Extract text from Song lists (PLAYLIST)
To convert PLAYLIST playlists to another format, you need YouTube Music or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Media & Test Playlist Data" file type, you need software like YouTube Music or a similar tool.
The .playlist file extension is a fragmented container format utilized to store ordered sequences of items. In practice, it most frequently functions as a compressed music queue exported by YouTube Music, a custom song library for the VR game Beat Saber, or an automated test execution script used by developers in Microsoft Visual Studio. Other applications, such as VLC media player and CyberLink PowerDVD, also produce variations of this file.
The primary disadvantage of .playlist files is severe fragmentation and vendor lock-in. Because multiple distinct platforms use the exact same extension to store different underlying formats (like XML, JSON, or proprietary binary data), a .playlist file generated by Visual Studio is completely unreadable by VLC or Spotify. Furthermore, these files almost never contain actual audio or video data - they simply store local paths or web URLs pointing to the media. This creates massive compatibility issues when trying to move libraries between devices.
To break free from platform lock-in, users often need to convert .playlist files to universal standards like M3U, M3U8, or PLS for media players, or JSON and XML for developer applications. Keep in mind that converting the playlist only moves the index, not the actual MP3 or MP4 files.
Because of its fragmented nature, this file format is difficult to open or convert reliably with generic tools. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. However, you can use convert.guru as a pragmatic workaround. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view its internal text or links, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects a supported underlying text or JSON structure, we can help you extract the raw data.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PLAYLIST file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PLA, M3U, MPLT, WPL, MPCPL, M3U8, CSV, TXT, MP3, HMT, XSPF, PDF and MP4 files.
If you want to convert PLAYLIST file to TEXT, CLEAN, FILE, MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, M4A, AIFF or OPUS, you can use YouTube Music or similar software from the "Media Track List Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MIDI, AAC, TTA, AU, WV, DTS, MID, FLAC, RA, MP3, PCM or WAV files to PLAYLIST, try YouTube Music or another comparable tool in the "Media Track List Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PLAYLIST converter.