Desktop: New Your Library sidebar

[MattSuda]

Spotify is introducing a new Your Library sidebar in the desktop app and Web Player.

The new Your Library sidebar improves navigation and makes it easier and faster to collect and retrieve all types of content, bringing new features to desktop that you're already familiar with in the mobile app. The new sidebar is also more customizable than before to meet different preferences.

You can read more info about the new desktop experience in the Spotify Newsroom post:

➜ Spotify’s Desktop Experience Gets a Brand-New Look With Redesigned ‘Your Library’ and ‘Now Playing’ ...

This thread is your go-to destination for learning what's new, asking questions, getting help for issues you might have, as well as to share your feedback about the new Your Library sidebar for desktop. Also, do you have any tips for other users on how you are using the new Your Library sidebar? We'd love to hear them.

What's new in the Your Library sidebar?

• See your entire collection and all of the content types (not just playlists)
  
  
• Filters for your collection (Playlists, Artists, Albums, Podcasts) that can be combined with other filters (By you, By Spotify, Downloaded)
  
  
• Sort options for your collection (Recents, Recently Added, Alphabetical, Creator, Custom Order)
  
  
• Chosen filters and sort options will be remembered in the sidebar across restarts of the desktop app
  
  
• Search through your collection in the sidebar
  
  
• Pinned library items to find your favorites, faster – current limit is 4 (Playlists, Playlist Folders, Artists, Albums, Podcasts)
  
  
• Art covers are now shown in the sidebar
  
  
• Compact library layout (no art covers) is available as an option in Settings to increase content density
  
  
• Dedicated + (plus) button to create Playlists and Playlist Folders
  
  
• Flexible Sizing: A collapsed library view (with only art covers) to maximize the browsing area, a regular width view, and an expanded view for more focused library management and curation. (you can also drag to customize the size)
  
  
• In the expanded library view, you have options for list view, compact view, and a grid view. The list and compact views show you more details in 2 columns, Date Added and Last Played, and the grid view allows you to see larger art covers.
  
  
• Playlist Folders can still be expanded into the sidebar in a tree view, and now when you click on them, the sidebar only shows the Playlist Folder and what's inside for a more focused view.
  
  
• Menu option to move a playlist to a folder (with search)

Note: The Your Library sidebar experience will be the same for the most part in the Web Player. However, the Web Player does not support all of the features found in the desktop app. To be able to use all of the features, you can download the desktop app right here.

Tips to get started:

If you need a familiar experience to help you get started with the new Your Library sidebar, here's how to get it as close as possible to the old sidebar that previously only showed playlists:

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

• Then, in the drop down menu select "Custom Order" under "Sort by". You will then see your previous playlist order and be able to move your playlists and folders like before.

• Your currently chosen filters and sort options will be remembered across restarts of the desktop app.

• If you would like to only see text in the Your Library sidebar (no art covers), go to the drop down menu and at the bottom of the menu click on "Compact" under "View as".

• Flexible Sizing: You can drag the Your Library sidebar to different sizes. Fully expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow button at the top, and fully collapse the sidebar by clicking on the "Your Library" heading to see only art covers.

• At the top, you can scroll through the different filters with your mouse scroll wheel for faster navigation when the sidebar is set to a smaller size. 

Walkthrough of the basics:

Sidebar List:

You can now see your entire collection and all of the content types (not just playlists) in the sidebar list. At the top, click on the filters to filter the content you want to see, and click on the drop down menu to change the sort order or view of the list. To create a new Playlist or Playlist Folder, click on the + (plus) button at the top right corner of the sidebar. To search through your collection, click on the search button.

Filter Options:

At the top, click on the filters to filter the content you want to see. You can scroll through the different filters with your mouse scroll wheel for faster navigation when the sidebar is set to a smaller size. 

To remove the filter, click on the X or the currently selected filter and then choose another filter to see another type of content. Having no filter selected will show all types of content mixed in the list.

