How to Add Local Files to Spotify on Mobile & Desktop [1-Minute Guide]

Spotify has a library of over 100 million songs, audiobooks, podcasts, videos, and just about any other type of audio-related content. But what if the track you want to listen to isn’t among those 100 million songs.

It might sound odd, but it really isn’t. Maybe you want to play a deep cut that’s not on Spotify; maybe the artist made the track unavailable on Spotify, but you still have it in your iTunes Library. Or, maybe it’s a song that you recorded, and you simply want to play it through your Spotify player.

Anyway, the answer is Spotify local files. Spotify allows you to play local files from your mobile or desktop device. This guide will explain how to add local files to Spotify, as well as how to sync or delete them.

• How to Add Local Files to Spotify: Fastest Fix
• How to Add Local Files to Spotify (iPhone and Android Mobile Devices)
• How to Add Local Files to Spotify (Desktop and Laptop Devices)
• How to Delete Local Files on Spotify
• How to Sync Spotify Local Files to iPhone?
• How to Transfer iTunes Playlist to Spotify
• FAQs
• Summary

How to Add Local Files to Spotify: Fastest Fix

The fastest way to add local files to Spotify is to open your Spotify app (mobile or desktop), click your profile avatar, go to “Settings” (“Settings and privacy” on mobile), and activate the “Show Local Files” toggle. This will activate local files and allow you to play files from different locations on your computer or phone using your Spotify app.

How to Add Local Files to Spotify (Mobile)

To be fair, adding local files on Spotify mobile is pretty similar to adding them on a desktop computer. The key difference, though, is that adding local files on your desktop or laptop device doesn’t make these files available on your Spotify mobile app, even if you’re logged in with the same profile.

We’ll explain how to sync Spotify local files on mobile later. That said, this is how to add local files to Spotify on your mobile device.

1. 1. Open your Spotify mobile app.

1. 2. Tap your avatar (profile pic) in the top-left corner.

1. 3. Tap “Settings and privacy”.

1. 4. Tap “Local Files” near the bottom.

1. 5. Switch on the “Show audio files from this device” toggle.

1. 6. Tap “Your Library” in the lower right corner.

1. 7. Tap “Local Files” and play your local tracks.

The Local Files Spotify feature is now activated. To add local tracks, you will need to use the Files app on your iPhone.

Just open the Files app, go to “On My Phone”, and add files to the “Spotify” folder. All tracks in this folder will be available under “Local Files” in “Your Library” within the Spotify mobile app.

Important: The “Spotify” folder has a Help file within it. If you delete the Help file, the whole folder might disapear. Don’t worry if this happens, just restart the app and it should be all good.

How to Add Local Files to Spotify (Desktop and Laptop)

First of all, the Local Files Spotify feature for desktop or laptop users is only available if you have the desktop app. The Spotify web player does not support Local Files. So, step zero here is to download the Spotify app (Windows or Apple). Then, do this:

1. 1. Click your profile avatar in the upper right corner and select “Settings”.

1. 2. Find the “Your Library” section and switch on the “Show Local Files” toggle.

1. 3. (Optional) Click “Add a source” if your local files aren’t in one of the default folders.

1. 4. (Optional) Select the folder that contains the tracks and click “Open”.

1. 5. (Optional) If prompted, allow the Spotify App access to your local folders.

1. 6. You will find a folder titled “Local Files” with all the tracks from your selected folders.

How to Delete Local Files on Spotify

It is not possible to delete local files on Spotify through the Spotify app (desktop or mobile).

But you can delete these files from the source. This means manually finding the local files and deleting them.

On desktop or laptop devices, find the folders you’re importing the local files from (click your avatar, go to “Settings”, and find the folders under “Show songs from”) and open them using Windows Explorer or the Finder app.

Go through the folder and delete the individual files as you wish. You can also delete the entire folder if needed.

Read more: How to Move Songs in Spotify Playlist

How to Sync Spotify Local Files to iPhone?

According to Spotify, “Local Files sync is possible in some cases, but we cannot guarantee that it will work flawlessly across all devices.”

Therefore, the surefire way to sync the local Spotify files from your Macbook with your iPhone is through iCloud.

