If you‘re looking for an all-in-one Kodi addon with a huge library of movies, shows, live sports, and more, The Crew is one of the top options available in late 2022. I‘m going to walk you through everything you need to know to get The Crew installed and streaming on your device.
What is The Crew Kodi Addon?
The Crew is a third party Kodi addon not found in the official Kodi repository. It provides both on-demand and live streaming content across many categories:
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Movies – Extensive library of movies to stream on-demand.
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TV Shows – Binge full seasons of popular shows.
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Live Sports – Streams and replays for NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Soccer, MMA, Boxing, Rugby, and more.
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Live TV – 400+ live TV channels across networks like ESPN, HGTV, CNN, AMC, etc.
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Kids – Full section dedicated to children‘s movies, shows, learning videos, and more.
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1 Click Plays – Quickly play movies and episodes with a single click.
In addition to the wide range of content, The Crew pulls in premium streams from Real-Debrid, EasyNews, and file hosters. This results in high-quality streams with less buffering compared to free host links.
The Crew uses an intuitive interface that‘s easy to navigate on any device. And it integrates with Trakt so you can track and sync your viewing progress.
According to the Kodi Repository itself, The Crew is currently the:
It peaks at over 800,000 monthly downloads. So it‘s clear The Crew is one of the most popular and used addons within the Kodi ecosystem.
Next let‘s look at how to safely install it.
Is The Crew Kodi Addon Safe? Potential Risks
Being an unofficial third party addon, The Crew does come with some element of risk. Here are the potential downsides to be aware of:
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Copyright Infringement – Much of the content may be pirated streams of copyrighted movies and shows. Accessing these without permission is illegal.
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Malware – While rare, unofficial addons could potentially contain malware or try to access data on your device.
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ISP Throttling or Warnings – Your ISP may throttle your connection speed or send copyright warnings if detecting streaming piracy.
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Legal Action – Streaming or distributing copyrighted content without consent could technically lead to lawsuits or fines. Unlikely but possible for heavy abusers.
That said, The Crew itself does not contain any malware, viruses, or threats according to scans:
Plus there are no reported cases of legal action taken solely for installing or using Kodi addons like The Crew. As opposed to the admins who upload the content which is much higher risk.
So the main concern is privacy and anonymity while streaming. To protect yourself, I highly recommend using a good VPN like IPVanish or CyberGhost while using The Crew.
A VPN allows you to stream anonymously so your ISP and authorities can‘t monitor what you‘re accessing. It encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address.
VPNs also provide malware and ad blocking, help circumvent ISP throttling, and keep you protected on public WiFi. So they‘re useful even outside of Kodi streaming.
Okay, now that you know the risks and how to minimize them, let‘s walk through installing The Crew.
How to Install The Crew Kodi Addon
The Crew is not found in the default Kodi repository, so we need to add the developer‘s repository to install it.
Here are step-by-step instructions to get The Crew installed on any Firestick, Fire TV, Android TV box, Windows PC, etc.
1. Enable Unknown Sources
First we need to enable "Unknown Sources" in Kodi settings:
- Open Kodi and click on the little gear icon ≡ at the top to go to Settings
- Click on System Settings
- Select Add-ons on the left sidebar
- Make sure "Unknown Sources" is switched ON
This allows you to install addons from outside the official Kodi repository. You‘ll get a warning about add-ons having access to personal data.
2. Install The Crew Repository
Now we need to add The Crew repository as an install source:
- Go back to the Kodi home screen
- Click on Add-ons (the little open box icon)
- Select the Install from zip file option
This will bring up a file manager screen.
- Click on Install from zip file
- Click on None to bring up the menu of install sources you have configured
- Choose Add source
- Enter
https://team-crew.github.io/as the path - Name it something like "Crew Repo" and click OK
This adds The Crew repository as a install source on your system.
Next we actually install the repository:
- Go back to Add-ons > Install from zip file
- Click on the "Crew Repo" source you just added
- Install
repository.thecrew.zipfrom the list
You‘ll get a notification that The Crew Repository has been installed.
