How to Create an M3U8 Playlist for HLS Streaming

You can create a basic VOD playlist in any text editor:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:3
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:10
#EXTINF:10.000,
https://example.com/video/segment-001.ts
#EXTINF:10.000,
https://example.com/video/segment-002.ts
#EXTINF:10.000,
https://example.com/video/segment-003.ts
#EXT-X-ENDLIST

Save as .m3u8 and serve it with the correct MIME type (e.g. application/vnd.apple.mpegurl). Test with our player.

FFmpeg can create playlists and segments automatically:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac -f hls -hls_time 10 -hls_playlist_type vod playlist.m3u8

This produces a media playlist plus .ts segments. For multi-bitrate masters, use filter_complex / var_stream_map (see FFmpeg HLS docs) or our FFmpeg guide for related commands.

Adaptive streaming needs a master playlist:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=800000,RESOLUTION=640x360,CODECS="avc1.42e01e,mp4a.40.2"
360p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=2500000,RESOLUTION=1280x720,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2"
720p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=5000000,RESOLUTION=1920x1080,CODECS="avc1.640028,mp4a.40.2"
1080p.m3u8

Each line after STREAM-INF points to a media playlist for that quality.

• Prefer absolute URLs in production to avoid broken relative paths.
• Include CODECS on STREAM-INF for player compatibility.
• Keep segment durations consistent across variants.
• Validate playlists and test in more than one player.
• Use UTF-8 encoding (true M3U8).

Host the .m3u8 and segments on HTTP(S) with CORS if players load cross-origin. Wrong Content-Type or missing CORS is a common failure — see CORS fix. Structure details: format explained.

Can I create M3U8 without FFmpeg?
Yes — write a simple playlist by hand if you already have segments.

What MIME type should I use?
application/vnd.apple.mpegurl or application/x-mpegURL.

Do I need a master playlist?
Only for multiple quality variants.

How do I test my playlist?
Open it in our online player.