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Playlist Files

Playlist files are used to create and maintain playlists on the Plex Server.

If utilized to their fullest, these files can be used to maintain the entire server's collections and playlists, and can be used as a backup for these in the event of a restore requirement.

Tip

Playlists are defined in one or more Playlist files that are mapped in the Playlist Files Attribute within the Configuration File.

You can use the playlist_report setting to get a list of your playlists printed out in your log.

Example

This example is a Playlist file with a basic playlist which is saved in a file called MyPlaylists.yml within the location mapped as config in my setup.

Example "MyPlaylists.yml"

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playlists: #(1)!
  Marvel Cinematic Universe Chronological Order:
    sync_mode: sync
    libraries: Movies, TV Shows #(2)!
    sync_to_users: User1, someone@somewhere.com, User3 #(3)!
    trakt_list: https://trakt.tv/users/donxy/lists/marvel-cinematic-universe
    summary: Marvel Cinematic Universe In Chronological Order
  1. This must appear once and only once in any Playlist file
  2. These libraries must exist in your Plex library
  3. Leave this blank if you only only want the Playlist to sync to the server owner's account

This file would then be defined in my config.yml file as a playlist_files item:

Important Note

Playlist files are not called within the libraries section, they are defined at the root identation as you can see in the below example.

config.yml Example Playlists Addition

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libraries:
  Movies:
    # Metadata and Overlay files here
  TV Shows:
    # Metadata and Overlay files here
playlist_files: #(1)!
  - file: config/MyPlaylists.yml #(2)!
  1. Note that Playlist files are not called within the libraries section, they are defined at the root identation as you can see here
  2. config refers to the location that you mapped to config when following the Kometa Installation Guides.

Playlist Attributes

Kometa can automatically build and update playlists defined within the playlists attribute.

These are the attributes which can be utilized within the Playlist File:

Attribute Description
playlists contains definitions of playlists you wish to add to the server
templates contains definitions of templates that can be leveraged by multiple playlists
external_templates contains file blocks that point to external templates that can be leveraged by multiple playlists

Each playlist requires its own section within the playlists attribute and unlike collections, playlists can only be built using one Builder as their ordering is inherited from the Builder; it is not possible to combine builders.

playlists:
  Marvel Cinematic Universe Chronological Order:
    # ... builder, details, and filters for this playlist
  Star Wars Clone Wars Chronological Order:
    # ... builder, details, and filters for this playlist
  etc:
    # ... builder, details, and filters for this playlist

There are multiple types of attributes that can be utilized within a playlist:

NOTE: these lists are references for collections and playlists, not everything applies to both:

Special Playlist Attributes

Attribute Description Required
delete_playlist Will delete this playlist for the users defined by sync_to_users.
Options: true or false
exclude_users Determine which Users will be excluded from having the playlist synced.
This will override the global playlist_excude_users Setting.
Options: Comma-separated string or list of users, all for every user who has server access, or leave blank for just the server owner.
libraries Determine which libraries the playlist will be built from.
Options: Comma-separated string or list of library mapping names defined in the libraries attribute in the base of your Configuration File.
sync_to_users Determine which Users have the playlist synced.
This will override the global playlist_sync_to_users Setting.
Options: Comma-separated string or list of users, all for every user who has server access, or leave blank for just the server owner.
  • Any defined playlist will be always be visible by The Plex Media Server owner, so it doesn't need to be defined within sync_to_users.

Example Playlists

In the following example, media is pulled from the Movies and TV Shows libraries into the one Playlist, and the playlist is shared with a specific set of users:

playlists:
  Marvel Cinematic Universe Chronological Order:
    sync_mode: sync
    libraries: Movies, TV Shows
    sync_to_users: User1, someone@somewhere.com, User3
    trakt_list: https://trakt.tv/users/donxy/lists/marvel-cinematic-universe?sort=rank,asc
    summary: Marvel Cinematic Universe In Chronological Order
  Star Wars Clone Wars Chronological Order:
    sync_to_users: all
    sync_mode: sync
    libraries: Movies, TV Shows
    trakt_list: https://trakt.tv/users/tomfin46/lists/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episode-order