• Playlists
• Artists
• Albums
• Podcasts & Shows
• These can be combined with other filters: By you, By Spotify, Downloaded

Sort Options:

At the top, click on the drop down menu to change the sort order of the list under "Sort by".

• Recents
• Recently Added
• Alphabetical
• Creator

When the "Playlists" filter is selected, you have the option to see your playlists in your own custom order.

• Custom Order

When the "Podcasts & Shows" filter is selected, you have the following option:

• Recently Updated

View Options:

At the top, click on the drop down menu to change the view of the list under "View as".

• Compact (view text only without art covers)
• List
• Grid (bigger art covers)

Flexible Sizing:

You can hover over and click on the right edge of the sidebar to drag it to your preferred width. You can also fully expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow button at the top, and fully collapse the sidebar by clicking on the "Your Library" heading to see only art covers.

In the expanded library view, you have options for list view, compact view, and a grid view. The list and compact views show you more details in 2 columns, Date Added and Last Played, and the grid view allows you to see larger art covers.

FAQ:

This section will answer your frequently asked questions and will be updated with the latest answers.

Related help articles on the support website:

• Your Library   • Sort and filter   • Keyboard Shortcuts

Can I view the Your Library page in the main browsing area like before?

• Unfortunately, the old Your Library page in the main browsing area is being discontinued with the release of the new Your Library sidebar. You can adjust the size of the Your Library sidebar to be bigger and you can also enable the "grid view" if you would like to see bigger art covers.

How do I see only my playlists in the sidebar like I used to be able to, I can't drag and move my playlists or folders anymore?

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

  
  Then, in the sort options drop down menu select "Custom Order". You will then see your previous playlist order and be able to move your playlists and folders like before.

  
  Your currently chosen filters and sort options will be remembered across restarts of the desktop app.

I don't want to see art cover images in the sidebar, how do I turn them off?

• If you would like to only see text in the Your Library sidebar (no art covers), go to the drop down menu and at the bottom of the menu click on "Compact" under "View as".
  
  

How do I get the album art to expand in the bottom left corner like before? When I try to expand the album art, it opens the Now Playing View sidebar to the right.

• Unfortunately, that is no longer possible. When you expand the album art in the bottom left corner of the app, it will no longer hover over the Your Library sidebar. Instead, the new right sidebar will open up. You can resize the Now Playing View sidebar to your preferred size.
  
  

  You can read more information about this by going here.

How do I play or shuffle play a Playlist Folder now? (I don't see dedicated pages with play / shuffle options anymore)

• Right click on a Playlist Folder and select the "Play" option. To shuffle play, make sure to turn on the shuffle mode first before selecting the "Play" option in the right click menu.

How do I get to my Local Files now?

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

  
  Then, in the sort drop down select "Custom Order".
  
  The "Local Files" playlist will be near the top of the list under your pinned items (if any).

Feedback:

Where can I give my feedback about the new Your Library sidebar in the desktop app?

• We welcome your feedback about this change. The best way to share your feedback is to comment here in this thread.

[taralynn408]

I can appreciate wanting to change things up and give Spotify a fresh coat of paint, but what problems were trying to be solved? Nothing was wrong with how it was before, and the change was so dramatic that it was hard to adjust. It's so incredibly cluttered and disorganized compared to the previous versions. The song information isn't really necessary on the right side, and I don't want to have to look all the way to the other side of the screen just to see it. It's not very user-oriented, just messy. With the Your Library on the left open, everything feels extremely cramped and claustrophobic, and there's a lot of unnecessary and annoying clicking around to minimize and re-size things to make it all fit. Definitely a downgrade in Spotify layout developments. I even talked to Spotify Support about downgrading to a previous version of Spotify, and apparently, it's not possible - so that's pretty unfortunate. Operating on Windows 11, Spotify Premium.

