In VLC for Android, we can make use of the playlist feature to create and manage lists of our favorite songs. We can access such lists any time and also use a sleep timer to automatically stop the playback. Now, playlists in VLC for Android has been upgraded to be able to include both audio and video files. So, files like MP3 and MP4 can all be in one unified list.

The playlist feature in VLC is only internally supported by the app itself. That means, it is not like *.m3u playlists which are supported globally by desktop media players. That means when you create a list, it can be used only by the VLC app. We haven't discovered a way to export it for backup or for other players to use. So, if you uninstall/re-install the app, your valuable list might be lost forever. But it is a useful feature that can be used frequently by music enthusiasts to group songs. The lists are accessible from Menu ☰ > Playlist.

Steps to Create and use Playlist feature in VLC for Android:

  • Click on Menu ☰ > Audio or Menu ☰ > Video to browse media files.
  • On the right side of any song, press on More Options ⋮ and choose the option Add to playlist.
  • Give the playlist name (for new lists) or add to previously created ones.
  • Hit OK.
  • Repeat the same process for adding more songs.

Playlists in VLC Android

Now, if we navigate to the Menu ☰ > Playlists tab, we can find all the lists that we have created. Tap on any one of them and the songs that we have sorted will be displayed. Hit the play button to start the playback of all the songs in there. Tap on an individual item to start the playback from that track onwards.

You can also tap on More Options ⋮ against a playlist, and use Append or Insert next to add it to the current queue. If nothing is playing right now, all the musical tracks in there will begin playing. Otherwise, Append will add it to the end of the current playback series. Insert next, on the other hand, will use it after the current song finishes. In the same options, there is Add to Playlist which can be used to add all the items of the list to another one. Think of it as combining two playlists. There's also a choice called Delete if you want to remove it permanently.

Sleep Timer

When you start the playback of a custom list, it will continue to the end. If the repeat button is pressed, then it will continue forever. There's a way to break this chain. It is by using, the Sleep Timer. To use it, start the playback of a series of songs from a playlist or from albums, artists and genre category.

After the list playback begins, open the full player interface and follow these steps:

  • Tap on More Options ⋮ (on the very top-right)
  • Click on the Sleep Timer option.
  • Start pressing on the numeric digits to set the timer.
  • Hit OK to activate it.

Sleep Timer in VLC

Timer Tips: Pressing on 9 will set the timer to 9 minutes. Press on two digits like 23 will set it to 23 minutes. If you press on 233 (three digits) the timer will display 2 hours 33 minutes. You will get the hang of it. The maximum value seems to be 99 hours and 99 minutes. Venture into the same options to Delete the timer.