The VideoLAN Forums

By design, VLC does not and cannot remember the current file list / Playlist it is playing, if you restart VLC.

Search shows lots of requests for this, over the years.

What is the reason this useful feature cannot be an option, just an option to turn ON?

Retaining the playlist would break compatibility with the behaviour of existing versions especially for command line and scripting.

Besides, it would duplicate the functionality of the media library, whose all point is to retain its content across runs.

Thank you for your reply. If I may ask:

What if there was an option, just an option, that every time a new song is added, VLC overwrites a custom file called LastPlaylist.xspf

That way you simply launch that .xspf file, and VLC opens with last Playlist before restart.


In other words, main functionality is not touched by simply overwriting a LastPlaylist.xspf file every time a new song is added.

There could optionally be a Last Playlist button that you press inside VLC on, that opens LastPlaylist.xspf file.
So it's just a matter of having an option, just an option, to turn ON the automatic creation of a LastPlaylist.xspf file every time a new song is added.

Strictly speaking, an XSPF wouldn't work, as some it cannot preserve some properties of playlist items. To be fair that is a detail.

Really, the thing is, every new features comes down to someone volunteering to implement it properly.

Because Chromecast Audio devices connect without HDMI, you can use them to connect really high quality, but old music receivers.... without HDMI, so you can play synchronized music across your property. Ten different quality old cheap receivers perfectly synchronized.

Using Google casting.

Nothing compares to VLC for music Google casting. Incredibly... No other software exists for a PC, and we're in 2025 almost, that can Google cast audio like VLC can.


Retention of unsaved custom made music lists could be achieved with a simple creation of a XSPF file, what if you just had VLC create it, and nothing else, as long as we know where the custom folder is for the XSPF file, that is all we would need.