Free online TXT to M3U8 converter

An HLS player, smart TV, media server, or playlist application may require an .m3u8 file instead of a plain text list. This conversion creates playlist structure only; it does not convert, download, or re-encode the referenced audio or video.

What the TXT format is

TXT stores unformatted character data and is produced by Notepad, TextEdit, scripts, export tools, and media-management software. For this task, it normally contains one playable local path or URL per line:

https://example.com/video-01.mp4
https://example.com/video-02.mp4
D:\Media\episode-03.mp4

TXT files are used by people, scripts, and media applications to exchange simple lists. Prose, arbitrary metadata, or unrelated records cannot become a useful playlist without first replacing them with valid media locations. Blank lines should be removed, and relative paths must resolve from the playlist location.

What the M3U8 format is

M3U8 is an M3U playlist encoded as UTF-8. It is a small, editable text file containing media paths or URLs in playback order, with optional metadata. An extended playlist commonly starts with #EXTM3U and places an #EXTINF line before each media location:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Episode 1
https://example.com/episode-01.mp4
#EXTINF:-1,Episode 2
https://example.com/episode-02.mp4

UTF-8 supports non-ASCII filenames and titles more reliably than legacy M3U encodings. M3U8 files are portable, small, and readable by text editors, media players, streaming servers, and many smart TVs.

HLS also uses M3U8 manifests. An HLS media playlist describes segments with tags such as #EXT-X-TARGETDURATION, while a master playlist points to variant streams at different resolutions or bitrates. A normal file playlist containing complete MP4 or MP3 files is not automatically an HLS manifest.

How to convert the list

Using 101convert.com

1. Open the TXT-to-M3U8 converter on 101convert.com; it can be used free without installing software.
2. Upload the TXT file or paste its contents.
3. Select M3U8 as the output format and start the conversion.
4. Open the result in a text editor and verify the UTF-8 encoding, entry order, paths, URLs, and #EXTM3U header if the converter adds one.

This method is appropriate when the source already contains one media path or URL per line. If options are available, use an extended or standard playlist for complete media files. Use -1 for unknown durations; do not treat that value as a measured duration or as a substitute for HLS segment timing.

Creating the file manually

For a short list, open the TXT file in Notepad, TextEdit, or another plain-text editor, remove non-media lines, and save the result as playlist.m3u8 with UTF-8 encoding:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Track 1
media/track-01.mp3
#EXTINF:-1,Track 2
media/track-02.mp3

Replace the example entries with the TXT lines. Put each path or URL on its own line and do not surround it with quotation marks. Relative paths such as media/track-01.mp3 make a playlist easier to move with its media folder; absolute paths work only where the same filesystem locations exist. The extension change alone does not validate the entries.

For playlists built from local files, foobar2000 can import files, arrange them, and save a playlist in M3U8 format. This is useful when the source is a folder rather than an already prepared TXT list, but it does not create HLS segments.

Generating a playlist with Python

This standard-library script skips blank lines and comment lines, then writes an UTF-8 extended playlist. It uses the original line as the title so URLs and Windows paths are not altered:

from pathlib import Path

source = Path('files.txt')
target = Path('playlist.m3u8')
items = []

for line in source.read_text(encoding='utf-8').splitlines():
    line = line.strip()
    if line and not line.startswith('#'):
        items.append(line)

with target.open('w', encoding='utf-8', newline='\n') as output:
    output.write('#EXTM3U\n')
    for item in items:
        output.write(f'#EXTINF:-1,{item}\n{item}\n')

Save it as make_playlist.py beside files.txt, then run python make_playlist.py. The output is a playlist of complete media files, not an HLS stream manifest.

Compatibility and quality limits

The conversion does not measure duration, check codecs, test URLs, repair missing files, download media, or create MPEG-TS or fragmented MP4 segments. Players differ in their support for comments, extended tags, Windows paths, relative paths, and -1 durations.

For an actual HLS stream, package the source with a media tool such as FFmpeg:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v h264 -c:a aac -f hls -hls_time 6 -hls_playlist_type vod playlist.m3u8

That command creates an HLS playlist and segment files; merely renaming a TXT file cannot do so. Keep the referenced files at the expected locations. Web playback may also require HTTPS, CORS permission, and server MIME types such as application/vnd.apple.mpegurl for M3U8 and video/mp2t for MPEG-TS segments.