topic Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist in Other (Podcasts, Partners, etc.)

How to remove local files that no longer exist

downtime68 — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 04:31:01 GMT

Device

Windows 11 PC

My Question or Issue

I have two dozen local files on my Spotify app but most of them don't exist anymore. I unliked them and they don't play (I get the error "Spotify can't play this right now... you can import it" (with no information about how to import it). How do I remove them from the Local Files listing? The ONLY files I want to appear in that folder are 20 new mp3s that are stored in one specific folder on my PC.

I've read other solutions such as deleting the file "local-files.bnk" but no such file exists on my computer. I also have no folder called "AppData" where that file is supposedly found.

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

Yordan — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 12:07:01 GMT

Hi there @downtime68,

Thanks for reaching out!

The AppData folder is a hidden directory in Windows, so if you don't have "Show hidden items" enabled it won't show up. Still, you can access it by typing %AppData% in the Windows search bar. The local-files.bnk file is located in the Users folder > [your username], but it's worth performing a clean reinstall of the app to avoid any potential issues with corrupted cache.

Also, it's worth noting that if you installed the app from the Microsoft Store, the Spotify installation folder will be located in WindowsApps instead. This reply goes more in detail on the topic, feel free to check it out!

If the greyed out local files are in a playlist, you can try the following to see if it does the trick for you:

Select the local file by clicking on it.
Press the Backspace key on your keyboard to remove it from the playlist.

Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes 🤘

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

mifior — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:22:22 GMT

Hi @Yordan,

Thanks for your previous reply about this. I had installed Spotify from the Microsoft Store and was able to gain access to the WindowsApps folder following the instructions at the link you provided.

However, now that I have access to that folder, I do not see a "local-files.bnk" file. Do you know where/how the specific local file information is stored differently in this case?

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

Yordan — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:37:04 GMT

Hey there, @mifior,

I'm not sure to be honest. In any case, you should be able to remove local files that are no longer available from your playlists via the Backspace key. Could you try that to see if it does the trick for you?

Let us know how it goes 👍

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

rafaelaguerra — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 18:20:19 GMT

Hi @downtime68 and @mifior ! I had the same problem locating the local-files.bnk file because it seems to be much more buried than just going to "%appdata%>users>(current user)>spotify" (this usually happens when there is more than one user on the same computer) — turns out if you go to Settings on the spotify desktop app and scroll all the way down to the "Storage" section, the Spotify folder in which the app stores all its data will be written under "Offline Storage Location". Following that file path you should be able to find (at the very least) the Spotify folder in itself (i still had to dig through every single folder until I found the local-files.bnk though). In my case, i got to the local-files.bnk following this files path: Desktop>Users>(my user)>AppData>Local>Packages>Spotify>LocalState>Spotify>Users>(myspotifyuser)>local-files.bnk. It's a drag, but at least deleting it did indeed solve the problem!

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

jay10100 — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 10:09:24 GMT

So far I accomplished this by using the Spotify app.

Be sure to delete the audio file from your devices main storage before attempting this method:

click Spotify profile> settings&privacy>

apps&devices> turn off audio local files> turn on audio local files

I didn't expect turn off/on method to work but it worked for me. Hope this helps!

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

alexpa7 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 02:55:48 GMT

Thank you so so so so so so much! I couldn't locate the local-files.bnk file but mine was in the exact same place.

Re: How to remove local files that no longer exist

alexpa7 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 03:00:01 GMT

@rafaelaguerra Sorry, I did not realize that I am not able to directly reply to your post. Thank you again for sharing the file location: Desktop>Users>(myuser)>AppData>Local>Packages>Spotify>LocalState>Spotify>Users>(myspotifyuser)>local-files.bnk.