An M3U file is a plain-text playlist: a list of media files or stream addresses that a player opens in order. It doesn't contain any audio or video itself, only pointers to where the media lives. M3U is used for music playlists, internet radio and IPTV channel lists, and almost every media player can open it.
What's inside an M3U file
In its simplest form, an M3U file is one entry per line, and each entry is a file path or a URL:
Music/Track01.mp3
Music/Track02.mp3
https://radio.example.com/stream.mp3The extended format adds a header and descriptive lines. #EXTM3U must be the first line, and an #EXTINF line before an entry gives its duration in seconds and a display title. Other lines starting with # are comments.
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:215,Example Artist - Example Song
Music/Track01.mp3Absolute paths, relative paths and URLs
- Absolute path: the full location, like
C:\Music\Track01.mp3. Breaks if the file moves to another computer. - Relative path: a location relative to the M3U file itself, like
Music/Track01.mp3. Works as long as the playlist and media move together. - URL: a web address. This is what IPTV playlists use, because the media is streamed rather than stored locally.
How to open an M3U file
- To play it: open it with a media player such as VLC (File → Open File), or drag it onto the player window. See opening an M3U playlist in VLC.
- To read or edit it: open it in a plain-text editor such as Notepad on Windows or TextEdit in plain-text mode on Mac.
M3U vs. M3U8
An .m3u8 file is the same format saved in UTF-8 encoding, so names in any language display correctly. Plain .m3u files use the system's default encoding, which is why accented names sometimes appear garbled. M3U8 is also the playlist format behind HLS streaming. See how media streaming works.
Common problems
- Nothing plays: the files or URLs the playlist points to have moved or expired. Open the M3U in a text editor and check the entries.
- Garbled names: an encoding mismatch. Re-save the file as UTF-8 with an
.m3u8extension. - Opens in the wrong app: set your preferred player as the default for
.m3ufiles in your operating system's settings.
For IPTV-specific attributes such as channel groups and guide IDs, see M3U vs. Xtream Codes.