1. 1. Open iCloud Drive on your Macbook (press Command + Space, type “iCloud Drive” and press Enter).

1. 2. Copy the local track to one of the folders marked with the Cloud symbol (we’ll use Documents as an example).

1. 3. Take your iPhone now. Open the Files app.

1. 4. Open the Documents folder (or the folder you copied the track to on your MacBook).

1. 5. Press and hold the track until the menu pops up.

1. 6. Select “Move”.

1. 7. Tap “Browse” to return to the main page.

1. 8. Tap “On My iPhone”.

1. 9. Tap the “Spotify” folder (it has the Spotify logo).

1. 10. Tap “Copy”.

1. 11. Open the Spotify mobile app and tap “Your Library” in the lower-right corner.

1. 12. Tap “Local Files”.

1. 13. Play the song you just transferred.

How to Transfer iTunes Playlist to Spotify

Hey, this is where we step in! The easiest way to transfer an iTunes playlist to Spotify is to use the Tune My Music Transfer feature.

We’re covering this because a good share of music fans using the Local Files Spotify feature actually wants to import the songs from their iTunes collection. Also, you can’t just play iTunes files on Spotify as local files because Spotify doesn’t support the M4A format. Anyhow, just follow this.

1. 1. Go to the TuneMyMusic Transfer page.
2. 2. Select iTunes as the source.

1. 3. Import from iTunes XML or copy the iTunes playlist URL.

1. 4. Select Spotify as the destination and log in to your Spotify account when prompted.
2. 5. Start the transfer.

Spotify Local Files FAQs

Why Are My Local Files Not Showing Up on Spotify (Mobile or Desktop)?

The most common reason why local files are not showing up on Spotify is the format. For example, Spotify can’t play the M4A iTunes files if they have video. Also, if you want to play MP4 files on Spotify, you can only do it if they’re audio-only. You can use Tune My Music to transfer iTunes to Spotify.

If this is not the cause, try clearing your Spotify cache by opening the Settings page and clicking the “Clear cache” button in the “Storage” section. You can also try turning Local Files on and off, or reinstalling the Spotify app altogether.

Why Are My Spotify Local Files Not Syncing?

If your Spotify local files are not syncing, check that the playlist you’re looking to play is downloaded both on your phone and computer. Also, activate the “Local Network” phone setting for Spotify. Another thing to check is that your PC is discoverable on your home network.

Where to Find Local Files on Spotify?

On desktop, you can add Local Files from any folder on your computer. To see which folders are included as Local Files on Spotify, open the Settings section of your desktop app and scroll down to the section titled “Show songs from” after “Your Library”.

The switched-on folders are featured in your Local Files Spotify section.

On iPhone, you will need to open the Files app, then open “On My iPhone”, and then the folder titled “Spotify”. This is where the local Spotify files are stored for your iPhone.

Can I Add Local Files to Spotify Web App?

No, the Spotify web app does not support the Local Files Spotify feature. You need to use the mobile or desktop app to add local files to Spotify. Just open the Settings and activate the local files toggle.

Is There a Limit on How Many Local Files Spotify Supports?

Spotify hasn’t given a clear limit on how many local files you can import. Users online have reported importing over 20,000 local tracks without a problem, so if a limit exists, it’s pretty high.

Which Types of Local Files Does Spotify Support?

Spotify supports MP3, M4P unless it has video, and MP4 if you have QuickTime on your desktop or laptop device.

Can I Use Spotify Local Files Without a Spotify Premium Account?

Yes, but you can only add local files from your desktop or laptop device. Spotify Premium users are granted permission to upload local music straight to the platform.

Does Crossfade Work on Spotify Local Files?

Yes, Spotify Crossfade works between local files as long as they have the same channel count and sample rate.

Read more: What Is the Spotify Offline Backup Playlist?

Summary: This Is How to Import Local Files to Spotify

There’s not much left to say here, guys. You now know how to import local files to Spotify on all devices, and even troubleshoot some of the common issues related to the Local Files Spotify feature.

And again, the fastest way to add local files to Spotify is to click on your avatar, open the Settings page, and find the Local Files toggle (and switch it on, yes).

If you want more content like this, please check out our How To Articles for additional tips and guides. Have a good one!