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I verified with KODI_DATA=/tmp/kodifoo and it fired up a "new"/empty kodi instance. ;-) This allows me to move my kodi installation out of /var/lib/kodi without using symlinks.

@ghen - Have you verified that your proposed modification works? Is the contents of your /etc/default/kodi simply KODI_AE_SINK=ALSA? I would need to read up to verify that the file that the user would edit is working as expected?

Some low-level aspects of Kodi's behaviour (mostly hardware/driver workarounds, but also global paths like KODI_DATA or CRASHLOG_DIR) can be controlled through environment variables, it would be nice if the systemd unit could include an EnvironmentFile to put such settings in, rather than having to override the unit with individual Environment= flags, or worse, editing the /usr/bin/kodi-standalone script as suggested in https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Kodi#Using_ALSA

Just add to each .service file something like:

EnvironmentFile=-/etc/default/kodi

(The leading dash implies the file is not required, so no need to supply a default empty file.)

Not sure if /etc/default/, /etc/conf.d/ or even /etc/sysconfig/ is preferred...

@jimbob - that is a mistake

The wiki specifically says to use the standalone service if you want to start kodi with an ir remote button press and you can quit/exit Kodi manually, so I don't really follow your argument.

jimbob - The goal of this service is 24/7 standalone. check the wiki for other options. Remember, you are using systemd to start kodi. That is a decision a root level user makes. See my previous comments regarding this.

I don't want to have Kodi running 24 hours a day. Ideally I would like to start it with a remote control key press and have it automatically exit after an hour or so of inactivity. Thanks.

This reply looks useful.

@jimbob - My bad, yes, I am referring to options under the "Power Options." I only have two under Settings>System>Shutdown functions as well. I am not sure how to modify this without further study.

What is your use case? You want the system (root user) to enable the service via systemctl but you want the unprivileged user (kodi) to be able to stop it dropping back to the TTY/login screen?

No I only have Shutdown and Suspend. The Kodi wiki says Quit, but Exit, Quit and systemctl stop surely all do the same thing. I was wondering if the missing options were a deliberate design choice for the standalone service so as not to logout leaving the device in a potentially unusable state. Looking at the options you've listed I wonder if you're talking about the general power menu, whereas I am talking about the Power Saving -> Shutdown function menu?

You should have 5 options, exit, power off system, custom shutdown timer, suspend, and reboot. There is not an option to quit. You do that on the terminal via a call to systemctl like any other service.