M3U (''MP3 URL'' or Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3

Uniform Resource Locator A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identif ...

in full) is a computer file format for a multimedia

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

. One common use of the M3U file format is creating a single-entry playlist file pointing to a

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

on the Internet. The created file provides easy access to that stream and is often used in downloads from a website, for emailing, and for listening to

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

. Although originally designed for audio files, such as

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

, it is commonly used to point media players to audio and video sources, including online sources. M3U was originally developed by Fraunhofer for use with their

Winplay3 WinPlay3 was the first real-time MP3 audio player for PCs running Windows, both 16-bit (Windows 3.1) and 32-bit (Windows 95). Prior to this, audio compressed with MP3 had to be decompressed prior to listening. It was released by Fraunhofer IIS ( ...

software, but numerous media players and software applications now support the format. Careless handling of M3U playlists has been the cause of

vulnerabilities Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...

in many music players such as VLC media player,

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

Winamp Winamp is a media player for Microsoft Windows originally developed by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev by their company Nullsoft, which they later sold to AOL in 1999 for $80 million. It was then acquired by Radionomy in 2014. Since ve ...

, and many others.

File format

There is no formal specification for the M3U format; it is a

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

standard. An M3U file is a

plain text In computing, plain text is a loose term for data (e.g. file contents) that represent only characters of readable material but not its graphical representation nor other objects (floating-point numbers, images, etc.). It may also include a limit ...

file that specifies the locations of one or more media files. The file is saved with the "m3u"

filename extension A filename extension, file name extension or file extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file (e.g., .txt, .docx, .md). The extension indicates a characteristic of the file contents or its intended use. A filename extension is typically ...

if the text is encoded in the local system's default non-Unicode encoding (e.g., a Windows codepage), or with the "m3u8" extension if the text is

UTF-8 UTF-8 is a variable-length character encoding used for electronic communication. Defined by the Unicode Standard, the name is derived from ''Unicode'' (or ''Universal Coded Character Set'') ''Transformation Format 8-bit''. UTF-8 is capable of e ...

encoded. Each entry carries one specification. The specification can be any one of the following: * an ''absolute local pathname''; e.g., C:\My Music\Heavysets.mp3 * a ''local pathname'' relative to the M3U file location; e.g. Heavysets.mp3 * a URL Each entry ends with a line break which separates it from the following one. Furthermore, some devices only accept line breaks represented as CR LF, but do not recognize a single LF.

Extended M3U

The M3U file can also include comments, prefaced by the "#" character. In extended M3U, "#" also introduces extended M3U directives which are terminated by a colon ":" if they support parameters. Apple used the extended M3U format as a base for their

HTTP Live Streaming HTTP Live Streaming (also known as HLS) is an HTTP-based adaptive bitrate streaming communications protocol developed by Apple Inc. and released in 2009. Support for the protocol is widespread in media players, web browsers, mobile devices, and ...

(HLS) which was documented in an Independent Submission Stream RFC in 2017 as RFC 8216. Therein, a ''master playlist'' references segment playlists which usually contain URLs for short parts of the media stream. Some tags only apply to the former type and some only to the latter type of playlist, but they all begin with #EXT-X-.

M3U8

The

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...

version of M3U is M3U8, which uses

-encoded characters. M3U8 files are the basis for the

(HLS) format originally developed by

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

to stream video and radio to iOS devices, and which is now a popular format for adaptive streaming in general. The 2015 proposal for the HLS playlist format uses UTF-8 exclusively and does not distinguish between the "m3u" and "m3u8" file name extensions.

Internet media types

The only

Internet media type A media type (also known as a MIME type) is a two-part identifier for file formats and format contents transmitted on the Internet. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the official authority for the standardization and publication o ...

registered for M3U and M3U8 is application/vnd.apple.mpegurl, registered in 2009 and only referring to the playlist format as used in HLS applications. The current proposal for the HLS playlist format acknowledges two media types which it treats as equivalent: application/vnd.apple.mpegurl and audio/mpegurl. Likewise, these are the two types recommended for HLS use by Microsoft. For non-HLS applications, no media types were standardized or registered with the

IANA The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media types, and other Interne ...

, but a number of media types are nonetheless associated with the historical and ongoing use of the M3U and M3U8 formats for general playlists: * application/mpegurl * application/x-mpegurl * audio/mpegurl * audio/x-mpegurl These types, plus application/vnd.apple.mpegurl and application/vnd.apple.mpegurl.audio, are supported for HLS applications by (for example) Microsoft's

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on ...

and

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Windows line of operating systems (in ...

9, and LG's

WebOS webOS, also known as LG webOS and previously known as Open webOS, HP webOS and Palm webOS, is a Linux kernel-based multitasking operating system for smart devices such as smart TVs that has also been used as a mobile operating system. Initially ...

