Download and Install the Playlist Push Component

Currently this web service and fb2k component are in beta testing. Once testing is complete the plan is to have the Playlist Push component listed officially on foobar2000 audio player. For now you may download the following version of the component here:

  • Module name and namespace: foo_pl_push
  • Current version: 1.0.0, released on 2024-02-09
  • Supported processor architectures: x86 32-bit, x86 64-bit
  • Developed and tested on Windows fb2k v2.1.2
  • Built with SDK version 2023-09-23

After download follow these "How to install a component" steps:

  • Step 1: Open the foobar2000 preferences dialog (click File → Preferences or use the Ctrl + P keyboard shortcut)
  • Step 2: Go to the Components page
  • Step 3: Click Install button and select the component archive, or simply drag it to the list
  • Step 4: Press OK, you will be prompted to restart foobar2000 in order to load the newly installed component
  • Step 5: Read help page Configure Preferences

Publish fb2k Playlist to Soundiiz and Share with any Music Service

To start with you must install the fb2k component, register to use this web service and then configure fb2k to publish your playlists as JSON to this web service. On the Playlists page, click on the playlist JSON button then Select & Copy Link to get the URL required.

Login to Soundiiz and follow these instructions to create a Soundiiz Auto Sync from a JSON URL:

  • Select Synchronize from Tools menu
  • In source, select Playlist URL from the list
  • Paste your JSON URL link and Confirm
  • Select a destination platform and an existing playlist (or choose New Playlist)
  • Select a Sync method, options and frequency/date and Save configuration

Alternatively you may simply import a JSON playlist from a Web URL:

  • Select Import Playlist from Playlists page
  • Select From Web URL as the import method
  • Paste your JSON public URL and Submit URL
  • Select transfer method e.g. Create a new playlist
  • Select options and Save configuration
  • Select a destination

Automatically Save Playlists from fb2k to Network Player

If you use fb2k to manage a music library that is shared with a network music player, you may export M3U playlists from fb2k and play them. We hope to add support for more network music players if there is interest. For now we have tested the component with Sonos.

Sonos Music

To start with you must install the fb2k component and then configure fb2k to automatically save M3U playlists to a shared or network location that is visible to your Sonos system. You don't need to be registered to the web service to make this work.

  • You may use any Sonos controller app to do the setup e.g. on your mobile or desktop. Note that the exact navigation and terms used can vary between versions of your Sonos controller or depending on which type of device is being used.
  • When you setup your Sonos system you will have added folders (shared from your PC or a networked device such as a NAS drive) to tell Sonos where to find your music files ('My Music Folders on Sonos'). Typically under Settings you will find your Music Library and a list of the folders that are shared. Either make sure that fb2k is exporting playlists to one of these folders or add a share that contains the playlists.
  • Sonos will search these folders not just for music files but also any M3U playlists and when found will list them under Imported Playlists in your music library.
  • You may update (index) your music library manually so that Sonos finds your playlists. More usefully, given that fb2k will be automatically exporting updates, Sonos should be setup to scan for changes regularly so that new playlists are found. In your Sonos Settings set Library Updates or Schedule Music Index Updates every day at a suitable time.

Share Playlists from fb2k with Local Music Player

If you use fb2k to manage a music library and then copy the music files to your smartphone or tablet to use with a local music player, you may export playlists from fb2k and import them to the local music player. If you have a largely static music collection but constantly changing playlists on fb2k then this service can help you keep track of importing any playlist updates to your smartphone. We hope to add support for more local or offline music players if there is interest. For now we have tested using this web service with the Musicolet Music Player.

Musicolet Music Player

To start with you must install the fb2k component, register to use this web service and then configure fb2k to publish your playlists as M3U to this web service.

  • Use this web site on your smart phone and go to the Playlists page, to check which playlists have been updated, then click on the playlist M3U button and Download M3U playlist.
  • Select Open or go to your downloaded files and click on the M3U file to import an external playlist in to Musicolet. See tips below regarding downloading and opening a M3U playlist file.
  • Musicolet will provide you with various import options. Typically you will select Add to Musicolet's playlist and create a new playlist.
  • You should delete an existing playlist on Musicolet before importing an update. If you try to update an existing playlist, new tracks are added to the end of the playlist, which may not be what you intended since the order is usually important.

