Tired of the non-portability of my playlists, I wrote my own format

In plain words

The Universal Playlist Format is a data format designed to make music and video playlists portable across different systems and players. Unlike traditional playlist formats that rely on simple filenames, UPF uses multiple identifiers and cryptographic hashes to track tracks reliably even when files are moved or renamed. It enables richer track descriptions and additional functionality in compatible players, making it useful for anyone who wants to manage playlists more flexibly across different applications.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

The Universal Playlist Format (UPF) is a data format for music (or video, or even other types of) playlists. It aims to be more flexible and complete than existing formats. A Universal Playlist (UPL) will allow better description of the tracks it contains, as well as enable added functionality in players. Rather than just a simple filename and, perhaps, a title, the UPF contains multiple identifiers (including the filename and title), which serve different use cases. The cryptographic hashes allow library management programs to always know which entry refers to which file, even if you move them or sync your playlist across computers (and even different players), while the MusicBrainz Track…from universalplaylist.stavros.io

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