Using M3U playlists in VLC

VLC media player from VideoLAN is free, open source and reads M3U and M3U8 playlists directly. This guide covers VLC 3.0 for Windows, macOS and Linux (version 3.0.24 at the time of writing). Menu names on macOS can differ slightly.

Open a playlist file

1. In VLC, choose Media → Open File….
2. Select your .m3u or .m3u8 file and open it.

VLC loads every entry into its playlist and starts playing the first one.

Open a playlist from a web address

If your playlist is published at an address (for example, your own server or a provider you subscribe to):

1. Choose Media → Open Network Stream… (keyboard: Ctrl+N).
2. On the Network tab, paste the address.
3. Click Play.

VLC downloads the playlist and loads its entries. Because VLC is a desktop program, it isn’t limited by the browser rules that stop websites from reading other sites (see why some links can’t be checked in the browser).

Save a playlist from VLC

1. Arrange the entries in VLC’s playlist.
2. Choose Media → Save Playlist to File… (keyboard: Ctrl+Y).
3. Pick a file type. VLC 3.0 offers XSPF, M3U, M3U8 and HTML playlists.

Choose M3U8 if any names use non-Latin letters. When the media files are in the same folder as the playlist, or in a folder below it, VLC writes relative paths, so the playlist keeps working if you move the whole folder.

What VLC reads from an M3U file

Line	VLC 3.0
#EXTM3U, #EXTINF	Name and length of each entry
#EXTVLCOPT	VLC-only playback options for the entry
#EXTALBUMARTURL	Artwork for the entry
#PLAYLIST	Title of the playlist
#EXTGRP	Not read by VLC 3.0

Relative entries are resolved against the location of the playlist file. On Windows, paths that start with a drive letter (C:) or a network share (\\server) count as absolute.

Fix common problems

Names show strange characters

VLC reads an .m3u file that isn’t valid UTF-8 as Latin-1, so Arabic, Cyrillic or Chinese names turn into garbled symbols. Save the playlist as UTF-8 with the .m3u8 extension. M3U.Click can do this when you export.

An entry won’t play

VLC couldn’t find or reach the entry:

• File entries: check that the file still exists at that path. If you moved the playlist, relative paths may now point to the wrong folder. See relative and absolute paths.
• Web entries: open the address in a browser or ask its provider whether it still works.

The playlist opens but shows only one entry

The file may be missing the #EXTM3U first line, or it may be an HLS stream playlist (a single stream cut into segments) rather than a list of entries. See the format reference.

Next steps

• Using M3U playlists in Kodi
• The M3U format reference