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How to create an M3U Playlist on Windows PC

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In this guide, we are going to talk about how to create an M3U playlist in Windows 11/10. M3U is an acronym for MP3 URL and is a multimedia playlist file. It was originally designed to create playlist files with MP3 audio files. However, it may contain audio files in other audio formats too. Additionally, you can also add video files to M3U playlists.

How to open M3U Playlist in Windows

Many music players allow you to open and play M3U playlists on Windows 11/10. You can import, view, and play M3U playlists in Windows Media Player. In addition to that, some third-party media players also support M3U playlists for importing and playing. Some of these media players include VLC media player, GOM Player, AIMP, and PotPlayer.

Do note that the M3U playlists don’t contain the actual media content. These playlists are stored in a text-based format and contain only the paths to media files, allowing them to be played in the specified order. Let’s now explore various methods for creating M3U playlists on Windows 11/10.

How to create an M3U playlist in Windows 11/10

Here are some methods to create an M3U playlist on your Windows 11/10 PC:

  1. Use a dedicated playlist creator to create an M3U playlist.
  2. Create M3U playlists in the VLC media player.
  3. Generate M3U playlists in Winamp.
  4. Create an M3U playlist in AIMP.
  5. Use Audacious to create M3U playlists.
  6. Create an M3U playlist in Notepad.

Let us discuss the above methods in detail now!

1] Use a dedicated playlist creator to create an M3U playlist

There are dedicated programs that allow you to create M3U playlists on Windows 11 and 10. Here, we are going to list two free playlist creators. Let us checkout!

1) Playlist Creator For Mp3 Players

As the name gives away, Playlist Creator For Mp3 Players is a free software to generate M3U playlists. It is portable and lightweight playlist maker software. Here are the main steps to use this software in order to generate M3U playlists:

  1. Download this software from sourceforge.net.
  2. Unzip the downloaded RAR file using unzipper freeware.
  3. Launch the Playlist Creator application.
  4. Click on the Add Files or Add Folder button to import multiple source media files.
  5. You can now change the order of files using Move Up or Move Down button.
  6. Press the Save button to save the M3U playlist.

It is an easy-to-use and simple M3U playlist maker that you can try.

2) sPlaylistMaker

Another dedicated software to create M3U playlists on Windows 11/10 is sPlaylistMaker. It is a portable software that allows you to create M3U and M3U8 playlists. Here are the steps to create an M3U playlist using sPlaylistMaker:

  1. Download sPlaylistMaker.
  2. Unzip the downloaded folder.
  3. Run the sPlaylistMaker application file.
  4. Set up Playlist options including playlist name, write location, files to include (audio/ video or both), write type (M3U or M3U8), etc.
  5. Drag and drop audio files or a whole folder to its interface.

The M3U playlist will be created as soon as you drop audio files onto its interface.

To use this software, you can download it from here.

See: How to merge multiple Playlists on Spotify and YouTube Music.

2] Create M3U playlists in the VLC media player

If you are an ardent user of the famous VLC media player, you can use it to create M3U playlists. It lets you generate M3U and other playlist files including M3U8, XSPF, and HTML playlists. Here are the main steps to create M3U playlists in the VLC media player:

  1. Download and install the VLC media player.
  2. Launch the application.
  3. Toggle view mode to Playlist.
  4. Add media files to the playlist.
  5. Go to the File > Save Playlist to File option.
  6. Select M3U as the output file format and save the playlist.

Firstly, download and install the VLC media player if you don’t already have it on your PC. Then, open the GUI of this software.

Now, go to the View menu and click on the Playlist option to open up its Playlist Manager.

Next, right-click on the white blank area, and from the context menu, use Add File or Add Folder option to import the input media files to it.

After that, go to the File menu and tap on the Save Playlist to File option.

Finally, set the target format to M3U, enter the playlist filename, and then press the Save button. This will create an M3U playlist file that you can use in a supported application.

Read: How to edit Audio or Video Metadata Tags in VLC media player.

