installed the add-on. Deleted all userdata and started Kodi. So I enter my server address and select Native and now I don't know what path I am supposed to enter. The full network path to each drive that contains media from my server? The root paths JF sees to populate my media libraries? I am just sort of lost.

I enter a full network location of a drive, Kodi doesn't "scan" anything. I go to movies and a list of all drives that JF sees are there, I select the drive I entered the network path for and can see all the movies. Kodi still doesn't "scan" anything. There are no movies in my actual library, just clicks to paths to find files on sharedn network drives. Either I am doing something very wrong or this changed method fundementally alters the manner in which JF and Kodi work together using local paths that I don't follow.

Using local allows me to contiue to use the basic, simple and easy long dead VideoExtras add-on in Kodi rather than the conveluted junk Kodi mainstream has been unable to build in for a decade. I accept losing this on a remote connection but on all my local clients I shouldn't have to. So I would like to usnderstand what has changed and how, if possible, to get things working nice and simple as they used to again.


Trying to follow along in the Git and whoa what a complete mess this sounds like. No idea what makes this better than previous, just selecting Native mode and then adding the libraries and Kodi/JF do the rest. Now it's back to manually entering EVERYTHIGN on EVERY client bx, once you fugioure out how to actually do that, and should something change down the road having toe re-enter that change on EVERY client yet again. And still no clue how to actually get this to work, when it was working, for me, before.

If I use add-on mode how to I get Kodi to see the local path "Extras" folders, which are basic dump folders, and push that to the end user so I can not bother with all the above? It was all working (for me), why was it "fixed"?

[KodiUser1138]

Apologies if I sounded frustrated and venting above. Sometimes typing as fast as my frustration can think. Looking at this more, I am still not sure how to add libraries or what paths the add-on are looking at, but I found the data.json file and wondering if I can just manualy edit this file the start Kodi and go from there?

[KodiUser1138]

OK no idea what is going on now but the add-on just doesn't work at all. Completely removed the Jellyfin app from my Kodi install, deleted all files from data, then re-installed. I can enter my server and login to the account I want to use. And then nothing. Just nothing. No prompt to add libraries. Navigate through Kodi to the add-on and try to manage libraries and nothing. No pop-up, not error, just nothing. And this was trying to use add-on mode, not native. Nothing works. At all. What is going on? Things worked so easy and simple with prior versions and now it's all just ramming your head into a brick wall. Is there an actual issue being worked out or is this all just completely borked?

Went back even further, deleted almost all the Kodi data files, re-enabled all my addd-ons, including the Jellyfin repo, the re-download the JF add-on and then it works. Until it doesn't. The manage libraries function just doesn't work anymore. I can not access add or manage, refresh or what ever libraries anymore. This has happened on multiple Kodi installs on various systems. There is something in the program messing this function up. Add-on or native it doesn't mantter.