[Jankster]

I have been using Kodi 19.4 for the past couple of years because that is the most recent available in the Debian backports repository.

I wanted to update to a more recent version, so I just installed from Flatpak. I haven't used it much yet, but I notice that my "last watched" and my movie ratings did not come over.  I thought that data was stored in the sidecar .nfo files alongside the movies, but I guess I'm wrong.

What's the smoothest way to move my user data to the new installation? Would I just export and then re-import the music and video libraries as discussed in this wiki article?

Any other tips? Thank you!

[Karellen]

I thought that data was stored in the sidecar .nfo files

It is. As long as you run a regular export to keep them updated. If you ran an export, say, 3 years ago, well that is what the nfo files contain. The data from 3 years ago.
I run an export every couple of weeks.

Would I just export and then re-import the music and video libraries as discussed in this wiki article?

Yes.
Separate Files for Videos.
Single File for Music.
Be careful when answering about Artwork. If you have local artwork, answer NO to export. The exported artwork is the modified files from the cache.

[Jankster]

Thanks for the reassurance and your time; exporting and re-importing went smoothly.

You mention that you export your library every couple of weeks. Are you aware of any ways to automate library exports? I did a quick forum search and the only hits I got were from 12+ years ago and talking about XMBC libraries.

[Karellen]

Are you aware of any ways to automate library exports?

No, not that I am aware of.
I've added a keymap shortcut to my keyboard.xml file to avoid navigating through the settings menu... <e mod="ctrl,shift">exportlibrary(video)</e>
Press ctrl-shift-e on a keyboard will bring up the Video Export screen.