Fix Kodi Movie Posters: Local Artwork, Names and Cache

You replaced a movie's poster, but Kodi still shows the old one. Before changing the movie match, check which image file Kodi is using. A second poster in the folder, a saved artwork choice or a cached image can make a correct replacement look as if it failed.

Start with one movie. Check its files, then use Information → Choose art to select the intended poster. Keep the old artwork until you have checked the result on your usual Kodi device.

This guide covers ordinary movie files in Kodi's video library. Disc folders, TV seasons and movie sets have different artwork rules. If the title and year are wrong too, start with Kodi NFO files not loading; a new poster cannot repair a wrong match.

Separate an image problem from a matching problem

Open the movie's Information page. Compare the title, year and plot with the film you own. Then open the poster file outside Kodi.

What you find	What to check next
The title is wrong as well as the poster	The movie match and any local NFO
The local image is already wrong	Replace that image before investigating Kodi
The local image is right, but Kodi shows another	Artwork names, the selected image and the cache
The poster is right, but a logo is missing	Artwork settings and support in your skin

Our advice is to change one thing at a time. If you rename the video, replace its NFO and change artwork together, a better-looking card will not tell you which change worked. Leave the media filename alone for an image-only repair.

Check for two posters competing in the same folder

Kodi's standard local artwork name for a movie file is the video's filename without its extension, followed by -poster.jpg or -fanart.jpg. The image sits beside the video.

The shorter poster.jpg and fanart.jpg names also work for a movie in its own folder when Movies are in separate folders that match the movie title is enabled in that source's content settings. If both name styles exist, Kodi gives the longer name priority. These are Kodi's documented movie artwork rules.

Consider this fictional film:

Movies/
  The Quiet Observatory (2024)/
    The Quiet Observatory (2024).mkv
    The Quiet Observatory (2024).nfo
    The Quiet Observatory (2024)-poster.jpg
    poster.jpg

Suppose poster.jpg is your new blue design, while the longer-named file is an old red design. Editing the blue file again will not resolve the competing names. Open both images and decide which design you intend to keep.

For this example, our choice is to back up both images outside the scanned folder, then put the blue design at the longer-named poster path. Move the redundant short-named copy into that backup. This leaves one unambiguous poster to maintain. You could instead keep the short name, but first check the source setting described above and remove the competing long name from the scanned folder.

Do not apply that cleanup to every folder at once. Another player may use the other filename. Record what you changed and check that player too before adopting one convention across a shared library.

Select the image for the existing movie

For an artwork-only change, use Kodi's Choose art workflow:

1. Highlight the movie and open Information.
2. Select Choose art, then Poster.
3. Browse to the intended image in the local or network folder and select it.
4. Back out to the movie list and inspect the poster there.

Repeat for Fanart only if you want to change the background as well. Kodi documents local artwork as taking priority over scraper artwork when it is found under the expected names. Choosing an image for an existing entry lets you address that entry directly.

Our recommendation is to keep the selected file in a lasting, reachable location. A temporary desktop copy may help diagnose the problem, but it is a poor final home for artwork used by a living-room device.

Use a metadata Refresh when you also need Kodi to reread the movie's details. Read its local-information prompt carefully. Selecting the option to ignore local information and fetch online changes what you are asking Kodi to use. See Kodi's refresh choices.

Allow for Kodi's image cache

Kodi keeps a local, optimised copy of artwork, including images from your own folders. Replacing a file at the same path does not guarantee an immediate visible change. Its cache documentation describes change checks for local images based on file size and modification time, with a 24-hour condition. That is a reason to check the selected path, not a promise that waiting a fixed time will solve every case.

If the old picture persists after selecting the correct file, our suggested diagnostic is to save the new image under a distinct temporary name, such as poster-check.jpg, and select that file through Choose art. This tests a different image path. It is a diagnostic choice, not a Kodi automatic-naming convention.

If that displays correctly, keep both copies while you return to your chosen standard filename and verify it again. Do not leave the library pointing at a temporary file you then remove.

Avoid deleting Kodi's whole artwork cache as a first step. The official cache guide calls that a last resort. A one-movie problem deserves a one-movie investigation before changes that affect every image on the device.

Check artwork settings before collecting more images

Under Settings → Media → Videos → Artwork, Kodi offers artwork levels. Basic covers poster, fanart and episode thumbnails; Custom lets you choose types; None disables scanning and scraping artwork. Maximum can collect images that your skin does not display. See Kodi's artwork settings.

Our preference for a folder with mixed files is Custom, with the types you actually use. More downloaded images mean more files to maintain; they do not guarantee a better library view. If a poster works but a clearlogo does not appear, check that your chosen skin and view use clearlogos before replacing a good image or changing the movie match.

Keep original artwork out of a cache export

Back up the actual image files you chose. Kodi's library export can write cached artwork, which may be reduced or re-encoded, beside the media. Its export documentation warns against exporting artwork over local originals. Exported long names can also leave a second set beside short-named files.

Our advice is to keep metadata export and artwork backup as separate decisions. If your goal is to save NFO metadata, decline artwork export when you already maintain the original images. Copy those originals to your backup instead.

Use MetaTana to manage the files Kodi reads

MetaTana can write Kodi-format NFO and artwork beside your movies. Its file layout reference explains the difference between a movie in its own folder and movies sharing a folder. That distinction matters when checking the names Kodi will discover.

Start with one folder and set Rename files in this folder to Never while you inspect it. Select Kodi under For your player when adding the folder. Review the match and the proposed NFO and artwork writes before approving them. Rename controls and file-writing approval are separate choices; Never is not a switch that disables every write. See folder controls.

Autopilot asks before its first NFO or artwork write in a new folder; manual scrapes and rewrites are not held by that first-write question. Read the NFO and artwork guide before using a bulk action. For this repair, inspect the files on disk after writing, including older filename-prefixed posters that may still be present.

The MetaTana Kodi page explains the wider workflow. You can download MetaTana there and start with the same movie you used for this check. Writing a correct image file is one step; checking Kodi's displayed result is still necessary.

Verify the result and keep a way back

Before repeating the change, check these outcomes:

• The intended poster appears both in the movie list and its Information page.
• The title, year and plot still describe the right film.
• Closing and reopening Kodi still shows the intended artwork.
• Any other player using that folder still has its expected poster.
• Your final image path is permanent, and the old images remain in your backup.

If the result is wrong, restore the saved images to their recorded names and select the old poster again through Choose art. Restore any source or artwork setting you changed. MetaTana's Undo is for changes MetaTana made; it does not undo a manual file move or an artwork selection inside Kodi.

Keep a short note of the working filename convention and the app you use to maintain those files. The next poster change should follow that choice, so you do not recreate the same conflict.

Official documentation checked on 30 October 2026. The Quiet Observatory is a fictional example. Backup, diagnostic and verification steps are our recommendations. This guide is based on documentation and MetaTana source review, not a hands-on test of every Kodi version or skin.