[impactoz]

I have 2 properties... My home and holiday house. With Kodi installed at each, all served of a central database at the home.

I use Ubiquiti network and the feature for Site VPN. So home is a 192.168.1.x network and the holiday house is at 192.168.2.x It works well I can access any device at each location.

Kodi works well for me to - I can be watching a show at home. Stop it halfway. Travel to the holiday house, and resume where I left off.... Love it.

The databse is located at home, along with the server containin all the files. At home I can download / move files as I like... Go into Kodi and do an update - a few minutes later the UI shows all the new shows... Everything works.

However if I am away at the holiday house - I can remotely log into my file server, download files, move files whatever I like - just as I would do normally if I was at home. However I cannot update the database.

If I try from the remote location - the databse is too big / too slow / it times out...  What I would like to do is to remote log in to a machine running Kodi, and just do the databse update manually myself.

I learned through here - remote access does not work well - and I knwo that, as my first attempts to do this - Kodi would not run. Subsequently found the hint of turning off local sound and having sound come from the local PC. Yes I can now remote access and run Kodi, but the update still does not work.

It startes - says its preparing to do the update - sits at 0% then the message in the top right screen dsiappears and the update stops.

I have the debug file on an attempt - but have no idea of what I am looking for.

Both machines are Windows 11 running latest Kodi 21.0 (Remote machine is headless - but have also tried a normal machine as well - both exhibit the same issue

THe library is huge, and from the remote machine I cannot access the Video library through Videos menu... (If I could write a playlist that used files and not the series library I could probably just write something to show the last 200 added items without a problem maybe).

I have tried Microsoft Remote Desktop (preferrred)
I have tried VNC (but it will not run... cant configure it properly... since they got rid of free accounts I have had issues)
I have tried a Rustdesk - same issue

Thinking it may not be the remote access software but some kind of config issue ?

Any ideas of what I can try as remote access tool or another way I can update the database

Debug File -> qamisanaje.kodi (paste)

[Prof Yaffle]

I'm no expert, but have you looked at:

1. Automatically updating the library on startup, so you simply need to restart the remote Kodi instance
   
2. Going in to specific shows and scanning for new content versus doing a mass update
   
3. Going in through File view and scanning specific content into the library
   
4. Investigate the various remote control applications to see if one of those could trigger an update from afar
   
5. Investigate using a recorded/defined macro to initiate a database update on the remote server (you'd have to put the system into a known state for recorded keystrokes to work, of course) - I'm sure there are macro recorders for Windows that are generic, so maybe a Powershell script. There may also be something in one of the remote apps.
   
6. See if any of this is still current: https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Remotely_update_library
   
7. You could possibly even change the world by using a distributed SQL database, so both versions of Kodi would be operating on a local copy but with synchronous writes between the two. I very much leave that as an exercise for the reader, though
   

[impactoz]

Thankyou Prof Yaffle for your kind ideas...

1. Setting up scanning on startup - same result - can see in top right hand corner... preparing... scanning 0% and then it stops

2. Going into TV shows and scanning for new content - Did not think of this one - have tried it - No not working...  Scan for new content - just stops immediately - but here is an interesting observation, which might help someone who knows more - if I go into the context menu on a new show, select Information... The panel comes up about the show content and gives the menu options of Browse / Your Rating / Show Fanart / Choose art / Refresh...   All pretty normal - but the refresh option is not displayed and hence not useable if I remote desktop into that machine... On the same machine / same show / same menu selection - accessing the machine directly (as a normal TV) - it is displayed...  So its like Refresh is not visible if your remotely acccessing the box... Is there a configuration or a switch I can force this option on...

3. File view - works directly, but on a remote connection there is no option to scan for new content 

4. Library Watchdog appears to be the only thing I have found that is still current and can be used with the latest Kodi version. It works, it updates the library... but not on the instance running on the remote desktop machine... If I install it on the main tv machine - and leave it on - it will update the library... but I do not really want to leave this machine on all the time while I am away.... So its a partly resolved solution.... When I am away next time, and I install it on my machine at the holiday house - it may work from there - so it potentially could be my best solution yet...

5. Doubt keystroke logger would work - if I cant do it via remote desktop directly, then a keystroke mechanism is just reproducing the same result

6. I have installed Curl... finally got it cnfigured... Same result - starts the scan and stops... does not update...  All Curl is doing is running the standard Kodi algorithm - which is failing no matter what way I initiate it

7. A great idea one I never thought of... hmmm... Will try some other ideas first - as this would require additional hardware at the farm - not opposed to the idea... Equally I could also just replicate files at both locations too! 

I guess one of my first thoughts / concerns is why is the scan new content not shown on the same instance of the software / machine when I access it via remote desktop... Could it be something about the user permissions  

Also tried running Kodi as Administrator - same results....

I will keep on experimenting!

[CrystalP]

Can you compare the sources.xml files on the computers.
Please show screenshots of the sources/scraper settings in the GUI.
User permissions can play a part, though it's strange that files would play but not be scanned.