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# Playlist Plugin

`playlist` is a plugin to use playlists in m3u format.

To use it, enable the `playlist` plugin in your configuration (see Using Plugins). Then configure your playlists like this:

    playlist:
        auto: no
        relative_to: ~/Music
        playlist_dir: ~/.mpd/playlists
        forward_slash: no

It is possible to query the library based on a playlist by specifying its absolute path:

    $ beet ls playlist:/path/to/someplaylist.m3u

The plugin also supports referencing playlists by name. The playlist is then searched in the playlist_dir and the “.m3u” extension is appended to the name:

    $ beet ls playlist:anotherplaylist

A playlist query will use the paths found in the playlist file to match items in the beets library. `playlist:` submits a regular beets query similar to a specific fields query. If you want the list in any particular order, you can use the standard beets query syntax for sorting:

    $ beet ls playlist:/path/to/someplaylist.m3u artist+ year+

Playlist queries do not reflect the original order in the m3u file.

The plugin can also update playlists in the playlist directory automatically every time an item is moved or deleted. This can be controlled by the `auto` configuration option.

## Configuration

To configure the plugin, make a `playlist:` section in your configuration file. In addition to the `playlists` described above, the other configuration options are:

- auto: If this is set to `yes`, then anytime an item in the library is moved or removed, the plugin will update all playlists in the `playlist_dir` directory that contain that item to reflect the change. Default: `no`

- playlist_dir: Where to read playlist files from. Default: The current working directory (i.e., `'.'`).

- relative_to: Interpret paths in the playlist files relative to a base directory. Instead of setting it to a fixed path, it is also possible to set it to `playlist` to use the playlist’s parent directory or to `library` to use the library directory. Default: `library`

- forward_slash: Forces forward slashes in the generated playlist files. If you intend to use this plugin to generate playlists for MPD on Windows, set this to yes. Default: Use system separator.