Free online M3U8 to TXT converter

A program, device, or document system may accept a playlist only as ordinary text, so users export an M3U8 file to inspect, edit, share, or archive its links. The result remains a text copy of the playlist; it does not download or convert the referenced media.

What the M3U8 format is

M3U8 is the UTF-8 form of the M3U playlist format, used especially for HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and also for IPTV and local media playlists. An M3U8 file contains text lines such as URLs, relative paths, comments, optional titles, and directives including #EXTM3U and #EXT-X-STREAM-INF.

HLS uses two common playlist types: a master playlist that points to alternate streams or renditions, and a media playlist that points to media segments. The file normally contains references to audio or video rather than the media itself. VLC, IPTV players, media servers, FFmpeg workflows, browser tools, and playlist editors can create or read these files.

What the TXT format is

TXT is a generic plain-text file with no required playlist syntax. Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, LibreOffice, command-line tools, scripts, and document systems can open it.

A TXT copy is useful for searching, manually editing, sharing, or archiving playlist lines when the receiving application does not recognize the .m3u8 extension. It can preserve directives, URLs, comments, blank lines, and titles, but TXT itself does not tell software how to interpret those lines as a playable playlist.

How to convert the file with a text editor

1. Copy playlist.m3u8 as a backup.
2. Open the original in a UTF-8-capable editor such as Notepad, Notepad++, VS Code, TextEdit in plain-text mode, BBEdit, Vim, or Nano.
3. Leave the contents unchanged unless you intentionally need to edit URLs, remove comments, or delete HLS directives.
4. Choose File → Save As, enter playlist.txt, and select UTF-8 when an encoding option is available.
5. Check that the saved name is exactly playlist.txt, not playlist.txt.txt. On Windows, enable visible file extensions in File Explorer or enclose the filename in quotation marks in applications that append extensions automatically.

If the file only needs a different extension and its bytes are already valid UTF-8, renaming it is sufficient. In File Explorer or a file manager, rename playlist.m3u8 to playlist.txt and confirm the extension-change warning. Renaming changes the filename, not the contents.

How to make a direct copy

A command-line copy avoids unintended encoding or content edits. On macOS or Linux, run:

cp playlist.m3u8 playlist.txt

In Windows PowerShell, run:

Copy-Item playlist.m3u8 playlist.txt

These commands preserve the original bytes and create a second filename. Use an editor instead if the source needs character-encoding changes or text edits.

How to use 101convert

You can convert the file on 101convert.com for free without installing software. Open the M3U8-to-TXT converter, upload the playlist, start the conversion, and download the TXT result; then verify its filename, encoding, and contents. Avoid uploading playlists containing private URLs, tokens, or other access credentials.

Quality and compatibility limits

This operation does not download streams, join media segments, create an MP4, remove encryption, or bypass DRM. It produces a plain-text representation of the playlist only.

Some players require the .m3u8 extension before they recognize HLS tags, so a .txt file may be readable but not playable. Rename it back to .m3u8 when the receiving software expects an HLS playlist.

Preserve relative paths and URLs. A relative segment path depends on the playlist's original location, while signed, temporary, or access-controlled URLs can expire independently of the filename. If a program needs only a URL list, remove lines beginning with # only after confirming that it does not require metadata or HLS directives.