Tips for Downloading M3U Playlists

Depending on the OS, browser and configuration of your smartphone, your experience is likely to be different and maybe problematic. Hopefully further advice can be added as experiences are reported. When using Chrome to download a M3U file on Android the following points were noted:

  • Chrome may or may not ask where you want to save downloaded M3U files (as there is a toggle option to 'Ask where to save files'). Since Chrome regards M3U files as music files it may put them in your Internal Storage Music/ folder rather than your Downloads/ folder.
  • If you click on the Open prompt from Chrome, then Chrome may attempt to play the M3U. You should select Open with... from the 3 dot menu which should then open Musicolet.
  • During external playlist import always check for missing tracks i.e. does the number of songs found in your library match the number of tracks in the playlist? Either you have not copied the music files, or Musicolet is having problems matching perhaps due to certain characters in track filenames (see point below).

Tips for Copying Music Files

When copying your music files from the file server or storage used by your fb2k application to the local storage on your smartphone. It is recommended to keep the same structure and filenames. Musicolet matches track pathnames from M3U files to the song library on your phone using a process like this:

  • Let's say a track was stored is some folder hierarchy like ../folderX/folderY/filename.ext (e.g. ../artist/album/track)
  • When importing an external playlist Musicolet will first try to find a unique match just using the filename.ext in the song library
  • If not unique then Musicolet will try folderY/filename.ext and work backwards as necesssary, next trying folderX/folderY/filename.ext until a unique match is found.

One issue to note is the Musicolet does not like matching filenames with certain characters (e.g. accent, dash, apostrophe). We recommend changing the track filename on source and destination if you notice missing tracks when importing playlists.


General Advice and Top Tips

  • Please read the Configure Preferences help page for the fb2k Playlist Push component. There is extensive information on all the options available and will usually explain any unexpected outcomes.
  • Notice that when using components such as Playback Statistics (foo_playcount), the meta data maintained (i.e. play count) will trigger item modified updates to playlists. In this situation it is strongly recommended to only export playlists On Exit (the default), because export will be triggered on irrelevant changes such as play count. Similarly Playlist Organizer (foo_plorg) autoplaylists occasionally triggers unnecessary updates.
  • When exports are posted to the web service with a playlist that has not actually been changed e.g. this can happen with foo_playcount, foo_plorg or when using the Export All option in the Playlist Push preferences. These updates will be ignored (PL-Push checks if the playlist is the same) so the date updated is unchanged and any notifications will not be triggered.
  • If auto export of playlists stops working, then the first thing to check is whether any locations or exports have been disabled in the fb2k Playlist Push preferences. If the component has problems it will automatically disable itself. Usually you will see a pop up error message to explain why this has been done. Address the error and then Enable the location and export, before trying again.
  • When fb2k exports to M3U format the file pathnames are absolute unless the playlist is being exported to the same folder as the track or a parent folder.

Install this Web Site as an Application

For regular use, we recommend installing this site as an application to have an icon on your home screen. Typically your browser will prompt you to install the site as an application. If you are not prompted then check your browser menu bar and settings for a link to install.

On some devices and browsers you may find that you are required to install the application to use all the features e.g. iOS/iPadOS Push Notifications are only supported from version 16.4 and the app must be added to Home Screen.

This site uses the latest web capabilities to allow a "Playlist Push" app to be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). It can be used like a web site or installed to work like a standalone application. If your browser does not support service workers or push notifications, then notifications will not be possible and the site will not work as a standalone app. Specifically, please review these guidelines:

  • Javascript must be enabled for this site to work
  • Whichever browser you select we recommend the latest version to enable all features
  • On desktop devices the recommended browsers are Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari (from version 17)
  • On iOS/iPadOS devices the recommended browser is Safari (other browsers may work from version 16.4)
  • On Android devices the recommended browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Samsung Internet
  • iOS/iPadOS Push Notifications are only supported from version 16.4 and the app must be added to Home Screen

Playlist Update Push Notifications

To enable notifications go to the Profile - Get Notifications section. When you enable notifications your browser should prompt you to Allow permission. If you have disabled notifications this may not work. To manually intervene check the followings settings:

  • On Chrome (Desktop): Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Permissions/Notifications
  • On Chrome (Android): Settings → Notifications
  • On Chrome (Android): Settings → Site settings → Notifications
  • On Microsoft Edge (Desktop): Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Notifications
  • On Safari: Settings → Websites → Notifications
  • On Safari (iOS/iPadOS): Settings → Advanced → Experimental Features → Push API / Notifications (check both enabled)