Install Kodi in an LXC and Connect it to a Monitor / TV with GPU Acceleration

Guides~10 min

Run Kodi inside a privileged LXC container on Proxmox VE, expose the host iGPU and USB input devices, and turn the Proxmox server into an all-in-one media center connected directly to a TV.

Heads up

This guide uses an external community script to bootstrap the Kodi LXC. The GPU side of the setup (passing the host iGPU into the container) is also covered by the ProxMenux automated flow: GPUs and Coral-TPU → Add GPU to LXC in the ProxMenux menu — handles the /dev/dri wiring + driver install inside the CT. The script below additionally bootstraps Kodi itself and the autostart on tty7. Use it if you want a turnkey media-centre LXC; use the ProxMenux flow if you only need GPU access for a CT you set up by hand.

Original Kodi LXC script created by mrrudy.

What you'll do

Create a privileged LXC running Kodi (script-driven).
Wire your USB keyboard, mouse or controller into the CT.
(Optional) Update Kodi to the latest version from the team-xbmc PPA.

1. Create the Kodi LXC

The CT needs to be privileged so it can access USB input devices (keyboards, remotes, controllers). The script handles privilege flags + GPU wiring + Kodi install + autostart on tty7:

bash -c "$(wget -qLO - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mrrudy/proxmoxHelper/main/ct/kodi-v1.sh)"

Be patient — it takes a while to install. When it finishes and Kodi starts on tty7, you can plug your monitor or TV directly into the host's HDMI / DisplayPort output and you should see the Kodi UI.

2. Add a keyboard, mouse or USB controller

Input devices live under /dev/input/ on the host. Identify the major number:

ls -l /dev/input

Take the first column number (in the example: 13). Stop the Kodi LXC, then edit its config (replace <CTID> with the container ID — for example, 102):

nano /etc/pve/lxc/'<'CTID'>'.conf

Add (adjust 13 to what you saw on your host):

lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow = c 13:* rwm
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/input dev/input none bind,optional,create=dir

Save (Ctrl+X) and restart only the container — no need to reboot the whole Proxmox host:

pct restart '<'CTID'>'

Plug in the keyboard / mouse / controller and Kodi should respond to it.

3. (Optional) Update Kodi to the latest release

Important

The team-xbmc PPA is Ubuntu-only. If the Kodi LXC is based on a Debian template, add-apt-repository won't be available and the PPA will not work. The mrrudy script defaults to an Ubuntu template, so this should normally apply. To verify: cat /etc/os-release inside the container — look for NAME="Ubuntu".

Inside the container (pct enter <CTID>):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install kodi kodi-bin

Restart the container when it finishes; on boot you'll have the latest Kodi.

Screenshots

Troubleshooting

Kodi LXC starts but nothing on the TV: the CT may not have inherited the iGPU. Confirm with ls /dev/dri inside the container (you should see card0, renderD128). If empty, the GPU passthrough wasn't applied — re-run the script or use the ProxMenux Add GPU to LXC menu.
Keyboard / mouse not detected after restart: the major number for /dev/input changed (rare, but happens after kernel updates). Re-run ls -l /dev/input on the host and update the lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow line.
Hardware-accelerated playback uses CPU instead of GPU: install or update VA-API drivers inside the container (intel-media-va-driver for newer Intel iGPUs, i965-va-driver for older ones, mesa-va-drivers on AMD).
add-apt-repository: command not found: the container is Debian, not Ubuntu. Either use the Debian Kodi packages (older but stable) or recreate the CT from an Ubuntu template.