[Piotrek]

Actually it is possible. But you have to download older version from filehippo or uptodown and then block spotify updates via hosts files or remove permissions from certain folders. Just lookup "block spotify updates" on google or try this method:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/Stopping-Auto-update/td-p/4785101

I did this trick few years ago when first UI update was introduced replacing small useful UI with this ugly thing we have now with lots of empty space. However after some time old version stopped playing songs and after reinstalling it I was not able to log-in because they changed login page and it required newer spotify app versions which have new ui and new login screen.

[BeardedGeek72]

My solution was to download an old version and block it from doing updates.  Mid nov 2022 is the last version with a standalone installer. The "new" UI is simply not usable. If I am forced to use it I will just use YouTube for music on my desktop instead. 

[ManMachine]

My main gripe with it is that the buggy login procedure gives a black screen on startup every time unless manually deleting the credentials from the prefs file.

Here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Linux/spotify-not-starting/m-p/5614422

[Piotrek]

When you simply want to avoid sidebar on right you can download 1.2.10. I was unable to find newer versions but I checked 1.2.13 and it already had right sidebar so do not download it.

I did not test 1.2.11 and 1.2.12 because there are no ~90MB exe installers, just 900KB online downloader.

You can get 1.2.10 easily, just make sure it is ~90MB installer (offline), not online downloader.

[pit1288]

I have a dream...

[saturninesoul]

Please please please remove this new 3-column-version. It is just not usable. I don't need the library in the left column because everything is just tiny and cluttered. So I put it (as before) in the main column, even though by now I have to **bleep**ing use a shortcut for this, because Spotify hates people that use libraries. So I collapse my library left, put them in the main column via shortcut:

So even after modification: I have one column I dont use (useless collapsed library), one column I use (main library with tiny covers (they get smaller with every update!) and this stupid right column with the cover and useless information that diminishes or enlarges the middle column depending on the "now playing mode". What a waste of everything.

It really hurts me to see pictures of the old UI (pre-2023, but especially pre-2021). An intuitive, totally clear desktop UI transformed into cluttered garbarge. Wow.

Please, ata least change back to the version with the cover in the down left that, when enlarged, just folds out over the librarby belorw. At least there I could manage to customize a usable version by rearranging and moving around everything. But with this version, everything is useless.

[Varianten]

I'm also missing the old functionality. I want an easy way to arrange my playlists. Right now it's much harder for me to find the playlists I want to listen to.

[WalkingPillow]

Hello,

no matter what computer I use. The Spotify version which is pushed in the recent years is nothing but an insult for me.

The playlists UI doesnt even work. I click something and I have to wait 60 seconds for the playlist to appear. The previous tree-structure playlists was all good and worked with the previous clients...But now I cannot flexibly move around in my playlists and folders, mind you... I have hundreds of folders and thousands of playlists, and moving around in this modern crappy UI that jumps into the playlist and DOES NOT even show me the previous structure, and DOES NOT ALLOW me to move my songs or folders from place to place with a SIMPLE drag-and-drop is absolute many steps back in terms of features offered!

I just cannot believe how can a company of such size even afford to ignore this...

All the operations within the playlist UI take forever to load, but the old tree-structure "playlist UI" that was in the previous UI design of the Spotify client worked just fine and had an instant responsivity!!

I am not kidding if I say it takes forever to open a folder or a playlist within that damn new UI.

See attachments for examples.

[mebisa]

I have had my Spotify account for a very long time so I have accumulated a lot of playlists over the years. I'm not sure why, but now I'm unable to reorder my playlists by dragging and dropping. I now have to change the sorting filter to custom which is so frustrating because I always keep my frequent playlists at the top. When I change the filter to custom it reorders everything and I lose my custom order from before when dragging and dropping was still allowed anytime. Now if I want to keep my current setup I have to either scroll through 1,000's of playlists or search for every single playlist I usually keep at the top and then drag them all the way to the top.

Please please please fix this UX issue!! It was way more user friendly before, when you were able to just drag and drop playlists freely.

