Free online XSPF to ASX converter

A legacy Windows Media player, embedded Windows Media component, or device may require an .asx playlist instead of an .xspf file. This conversion changes playlist XML and media references; it does not convert, resize, or compress the audio and video files listed in the playlist.

What the XSPF format is

XSPF (XML Shareable Playlist Format) is an open, XML-based playlist format used by VLC media player, Clementine, Audacious, and other media applications. A typical .xspf file contains a <trackList> with one <track> element per item. Each track can include a <location> URI and optional metadata such as <title>, <creator>, <album>, and <duration>.

XSPF stores an ordered list of references rather than the media itself. A location may be a local file URI, a relative path, or a network URL, so the playlist can fail if the referenced files are moved or are unavailable.

What the ASX format is

ASX (Advanced Stream Redirector) is an XML playlist and redirector format associated with Windows Media Player and Windows Media Services. A standard ASX 3.0 file uses an <asx version="3.0"> root element, an <entry> for each item, and a <ref href="..." /> element containing the media file or stream reference.

ASX is useful for legacy Windows software or hardware that specifically expects the .asx extension. It can reference local media and network streams, but support depends on the player. ASX has fewer commonly portable metadata options than XSPF and is generally a compatibility format rather than a modern archival format.

How to convert an XSPF playlist

For a one-off conversion, use the free converter on 101convert.com without installing software. Upload the .xspf file, select ASX as the output format, run the conversion, and download the resulting .asx file. Before using it elsewhere, open the output in a text editor and verify every href reference.

The conversion should preserve track order, locations, and commonly the title of each track. It may discard XSPF fields such as album, creator, artwork, duration, extensions, and multiple locations because they do not map directly to a basic ASX entry.

Convert with a local Python script

For private or repeatable conversions, this script uses Python’s standard library and writes one ASX entry for the first location in each XSPF track:

import sys
from pathlib import Path
from xml.etree import ElementTree as ET
from xml.sax.saxutils import escape, quoteattr

source = Path(sys.argv[1])
target = source.with_suffix(".asx")
namespace = "{http://xspf.org/ns/0/}"
root = ET.parse(source).getroot()

with target.open("w", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n") as output:
    output.write('<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>\n')
    output.write('<asx version="3.0">\n')
    for track in root.findall(f".//{namespace}track"):
        locations = track.findall(f"{namespace}location")
        if not locations or not locations[0].text:
            continue
        location = locations[0].text.strip()
        title = track.findtext(f"{namespace}title") or ""
        output.write("  <entry>\n")
        if title:
            output.write(f"    <title>{escape(title)}</title>\n")
        output.write(f"    <ref href={quoteattr(location)} />\n")
        output.write("  </entry>\n")
    output.write("</asx>\n")

print(f"Wrote {target}")

Save it as xspf_to_asx.py and run python xspf_to_asx.py playlist.xspf. The script expects the normal XSPF namespace, escapes XML characters in titles, preserves the original location URI, and creates playlist.asx beside the source file. Preserving the URI avoids incorrectly converting Windows drive-letter paths or network shares; adjust paths manually if the destination player requires a different local-path syntax.

Compatibility limits

The ASX file contains references, not media data. Move the referenced files with the playlist, or use URLs that remain reachable. Relative paths depend on the player’s handling of the ASX file location; absolute paths and stable URLs are usually more predictable.

Remote references must be supported by the target player. A legacy Windows Media component may reject HTTPS, authentication-protected streams, adaptive-streaming manifests, or protocols outside its supported media stack. XSPF file:// URIs may also need conversion to ordinary Windows paths for older software.

VLC can open and save XSPF playlists, but its Media → Convert/Save function is primarily a media transcoder and should not be treated as a dependable XSPF-to-ASX playlist exporter. Test the generated ASX file in the software or device that requires it.