The wiki for library export shows this:
1.1.1 Exporting to one single file
When exporting to a single file Kodi will bring up a browser dialog where you select where you want it exported. Kodi will then create a subdirectory with the resulting xml file plus all thumbnails and fanart, watched status will be exported to the xml file.
Note: Exporting to a single file is discouraged in Frodo and higher, as there is a big issue with artwork. It changes the artwork location URL to the folder location of the export, which causes problems when you want to redownload the information.
Does anyone know if this bug has been fixed by Jarvis or Krypton?
I need to rebuild my Kodi box and I’d like to export and reimport after rebuild without saving a bunch of extra files into my storage structure.