Playlists in file system not appearing in Emby (4.9.3.0, Windows 10)

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

Hello,

I’m running into an issue with Playlists not appearing in Emby, and I want to provide complete details to help troubleshoot.

Environment

• Emby Server Version: 4.9.3.0
• OS: Windows 10 Pro (22H2)
• Hardware:
  CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 @ 2.60GHz
  RAM: 64 GB
  GPU: NVIDIA Quadro K620
• Access Method: Web UI (primary)
• Also tested on: Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV Cube, LG Smart TV
• Result is consistent across all devices

Issue

I have multiple playlist files stored on my server's file system, but none of them appear in Emby.

What I’m Seeing

• Playlist files exist in my file system (some older, some newer)
• In Emby:

  Only a small subset of playlists appear
  The playlists that do appear do NOT match the files in the playlist directory

• Missing playlists do not appear on any client device

Playlist Details

• Playlist file type(s): [e.g., .m3u / .m3u8 / .xml]
• Location of playlist files: [FULL PATH —C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Emby-Server\programdata\data\playlists]
• Paths inside playlists: [unknown yet — will verify if needed]
• Playlists were created by multiple users over time (all created within Emby)

What I’ve Already Checked

• Verified playlists exist in the file system
• Confirmed issue across multiple devices (not client-specific)
• Compared visible playlists vs actual files — mismatch
• Reviewed server logs (attached)

Questions

• Does Emby still support reading playlists directly from the file system (e.g., .m3u / .m3u8)?
• Are there specific requirements for playlists (location, format, encoding, relative vs absolute paths)?
• Could older playlist files be ignored or unsupported?
• Is there a difference between Emby-created playlists vs filesystem playlists?
• Are “Smart Playlists” built-in or plugin-based?

Attachments

• Screenshot of playlist files in file system
• Screenshot of playlists visible in Emby
• Screenshots of playlist files
• Server log (today)

If additional information is needed, I’ll provide it immediately.

Thank you.

2026-04-13_BaNana Blocks_embyserver.txt

[Luke 42314]

HI, yes this is still supported. did you check that your emby user has access to the playlists library?

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

9 hours ago, Luke said:

HI, yes this is still supported. did you check that your emby user has access to the playlists library?

Yes. We all have full access to all Libraries.

[Luke 42314]

Did you move this system from a linux environment to windows?

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

2 hours ago, Luke said:

Did you move this system from a linux environment to windows?

No Sir. It has always been on Windows. I wish I could move the Library to my NAS where everything else resides, but the playlist library doesn't let you specify. I've scanned the files in the library a dozen times but the playlists just still won't display.

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

Are there any other things that I need to check to figure out why I can't see my playlists? Or should I just rebuild them?  I'm at your command, as always!

[Luke 42314]

Does the playlist library show in emby library setup?

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

12 hours ago, Luke said:

Does the playlist library show in emby library setup?

Yes Sir, it does. 

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

Good evening. I'm still hoping for a solution to this issue. Hopefully, someone can come up with a few steps to try to troubleshoot the problem. Thanks in advance!

[Luke 42314]

Hi, what you could try to do is remove the playlists library from emby library setup. That will kick off a library scan, so once that finishes, then create a new playlist manually and that will recreate it. See if that brings everything back.

 

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

16 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, what you could try to do is remove the playlists library from emby library setup. That will kick off a library scan, so once that finishes, then create a new playlist manually and that will recreate it. See if that brings everything back.

 

Okay. I will give that a try and let you know how it goes! I'm assuming it will recreate the playlists library in the usual place where it was before. So all the playlists will still be in there. Let's do it!  btw... your post says you posted that response 16 hours ago, but for some reason, I JUST NOW got it. So crazy! Thank you for responding!

Edited 6 hours ago by BaNanaBlocks

[BaNanaBlocks 11]

Okay. I deleted the old Playlists library. I then started a new playlist which added a Playlists library to Emby showing 2 folders. But when I go into the library, it doensn't show me the paths to where it's looking for its data. I've included screenshots.

[Luke 42314]

50 minutes ago, BaNanaBlocks said:

Okay. I deleted the old Playlists library. I then started a new playlist which added a Playlists library to Emby showing 2 folders. But when I go into the library, it doensn't show me the paths to where it's looking for its data. I've included screenshots.

 

That's OK. That's not really meant to be configurable. Actually we should probably just prevent the dialog from showing altogether.