Examples

;Example 1 This is an example of an extended M3U file on the Windows platform. Sample.mp3 and Example.ogg are the media files. 123 and 321 are the lengths in seconds. A length of -1 or 0 may be used when the media file is a streaming file, as there is no actual, predefined length value. The value after the length is the title to be shown, which is generally the same as the location of the file which is on the second line. On the

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

and

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

platforms,

Unix path A path is a string of characters used to uniquely identify a location in a directory structure. It is composed by following the directory tree hierarchy in which components, separated by a delimiting character, represent each directory. The del ...

s are used. #EXTM3U #EXTINF:123, Sample artist - Sample title C:\Documents and Settings\I\My Music\Sample.mp3 #EXTINF:321,Example Artist - Example title C:\Documents and Settings\I\My Music\Greatest Hits\Example.ogg ;Example 2 This example shows how to create an m3u file linking to a specified directory (for example, a flash drive, or CD-ROM). The m3u file should contain only one string: the path to the directory. After starting, the media player will play all contents of the directory: C:\Music ;Example 3 Here is another example, using relative format. The M3U file is placed in the same directory as the music, and directories must be preserved when moving the playlist to another device if subdirectories are used. This method is more flexible, as it does not rely on the file path staying the same. This is the same file as above, saved as sample.m3u in C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Music\ #EXTM3U #EXTINF:123, Sample artist - Sample title Sample.mp3 #EXTINF:321,Example Artist - Example title Greatest Hits\Example.ogg This format in an M3U allows copying to another device for playback. All files and directories referred to must also be copied. ;Example 4 Here is a mixed example: Alternative\Band - Song.mp3 Classical\Other Band - New Song.mp3 Stuff.mp3 D:\More Music\Foo.mp3 ..\Other Music\Bar.mp3 http://www.example.com:8000/Listen.mp3 http://www.example.com/~user/Mine.mp3 Notes: * Alternative and Classical are sub-directories of the directory that this playlist is stored in. * "Song" and "New Song" are in sub-directories of the directory that this playlist is stored in. * "Stuff" is in the same directory that the playlist is stored in. * "Foo" is in the specified (Windows) volume and directory, which may or may not be the same directory the playlist is in. * "Bar" is in a different directory at the same level as the playlist directory. The double-dots reference the parent directory of the playlist directory, then into the sub-directory "Other Music" to reach "Bar". * "Listen" is a Shoutcast stream. * "Mine" is an MP3 stored on a web server. ;Example 5 References to other M3U playlists, for example, are generally not well-supported. AnotherPlayList.m3u ;Example 6 The following is an example of a M3U playlist file for "

Jar of Flies ''Jar of Flies'' is the third studio EP by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on January 25, 1994, through Columbia Records. This is Alice in Chains' second acoustic EP, preceded by 1992's '' Sap'', and it is the first EP in music ...

" album by "

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

" that was created by Mp3tag with the following custom option settings: * playlist extended info format = "%artist% - %title%" * playlist filename format = "%artist%_%album%_00_Playlist.m3u" * tag to filename conversion format = "%artist%_%album%_$num(%track%,2)_%title%"

 #EXTM3U
 #EXTINF:419,Alice in Chains - Rotten Apple
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_01_Rotten Apple.mp3
 #EXTINF:260,Alice in Chains - Nutshell
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_02_Nutshell.mp3
 #EXTINF:255,Alice in Chains - I Stay Away
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_03_I Stay Away.mp3
 #EXTINF:256,Alice in Chains - No Excuses
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_04_No Excuses.mp3
 #EXTINF:157,Alice in Chains - Whale And Wasp
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_05_Whale And Wasp.mp3
 #EXTINF:263,Alice in Chains - Don't Follow
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_06_Don't Follow.mp3
 #EXTINF:245,Alice in Chains - Swing On This
 Alice in Chains_Jar of Flies_07_Swing On This.mp3

Software

Tag editors

The following tag editor software allows users to edit the ID3 tags in

files, and has support for creating M3U files. ;Linux * EasyTAG, puddletag. ;Windows * Mp3tag, puddletag.

Media players

;Multi-platform ;Android * Astro Player * Kodi *N7Player *Musicolet *Phonograph ;macOS *

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

* QuickTime Player ;Nintendo *

New Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It is the fourth system in the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld consoles, following the original Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, and Nintendo 2DS. The system was released in Japan on October 1 ...

(including XL and 2DS XL variants) with Internet Browser app *

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

with the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

( site-specific) app *

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. ...

with the Internet Browser or

app ;Windows *

foobar2000 foobar2000 (often abbreviated as fb2k or f2k) is a freeware audio player for Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android developed by Peter Pawłowski. It has a modular design, which provides user flexibility in configuration and customization. Stan ...

, JRiver Media Center,

JuK Juk may refer to: * JuK, software * Juk (food), Korean rice porridge * Juk language, a Mon–Khmer language spoken in Laos * Ukkusissat Heliport, in Greenland * Wapan language Wapan (Jukun Wapan) or Kororofa, also known as Wukari after the l ...

, MediaMonkey,

PotPlayer PotPlayer is a multimedia software player developed for the Microsoft Windows operating system by South Korean Internet company Kakao (formerly Daum Communications). It competes with other popular Windows media players such as VLC media player, ...

Windows Media Player Windows Media Player (WMP) is the first media player and media library application that was developed by Microsoft for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as ...

XMPlay XMPlay is a freeware audio player for Windows. Initially released in 1998, it is often used as a reference player for tracker audio files. Overview Developed by ''Un4seen Developments'' in 1998, it originally only supported the XM file fo ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:M3u Playlist file formats Digital audio Filename extensions