3. Install The Crew Addon
Now that the repository is installed, we can install The Crew addon itself:
- Go back to the Add-ons menu
- This time click on Install from repository instead of zip file
- Select the "The Crew Repository"
- Go into the Video add-ons section
- Click on The Crew add-on and select Install
And The Crew will now be installed on your device!
The first launch may take 15-30 seconds to load all the content as Kodi scrapesProviders and populates all the menus. But after that initial load, it works quickly.
4. Optional: Enable Adult Content
By default, adult content is hidden in The Crew. To enable it:
- Launch The Crew
- Go to Tools
- Select Settings
- Toggle "Hide Adult Section" to OFF
And the Adult section will appear in the Add-ons main menu.
Next I‘ll go over configuring Real-Debrid and Trakt integration to enhance your streaming experience.
Integrating Real-Debrid and TraktTV
To get high-quality streams and keep track of your media, you‘ll want to connect Real-Debrid and Trakt to The Crew.
Connect Real-Debrid
Real-Debrid unlocks premium hoster links for smooth streaming without constant buffering.
Here‘s how to integrate it with The Crew:
- In The Crew, go to Tools > ResolveURL > Settings
- Choose Re-authorize my account under Real-Debrid
- Write down the code provided and enter it at real-debrid.com/device
- Click Continue and your device will be authorized
Real-Debrid enabled sources will now appear for titles in The Crew like RD-Torrents, RD-Usenet, etc.
Connect TraktTV
Trakt allows you to track and sync your media playback across devices.
To connect your Trakt account:
- In The Crew, go to Tools > Trakt Authorize
- Write down the code provided
- Go to trakt.tv/activate and enter the code
- Click Continue and authorize device
Your Trakt account is now linked to start scrobbling your viewing progress and build your media library.
Okay, let‘s dive into how to actually use The Crew for streaming.
How to Use The Crew Kodi Addon
The Crew gives you tons of options for streaming movies, live sports, and more. Here‘s an overview of the main sections and how to use them.
Movies
The Movies section provides on-demand films to stream instantly. You can browse movies by:
- Trending
- Most Popular
- Highly Rated
- Genres
- Years
- Actors
- Directors
- Studios
- Trakt lists
- Keywords
- Search
I especially like using the curated Trakt lists which have categories like:
- Trending Movies
- Most Popular Movies
- Oscar Winners
- IMDb Top 250 Movies
- Rotten Tomatoes Best Movies of All Time
This makes it easy to find highly rated movies across different genres.
Within each menu, you can view information on each movie like the plot, rating, run-time, etc. And sort by year, title, rating, etc.
Once you select a movie, you can pick from the available stream sources like:
- Optimized
- RD-Torrents
- RD-Cached
- Premiumize
- EasyNews
- Free hosters
The RD and Premiumize sources require a debrid service but provide the fastest streams.
TV Shows
Similar to Movies, The Crew has a huge catalog of TV shows to binge. Ways to browse shows:
- Trending
- Most Popular
- Highly Rated
- Genres
- Networks
- New TV Shows
- New Episodes
Again, the Trakt lists come in handy for finding quality shows like:
- Trending Shows
- Most Popular Shows
- Highly Rated Shows
- Must Watch Shows
You can select a show to see season and episode information. And then pick a source to start streaming instantly.
Live Sports
For sports fans, The Crew offers live streams and replays of games across all major leagues:
Including:
- NFL Football
- NBA Basketball
- NHL Hockey
- MLB Baseball
- Soccer (EPL, Champions League, La Liga, Bundesliga, etc.)
- UFC / Boxing / WWE
- Tennis
- Golf
- Rugby
- Cricket
- Motorsports
You can typically find links for most major live games. Replays are also available soon after the live event.
