Fresh install from official repository on Kodi 21.2 / Android Shield is missing resources/lib/vpn.py

[ThomasBertois]

kodi.log

Hello,

I have a reproducible issue with Catch-up TV & More after a clean installation from the official repository.

Environment

• Kodi 21.2
• NVIDIA Shield Android TV
• Android TV 11
• Installed addon: plugin.video.catchuptvandmore v0.2.41+matrix.1

Problem

After a full uninstall and reinstall from the official Catch-up TV & More repository, the addon crashes on startup and also during IPTV integration.

Error seen in log

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named resources.lib.vpn

Observed behavior

• The file resources/lib/vpn.py is missing from the installed addon directory.
• The resources/lib/ folder does contain files such as main.py, menu_utils.py, iptvmanager.py, web_utils.py, etc.
• But vpn.py is physically not present.
• The error then occurs when opening the addon and also through TV/IPTV integration.

Steps to reproduce

1. Uninstall Catch-up TV & More.
2. Manually remove both addon and addon_data directories.
3. Reinstall the addon from the official Catch-up TV & More repository.
4. Open the addon or start TV/IPTV integration.
5. The addon fails with ModuleNotFoundError: No module named resources.lib.vpn.

Expected behavior

The addon should start normally, and resources/lib/vpn.py should be present after installation.

Actual behavior

vpn.py is missing after a fresh install, which breaks the internal import chain and makes the addon unusable.

Additional notes

• IPTV Merge, IPTV Manager, and IPTV Simple start correctly.
• The failure seems specific to Catch-up TV & More.
• I already performed a full reinstall from the official repository and got the same result.

I can provide the full Kodi log and a screenshot of the resources/lib folder showing that vpn.py is missing.
Thank you.

[joaopa00]

Known problem. It happens only with the version from xbmc repo. I sent a patch but it looks like xbmc repo do not accept sub-version. This will be fixe when the offcial 0.42 version is released, that is in a few months. For now use the verison of this repo (beta prefered!)

[dimkroon]

@joaopa00 Would a re-release with version number 0.2.41+matrix.2 perhaps do the trick?

[joaopa00]

@dimkroon How could I test that your proposal works?

[dimkroon]

Good point, I don't think you can. If you do a fresh install of CUTVM from the official repo, you'll still get 0.2.41 from the download mirror. It looks like team Kodi's publishing system did not recognise the latest PR as a new version. Something that's hard to test.

I seem to recall that a version like matrix.2 was once a valid way to specify changes specific to matrix, but can't find any documention. The idea is that with -matrix.2, the publishing system might pick up the new release. Maybe it's worth a try. It can't get worse than it is at the moment and it takes the reviewing team very little effort.

Since I couldn't find any documentation on Kodi-specific versioning, I called in the help of AI with this result:

Use a "-matrix.1" (or similar "-matrix.N") suffix when you need to publish a package/version that is specific to Kodi Matrix (v19) and must coexist with other builds for different Kodi major versions. It signals a build variant tied to the Matrix API while keeping the base semantic version.

Guidelines:

Apply when the addon code or binary is built against Kodi Matrix APIs or dependencies that are incompatible with other Kodi major releases (e.g., Leia v18 vs Matrix v19).
Keep the semantic base version intact, then append the suffix: example 1.2.3-matrix.1
The number after "matrix." increments for subsequent Matrix-specific builds (1 → 2 → …).
Use only for distribution systems that don’t support separate channels per Kodi major version and where consumers need to distinguish compatible builds.
Don’t use the suffix if the addon is fully compatible across Kodi major releases; instead publish the same semantic version without suffix.
For clarity: major.minor.patch[-label][+build], where "-matrix.N" is an allowed label indicating platform/compatibility.