Mobile devices have long replaced portable players for us, but standard players often cannot cope with large collections of music. When thousands of tracks accumulate in the smartphone's memory, it becomes difficult to navigate through them without a clear structure. AIMP is one of the most powerful tools for organizing an audio library, which offers flexible settings and an intuitive interface.
Creating your own playlists allows you to group songs by mood, genre or artist, ensuring uninterrupted listening to exactly what you need right now. Unlike the algorithmic recommendations of streaming services, a manual playlist gives complete control over the order of tracks. In this article we will analyze in detail the process of creating, editing and saving playlists in the mobile version of this popular player.
Preparing a media library and navigating the interface
Before you start creating complex structures, you need to make sure that the application has correctly scanned your music library. AIMP automatically finds audio files on first launch, but sometimes you need to manually add folders through settings. Go to the menu and select the section Settings → Foldersto indicate the directories where your music is stored.
The app interface is divided into several tabs, and to work with lists we will need the “Media Library” or “Files” section. The transition between them is carried out by swiping or clicking on the corresponding icons at the bottom of the screen. It is important to understand the difference: the media library works with file tags, and the file manager shows the physical structure of the storage.
If you store music in the cloud or on a network drive, the player also supports working with remote sources via the SMB or FTP protocols. However, to create local playlists, it is fastest to work with the device's internal memory. Make sure that the application has all the necessary permissions to access the storage in the Android system settings.
⚠️ Attention: If the music is not displayed after adding folders, check the presence of the file .nomedia in this directory. Its presence prevents the system from scanning the folder for media files.
To speed up working with a large library, use the "Refresh Media Library" function in the settings to force scanning of changes without restarting the application.
Basic playlist creation
The easiest way to create a new collection of tracks is to use the context menu directly from the list of files. Find the first song you want to add and hold your finger on it for one second until a highlight appears. After this, you can select additional tracks by touching or use the “Select All” button to add them in bulk.
In the bottom action bar that appears, find an icon with a list or a plus sign. Clicking on it will open a menu where you need to select “Add to playlist”. If this is your first time creating a list, you will be prompted to enter a unique name for the new collection. Enter a name that reflects the content, such as "Workout" or "Evening Jazz."
An alternative method is to create an empty container through the main queue management screen. Open the side menu on the left and find the Playlists section. At the top of this screen there is usually a button to create a new element, indicated by the symbol +. This method is convenient when you want to first create a structure and then fill it with tracks throughout the day.
- 🎵 Long-press a track in the file list to activate multiple selection mode.
- 📁 Use the "Add to playlist" button in the bottom toolbar.
- ✨ Give the list a clear name for quick search in the future.
- 🔄 Repeat the procedure to add tracks from different folders to one list.
Editing and sorting songs
Once a basic set of tracks has been assembled, it often becomes necessary to change the order in which they are played. AIMP allows you to manually drag and drop songs within the list, which is critical for creating smooth transitions between songs. Open the created playlist and find the menu icon (three dots) in the upper right corner of the screen.
In editing mode, you can not only change the order, but also delete individual tracks that are no longer relevant. Long pressing on a song inside the list will bring up a context menu with the option "Remove from list". Please note that this action only removes the track from the current playlist, but does not erase the file itself from the device.
For automatic ordering, use the built-in sorting functions. The player offers to sort songs by title, artist, album, year of release or duration. This is especially useful when importing large collections where manual search would take too much time.
| Sorting type | Description | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| By title | Alphabetical order of tracks | For collections of hits or soundtracks |
| By artist | Grouping by artist | For albums of various artists |
| By year | Chronological order of release | For retrospective collections |
| Random | Shuffle of tracks (Shuffle) | For parties and background |
⚠️ Attention: Sorting by tags works correctly only if the files have correctly filled ID3 tags. If the fields are empty, sorting may occur chaotically.
☑️ Checking the quality of the playlist
Working with formats and saving files
The mobile version of the player supports various playlist formats, which ensures compatibility with other devices and apps. By default AIMP uses a native format, but when exporting you can choose universal standards. The most common format is .m3u, which is supported by the vast majority of media players.
When saving a list, it is important to select the correct file location. It is recommended to save playlists in a separate folder, for example Music/Playlists, so as not to clog the root directory. This will make it easier to back up your music collection when you upgrade to a new smartphone.
The format .pls is also widespread and often used in Internet radios and older car radios. If you plan to sync music with a PC or other gadgets, choosing a universal format will be key to seamless compatibility.
What is the difference between M3U and M3U8?
The M3U file uses ANSI encoding and may not display Cyrillic track names correctly on some devices. The M3U8 format uses UTF-8 encoding, which guarantees the correct display of Russian letters and special characters in file names on any modern systems.
Advanced settings and auto-completion
For experienced users, the function of smart filling of lists based on criteria is available. You can set up a rule that will automatically add all tracks of a certain genre or with a rating above four stars to the playlist. This eliminates the need to manually update the collection when adding new music.
Criteria are set through the Smart Playlist creation menu. Here you can set filtering conditions, such as bitrate, sampling rate or date of file addition. Boolean operators allow you to combine conditions, creating very specific selections.
It is also worth paying attention to the playback settings within the list itself. You can activate continuous playback mode, when after the end of the last track the player automatically starts the list from the beginning. This is convenient for background music while working or sleeping.
If the app interface seems overloaded, go to the theme settings. AIMP Supports skins that can change the location of the playlist control buttons, making them more accessible for one hand.
⚠️ Attention: The interface and menu layout may vary slightly depending on the version of Android and installed theme. If you do not find the described button, check the "Advanced" section in the application settings.
Using smart playlists saves time on manually updating the collection, automatically pulling up new tracks according to specified criteria.
Synchronization and transfer between devices
Created playlists do not have to remain on only one device. Playlist files are lightweight because they only contain links to tracks, not the music itself. This allows you to easily transfer them via instant messengers, email or cloud storage.
To transfer a collection to another phone or computer, just copy the playlist file (for example, my_music.m3u8) and place it in the music folder on the target device. Provided that the folder structure and file names match, the player will automatically pick up all links.
If you use cloud folder synchronization (for example, through Syncthing or Dropbox), configure saving playlists to the synchronized directory. Then any list created on your phone will instantly appear on your tablet or PC without any extra action on your part.
- ☁️ Save playlists to a folder synchronized with the cloud.
- 📂 Make sure that the paths to the files are identical on different devices.
- 📤 Use the M3U8 format for maximum compatibility when transferring.
Why can’t the playlist play on another device?
Most often the problem lies in different file paths. If the music is in /sdcard/Musicon the phone, and in D:\Audioon the computer, the player will not find the tracks using the old links. In this case, you need to either move the files or use relative paths when creating a list, if the player supports this function.
How to add tracks from your listening history?
In the "History" section, you can select a group of tracks for a certain period, hold them down to select them and add them to a new playlist in the standard way through the context menu. This is a quick way to save your favorite songs that you listened to recently.
Can you edit a playlist while playing?
Yes, you can open a playlist, delete tracks from it, or change their order while the music is playing. Changes are applied instantly, and the next track will be selected taking into account the new order.
Where are playlist files stored by default?
They are usually saved in a folder /Android/data/com.aimp.player/files/Playlists or in a shared folder /Music/Playlists, depending on the storage settings selected in the application menu. You can check the exact path in the app settings in the “Folders” section.
Does AIMP support YouTube playlists?
The mobile version is focused on local files. Direct support for streaming YouTube playlists is limited and may require additional plugins or be unstable depending on the application version and Google policies.