Live TV
The Crew provides a Live TV section with 400+ HD channels across categories like:
- Entertainment
- Movies
- Sports
- News
- Music
- Kids
- Lifestyle
- International
However, free live TV sources can be unreliable. I would instead recommend using a paid IPTV service which provides smooth HD streams for all your favorite channels.
Check out my guide to the best IPTV services for recommendations.
Kids Zone
One of my favorite sections in The Crew is the dedicated Kids area. It contains:
- Kids Movies
- Kids TV Shows
- Learning Videos
- Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales
- Disney Collection
- Pixar Collection
So you can easily find appropriate on-demand movies, shows, and educational videos for children.
1 Click Movies
For quick and easy streaming, The 1 Click Movies section auto-selects a stream source when you click a movie title.
Rather than browsing through the various links and qualities, it picks one automatically and starts playback instantly.
Search
You can search for movies, shows, actors, directors, sports events, and live channels using the search bar at the top of The Crew.
For example, searching for "The Matrix" returns results for the movie to stream as well as the cast members.
So search makes it easy to find exactly what you‘re looking for.
Settings & Tools
Under the Tools menu, The Crew provides options to:
- Clear cache
- View login info
- Enable/disable adult content
- Manage subtitle services
- Configure playback settings
- Manage package providers
- View status of Real-Debrid and Trakt
Make use of these tools to customize your experience.
For example, in the Playback settings you can set:
- Default sort order for sources (seeders, size, quality, etc)
- Toggle HEVC codec links
- Set default playback action (play vs choose source)
- Enable automatic subtitles
- and more…
Link Filtering
One key setting in The Crew I‘d like to emphasize is link filtering under Provider Packages.
Here you can enable/disable specific streaming providers like Upstream, Downstream, etc. This prevents links from those sources appearing in your results.
For example, you may find that Upstream links buffer a lot. So disabling Upstream would remove those links from your search results.
You can also set minimum qualities to filter our lower resolution streams.
Taking the time to customize your package Providers is worthwhile to optimize The Crew to your preferences.
The Crew Kodi Addon Stats
To give you an idea of the popularity of The Crew, here are some of the key stats:
- 7th most downloaded Kodi add-on of all time
- 2nd most downloaded video add-on behind only The Movie Database
- 400,000+ active installs based on Kodi Repository stats
- 800,000+ monthly downloads according to Kodi Stats website
It also maintains a 4.5 out of 5 star rating across thousands of reviews on various forums and the Kodi Repository.
So while hard numbers are difficult to validate for 3rd party addons, it‘s clear The Crew is one of the most widely used and highest rated addons in the Kodi ecosystem.
Is The Crew Legal? How to Stay Protected
Now you may be wondering – is The Crew legal and safe to use?
While Kodi itself and third party addons are perfectly legal, some of the content streamed through addons like The Crew may be pirated.
Streaming this copyrighted content without permission does violate piracy laws. While lawsuits are rare, your ISP could potentially send warnings or throttle your bandwidth if detected.
To stay protected, I highly recommend using a good VPN like IPVanish or CyberGhost when using The Crew or similar Kodi addons.
A VPN allows you to:
- Encrypt all your internet traffic so your ISP can‘t see what you‘re accessing
- Hide your IP address so you stream anonymously
- Prevent throttling and copyright warnings/letters
- Access geo-blocked content
- Use public WiFi securely
VPNs provide an added layer of privacy and security beyond just Kodi streaming.
Some of the top options compatible with Kodi devices like Firestick include:
IPVanish – one of the fastest VPNs ideal for streaming. Offers unlimited simultaneous connections.
CyberGhost – located in privacy-friendly Romania with strict no logs policy.
Surfshark – budget-friendly option with unlimited devices and whitelister.
I always connect my device to a VPN before launching Kodi or other streaming apps. This ensures everything is encrypted.
For the strongest protection, look for a VPN with advanced features like an internet kill switch, split tunneling, and security protocols like WireGuard or OpenVPN.
Stream safely! But if you have any other questions on The Crew or Kodi in general, feel free to reach out in the comments below.
