How to Use Your Library in Spotify

This article explains how to use Your Library in Spotify, including how to use the feature in the Spotify desktop app, website, and mobile app.

How to Use Your Library in Spotify

Your Library is located in a sidebar on the left side of the Spotify app, and it looks and works the same way in the macOS app, Windows app, and Spotify website. When you click or tap the heart icon on a playlist, song, or album or follow an artist, it will appear in Your Library for easy access later. When you create a Spotify playlist, you can also access it through Your Library.

You can expand the Your Library sidebar, contract it, switch between list and grid views, and access a special search function that only searches the library instead of all of Spotify. It also has buttons to list only your playlists, podcasts and shows, albums, or artists, and you can create folders to organize your favorite songs and playlists.

Here’s how to use Your Library in the Spotify app and website:

1. To make Your Library larger, move your mouse to the dividing line between the left sidebar and the main browsing window, then click and drag to the right.

2. To view more details in Your Library, keep dragging to the right. Once you get past the midpoint, the sidebar will snap to its largest configuration.

3. To switch to a grid view, click the grid view icon (four boxes).

4. To leave the detailed view, click the back arrow in the upper right corner of the Your Library sidebar.

   You can also click the dividing line and drag it to the left to resize the sidebar.

5. To put Your Library into a compact view, click the dividing line and drag it fully to the left.

6. To leave the compact view, click the Expand Your Library icon at the top of the compact Your Library sidebar.

7. To filter the available songs and playlists in the Your Library sidebar, click Playlists, Podcasts & Shows, Albums, or Artists.

8. To remove a filter, click the X icon in the Your Library sidebar.

   Each filter category has sub-filters, like By You and By Spotify for Playlists. Clicking one of these will further filter your library, and you can clear them by clicking the X.

9. To search Your Library, click the magnifying glass icon in the sidebar.

   If you click the magnifying glass in the top left corner of the app, below the home button, you’ll search the entirety of Spotify instead of just Your Library.

10. Type the album, artist, playlist, or whatever else you’re looking for, into the search field, and results will appear.

11. You can narrow the search by clicking Playlists, Podcasts & Shows, Albums, or Artists.

12. Click the + in the Your Library sidebar to add a new playlist or folder.

13. Click Create a playlist folder to make a new folder for playlists, or Create a new playlist to make a new playlist.

14. Right click a playlist folder for more options.

15. Click Rename to change the name of the folder.

    Delete removes the folder, Pin folder forces the folder to remain at the top of Your Library, Create playlist adds a new playlist in the folder, Create folder makes a subfolder, and Play queues up the playlists in the folder.

16. Type a new name for the folder, and click Save.

17. To move a playlist to a folder, right-click the playlist > Move to folder, and select the folder.

How to Use Your Library in the Spotify Mobile App

The mobile Spotify app also has most of the same Your Library features, but it's on its own screen instead of a sidebar. Tapping the + on a playlist, album, or song will add it to Your Library, where you can find it later in the mobile app, desktop app, or web player.

Here’s how to use Your Library in the Spotify mobile app:

1. Tap Your Library.

2. Tap Playlists, Podcasts & Shows, Albums, or Artists to filter Your Library.

3. Tap the X to remove the filter.

4. Tap the Grid View (four boxes) icon to switch from list to grid view.

5. Tap the List View (three lines) icon to switch back to list view.

6. Tap Recents to adjust your sorting options.

7. Tap Recently added, Alphabetical, or Creator to switch to a different sorting order.

8. Tap the magnifying glass at the top to start a search.

9. Use the on-screen keyboard to type a search term, like a band name, genre, or playlist.

10. Matching results from Your Library will appear.

    If you tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of the app with the other navigation icons, you’ll search the entirety of Spotify instead of Your Library.

11. Tap the + icon to add a new playlist.

12. Tap Playlist to make a new playlist, or Blend if you want to make a playlist with your friends.

What Is Your Library in Spotify?

Your Library is a Spotify feature that tracks and organizes your favorite artists, albums, songs, podcasts, and other content. When you click the heart icon on a song or album or follow an artist, it will appear in Your Library. Playlists that you create, and ones that are shared with you, also show up in Your Library. If it all gets too much to keep track of, you can create folders in Your Library to help keep things organized.

When Your Library was initially introduced, you could view it in sidebar form or expand it to fill the main browsing area of the app. It no longer functions that way but is much more flexible than when it was first introduced. The Your Library sidebar can be collapsed into a compact icon view, expanded to a detailed view, and also has a grid view that showcases album art if that’s how you prefer to peruse your library of favorite songs.