Another thing that could be improved is increasing the number of playlists you can pin to the top to something like 10/15. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I cycle through many playlists, so this would be super handy to implement.

[thatoneguy2400]

---

@GraafG wrote:

What is the ETA for the rollback?

---

probably never sadly

[strok_777]

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Since  a few months ago when you unified the UI with the browser style, the desktop app is super slow when collapsing and expanding folders, has an incredible amount of bugs, showing playlists where they shouldn't be. It's a real **bleep** (as Spotify has been doing for a few years, removing functionality and making performance worse). 

I used to use a version from 2017 or so and I had no issues.

Please fix this **bleep** application because it's super slow. How is it possible that it takes about 4 o 5 seconds to expand a folder?

[WalkingPillow]

I wanna see this fixed:
https://community.spotify.com/t5/Idea-Submissions/Playlist-UI-improvements/idi-p/5620821#M178941

[WalkingPillow]

absolutely agree..., old clients work like magic in comparison!

You said, it takes you 4-5 seconds to expand a folder, but listen to this!

I have thousands of playlists, it takes several minutes for me!! Just to expand a folder or jump in or out, it completely vanishes etc

...so I imagine this has to do something with the user's profile database folder???

And I have tested this on a variety of different gaming and office computers both new and old. It behaves the same everywhere. Exactly the same.

Weird huh.

Except its not. Its sad...
I wonder why didn't the Spotify dev team test this? ... ._.

[Pol1981]

It's utter **bleep**.

**bleep**!!!!!

I had a library with different albums by hundreds of artists.
With this new library, I CAN'T EVEN BROWSE MY COLLECTION!!!
When I filter on "Artists", you know how many appear in the list? THREE!! 3! Only the artists that I follow.

IT'S A MUSIC LIBRARY APP, NOT AN INSTAGRAM CLONE !!!
TREAT IT LIKE ONE !!

[ManMachine]

the login procedure is still broken since the browser login was enforced.   spotify hangs with black screen when started the second time and requires manual removal for the autologin credential in the prefs file to proceed.    Will require browser login for each start.   Doesn't properly switch to the browser view when trying to bring that up for login.  Doesn't properly switch back to the spotify app after login has been done.

broken experience, please fix...

[fsdsdfsdfsdfsd]

I mostly listen to albums, and I think having them listed in the sidebar makes them easier to browse (like having records on a shelf). In order to accomplish this in the past I would make a custom playlist for every album, since the sidebar could only contain playlists. The new sidebar takes care of it for me, and it shows icons and the artist name, and it's sortable and searchable. I love it! I was able to delete hundreds of playlists. Now I use playlists the way they were intended and the albums feature is finally useful.

[coldcav]

This was possible in the old UI it still had an Albums tab that you could browse all of your saved albums like this without the need for playlists. This new UI forces you to open folders on the side rather than making use of the full screen. Additionally, you used to be able to access local files separately from the playlists on the side so you could add local files to a playlist without having to scroll back down to it. Overall this redesign makes no sense.

[fsdsdfsdfsdfsd]

Yeah I can see how if you need to drag and drop into a playlist or folder you'd want two separate columns. I don't do that anymore now that I don't have a playlist per album. I used to sort them into folders by genre but I decided it wasn't worth the effort (plus I never did that with records or CDs either as it made things harder to find). Now all I do in terms of managing my library is to like or unlike things.

My favorite feature of the new library is the "Recents" sorting as it includes both recently added and recently listened. It reminds me of the old days when I would have a small stack of records propped up next to the record player. It would include albums I recently bought and haven't listened to yet, plus albums I recently listened to, with the frontmost one being what's currenty playing or last played. The new sidebar is just like that but it's even better because I can see the title, artist, and cover art without having to flip through the stack.

[Huothar]

Currently using 1.2.5.1006, had no other choice. I still can't load my profile on the new UI.