3] Create an M3U playlist in AIMP

AIMP is a good music player that can create an M3U playlist. It is a complete audio player with audio tagging and conversion functionalities. You can create M3U, M3U, (Unicode), and Winamp playlist files using this audio player software. Let us check out the steps to do so:

  1. Firstly, download and install AIMP on your PC.
  2. Now, launch the AIMP software.
  3. Next, go to the Menu and click on the Open Files option to import multiple audio files.
  4. After that, click on the three-bar menu present at the bottom-right corner.
  5. Then, press the Export Playlist option and save the M3U playlist file.

It is quite easy and smooth to create M3U playlists with AIMP.

4] Use Audacious to create M3U playlists

Another software that you can use to generate M3U playlists is Audacious. It is a dedicated music player that can create M3U playlists. Follow the below steps to do so:

  1. Download Audacious and install it.
  2. Launch the application.
  3. Import the source audio files by going to the File menu.
  4. Go to the Playlist menu and click on the Export button.
  5. Enter the playlist name with the .m3u extension.
  6. Press the Save button to generate an M3U playlist.

Read: How to download YouTube playlist videos at once.

5] Create an M3U playlist in Notepad

Yes, you read that right! You can also create an M3U playlist in Notepad on Windows 11/10 PC. As an M3U playlist basically contains the location of media files and is a text-based file format, you can enter the path of media files in new lines and create an M3U playlist. Here are the exact steps to create an M3U playlist in Notepad:

  1. First, open the Notepad application on Windows 11/10.
  2. Now, copy and paste the exact path to all the media files with which you want to create a playlist.
  3. After entering the path to all the source media files, go to the File menu and click the Save as option.
  4. Next, select Save as type to All Files.
  5. Then, enter the playlist filename and manually add the .m3u file extension.
  6. Lastly, press the Save button to create an M3U playlist.

Using Notepad is the easiest way to create an M3U playlist on Windows 11/10 PC.

6] Generate M3U playlists in Winamp

Winamp is one of the first audio players that supported M3U playlists. You can use it to play and create M3U, M3U8, and PLS playlists in Windows 11/10. To do so, here are the steps:

  1. Download and install Winamp.
  2. Launch Winamp.
  3. Add media files to it.
  4. Click on the File > Save Playlist option.
  5. Select M3U as output playlist format.
  6. Enter a filename and press the Save button.

This way you can create M3U8 and PLS playlists too.

Read: How to use Mini Lyrics Plugin for Windows Media Player.

How do I make an M3U playlist in Windows Media Player?

You can use the native media player application of Windows 10 i.e., Windows Media Player. You can create a new M3U playlist as well as play existing M3U files using WMP. Here are the steps to generate playlists in M3U file format in Windows Media Player:

  1. Open Windows Media Player.
  2. Browse and import source media files.
  3. Drag the media files to Playlist.
  4. Click on List options > Save list as.
  5. Select M3U as playlist format.
  6. Press the Save button to generate an M3U playlist.

Firstly, launch the Windows Media Player application. Next, browse the media files and folder with which you want to create an M3U playlist file. Now, drag the media files onto the Playlist section.

Then, click on the List options drop-down option. After that, tap on the Save list as option from various options.

Finally, select the output playlist format as M3U and click the Save button to create an M3U playlist.

How do I make an M3U playlist in Notepad?

You can create M3U playlists in Notepad by using the steps mentioned in method (6). Just enter the path of media files and save the file in M3U format.

How do I turn a folder into a playlist?

The above-listed methods can be used to turn a folder into a playlist. You can import a folder of media files VLC, AIMP, or any other software mentioned here and convert it to an M3U or some other supported playlist.

Now read: Cannot load M3U8, Cross Domain Access Denied, 404 not found, or No levels to play

KomalSrivastava@TWC

Komal has done M.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering. She is a keen follower of the Windows ecosystem & a technical writer since the last six years. She loves finding solutions for day-to-day tech problems.