Apps
Kodi
During library scans and playback, Kodi stores temporary media cache files, downloaded artwork, and generated thumbnail images so posters, fanart, and previews load quickly without being fetched or decoded every time. Those files can grow into multiple gigabytes, especially in large movie and TV libraries or when artwork has changed on the source. Kudu removes Kodi's temp cache and thumbnail cache so stale artwork, oversized image stores, and leftover temporary media data are rebuilt as needed without touching your library database, sources, settings, or watched status.
Why clean Kodi?
- Old poster and fanart thumbnails remain in the artwork cache after library changes, so you keep seeing the wrong cover art or outdated episode images until Kodi regenerates them
- A very large userdata/Thumbnails folder makes browsing movie and TV sections feel sluggish because Kodi has to scan and open thousands of cached image files before menus fully populate
- Leftover temp media cache files from interrupted playback or scraping sessions consume several gigabytes, and the symptom is disk space disappearing even though your library content has not changed
- Corrupted cached artwork causes blank tiles, black squares, or missing actor images in skins that expect valid thumbnails, especially after network shares or artwork sources were unavailable
- When artwork URLs or local image files have been replaced, Kodi can keep serving stale cached copies, so refreshed posters and fanart do not appear until the cache is cleared and rebuilt
- Thumbnail cache bloat is especially noticeable on slower disks or small HTPCs, where opening large libraries results in delayed scrolling, pauses while artwork loads, and visible lag in wall views
What gets cleaned
Cache paths Kudu targets
Windows
%AppData%/Kodi/cache |
%AppData%/Kodi/userdata/Thumbnails |
macOS
~/Library/Caches/org.xbmc.kodi |
~/Library/Application Support/Kodi/userdata/Thumbnails |
Linux
~/.kodi/temp |
~/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails |
Frequently asked
Common questions about Kodi
Related cleaners
Free & open source
Download Kudu and reclaim your disk space.
Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No account required, no feature gates, no telemetry without consent. All cleaning targets are open source and community-auditable.