How to organize your Apple Music playlists into folders

Learn how to file Apple Music playlists into folders, which can improve organization and allow you to play all songs in sequence on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Bundling your favorite songs into playlists is great for organization. And with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26, you can even file playlists into folders to systematize your music further. A playlist folder shows a consolidated view of all the songs, letting you play them in order or shuffle through tracks from various playlists without needing to add songs to your playback queue.

If you’re on a Mac, you can even download the entire folder to make all songs from the playlists within available for offline listening. Any playlist folders you create sync across other devices that use the same Apple account, provided the “Sync Library” option is turned on in the Music app’s settings on each device.

Create a new playlist folder in the Music app

To create a new playlist folder, open the Music app on your iPhone or iPad, select the Library tab at the bottom, and choose the Playlists option. Next, tap the plus button (+) near the top-right corner and select New Folder, then name the folder and hit Create.

If you’re on a Mac, right-click or Control-click the ‘Playlists‘ header in the sidebar and choose ‘New Playlist Folder‘ in the menu.

Move a playlist to a folder

With a folder created, touch and hold any playlist in the Music app and select ‘Move to…‘ in the menu. Then, choose an existing folder or create a new one and tap the Move button. Or, simply drag and drop a playlist over a folder.

To do this on your Mac, drag a playlist from the sidebar and drop it on a folder.

Access your playlist folders

Folders are displayed at the top of the Playlists section in the Music app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Tap a folder to open it, then press the Play or Shuffle buttons to play all songs in the folder’s playlists in sequential or random order.

Create sub-folders inside a folder

You can also create sub-folders within a folder, if you like. Open a playlist folder in the Music app and hit the plus button to create a new subfolder within the folder. You can also create a subfolder when moving a playlist to a folder.

In the Mac version of the Music app, first select the playlist folder in the sidebar, then right-click the ‘Playlists‘ heading and choose the New Playlist Folder option. Name your subfolder and hit Create. To show or hide subfolders within a folder, click the tiny arrow button before the folder name in the sidebar.

Download all songs in a playlist folder

On the Mac, you can download all songs in playlists found within a folder. To do so, right-click a playlist folder and choose ‘Download.’ Downloading a folder allows you to play its songs without an internet connection. This feature is currently missing from the latest iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 beta, but Apple may add it in subsequent updates.

Add album art to playlist folder

You can add a custom picture to your playlist folder to help you visually distinguish it from others. Start by navigating to a playlist folder, then hit the pencil icon at the top, and then click the plus button to add a cover image from your Photos library or a folder on your Mac. Cover art for playlist folders is also only available on the Mac.

Move a playlist outside the playlist folder

If you no longer want to keep a playlist in a folder, touch and hold it and select ‘Move to…‘ in the menu. Be sure you’re in the ‘All Playlists‘ section, and tap Move. The selected playlist will no longer appear in that folder.

On your Mac, expand the folder in the sidebar to see its playlists, then drag a playlist and drop it anywhere among your regular playlists.

Delete a playlist folder

To delete a playlist folder on an iPhone or iPad, touch and hold its name and select ‘Delete from Library‘ in the menu. On your Mac, right-click or Control-click a playlist folder and choose ‘Delete from Library‘ in the menu. Keep in mind that deleting a playlist folder will also delete all its playlists. To prevent that from happening, be sure to move a playlist outside the folder before deleting the folder.

The Music app on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26 brings a few other notable changes. Aside from the Liquid Glass design, for example, the Music app now enables you to pin music to the top of the interface.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/08/how-to-use-playlist-folders-apple-music/