Free tool · runs in your browser
M3U File Viewer and Validator
An M3U file is a plain-text playlist. It starts with #EXTM3U, and every channel has an #EXTINF line with its name and details, followed by its stream link:
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="news.example" group-title="News",News One
http://host.example/live/news-one.ts
Drop your file below to see its channels and groups, and to find the mistakes that make players skip channels or show an empty guide.
Open an M3U file
Playlist summary
Guide (EPG) links in the header
Checks
Want to remove broken entries, groups or duplicates? Open the same file in the M3U editor.
Channels
| Line | Name | Group | Type | Guide ID |
|---|
Private by design. Your file is read on your device and nothing is saved. The tool never uploads it, and the page's security policy blocks every connection except anonymous usage statistics.
M3U file format: tags and attributes
Lines starting with # describe the entry; every other line is a stream link. These are the ones IPTV players read:
| Tag or attribute | Example | What it does |
|---|---|---|
#EXTM3U | #EXTM3U url-tvg="…" | First line of the file. url-tvg or x-tvg-url can point to the guide (XMLTV) file. |
#EXTINF | #EXTINF:-1 …,News One | One per entry. -1 means a live stream with no fixed length; the text after the comma is the name. |
tvg-id | tvg-id="news.example" | Guide ID. The player matches it to a channel ID in the XMLTV guide. |
tvg-name | tvg-name="News One" | Name used for guide matching in some players when tvg-id is missing. |
tvg-logo | tvg-logo="http://…/news.png" | Address of the channel logo. |
group-title | group-title="News" | Group the channel is listed under. |
tvg-chno | tvg-chno="101" | Channel number, in players that support it. |
catchup | catchup="default" catchup-days="7" | Catch-up (replay) and how many days back it goes. The format varies by server. |
#EXTGRP | #EXTGRP:News | Another way to set the group, on its own line. |
#EXTVLCOPT | #EXTVLCOPT:http-user-agent=… | Player options for the next stream, such as the user agent or referrer it needs. |
The tvg- and catchup attributes are a convention shared by IPTV players rather than a formal standard, so support varies between apps.
M3U vs M3U8: what is the difference?
An M3U8 file is an M3U file saved as UTF-8 text, so names in any language display correctly. For a channel list, the two work the same way and this tool reads both.
The name M3U8 is also used for HLS manifests: the file behind a single stream that lists its video segments with #EXT-X- tags. That is not a channel list. If you drop one here, the tool says so.
How to open an M3U file
- On a computer
- Any text editor shows the contents: Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on a Mac. VLC opens it as a playlist.
- On a phone or TV
- Use an IPTV app. Most, Opus included, take the playlist's link rather than the file, and load the channels from it.
- From a link
- Open the M3U link in a browser and it downloads as a file you can drop above. For an Xtream Codes login, the Xtream to M3U converter writes the link for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to open an M3U file?
Yes. It is plain text and cannot run anything. It does contain stream links, which often include your username and password, so do not post the file or its links publicly.
Why does my guide show "No information" for some channels?
The player could not match those channels to the guide. Players match the tvg-id against the channel IDs in the XMLTV guide, and some fall back to the name. The checks list entries with no tvg-id; if the IDs are there, they do not match the guide you added.
Can this tool check whether the streams work?
No. It checks the file, not the streams. Testing streams from a web page would mean sending your links to a server or being blocked by the browser, and many servers allow only a few connections at once. Open the playlist in your player to test channels.
Why are films and series counted separately?
Entries whose link points to a video file (.mp4, .mkv, .mov or .avi) are counted as films, and films with an episode number such as S01E02 in the name as series episodes. Opus uses the same rule when it sorts a playlist.
How large a file can it open?
Playlists with 100,000 entries open in a second or two on a recent computer or phone. Pasting very large playlists is slower than dropping the file.