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.

[MirrorLake]

It's absolutely infuriating that I can't look at my library, albums, or artists in a full screen window. You let me painfully drag the window to about 60% of the screen, stuttering all the way, and then prevent it from being full screen. The 5fps is just the cherry on top that it can barely even render, like it wants to die.

Second big criticism: you put my name under every single playlist name in the sidebar. Myname, myname, myname, myname, myname. I look down the list of playlists and all I see is my own name. Gross waste of space there. I love the addition of the album artwork except I don't want to read my own name over and over again, and I want to see more than 4-5 playlists at at time.

Thirdly: Forced "Liked Songs" and "Your Episodes" at the top of my list of playlists. I don't use Spotify for podcasts, so forcing "Your Episodes" to be at the top of my lists is really irritating. A button I might click a few times per year, in perhaps the most prime real estate on the entire playlist bar.

[thecowzone]

On the newest version of Spotify Desktop for MacOS Ventura (13.3.1), featuring the new UI changes in the left sidebar, when selecting the Playlists > Custom order option, I am unable to reorder a playlist that has no title.

Moving other playlists and folders works correctly (when clicking and dragging, you see the green line indicating a position the playlist can be moved to), but for this playlist with no name, no green line appears when clicking and holding, and dropping the playlist anywhere does nothing. A temporary solution is to just move all other playlists "around" the broken one to re-order it that way.

The playlist in question:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/54ZA9LXFvvFujmOVWXpHga

App Version:

Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon)
1.2.10.760.g52970952

[reijoslav]

Is there any alternative Spotify app? Current one changes more often than an average website. Today I know how to use the app, tomorrow it changes and I again don't know how to open history, likes, etc. I don't like it.

[milmil]

Your desktop application was always one of the worst examples of UI development and I never thought it can be any  worse, but you just proved me wrong.  I guess it is time to cancel my subscription...and start searching for alternatives. You really have the most useless designers on the plant.

[monsa101]

Honestly, this new layout makes me want to stop using the desktop app.

[monsa101]

I really hope you rollback this change. Not only it's not appealing, also doesn't work.

[miguel62]

Started the day with this very frustrating layout. I have tons of music in my library, splitting the design makes navigation a nightmare and for the sake of what? Pushing the advertisements on the Home Screen to us? I want to see my library, not your ads.

Library view MUST take as much screen space as possible because we don't just listen to a couple of albums, ok?

[felixtv27]

I (somewhat) like the compact view, but please, just please, add actual flexibility to the 'flexible' sizing. The smallest size that I can make it show the text it already blocks too much of the playlist, and the view with only the cover arts is absolutely useless.

[GEO_L]

Very unhappy with this new redesign. It feels like Spotify keeps changing their design layout when it doesn't need to be changed and no-one wants it to be changed - it seems unnecessary. If the Spotify team really wants to be upgrading their "look" maybe they should consider adding the option to change between layouts if it means so much to them. Or better yet, do a poll. It's your users who have to deal with the UI, so please consider their opinion (as many others on this forum have also said).

[ScreamingForever]

What the christing **bleep** is this. Why is the album art floating above everything else. Why can't I see my library in full? What the **bleep** are you doing to my cunting music app?

[Jamie-TheHidden]

The new Your Library sidebar update is potentially nice in some respects. But I genuinely need to be able to view my playlist art across the application. Your Library page has been entirely removed from the main panel. The main browsing page is honestly useless to me. I very rarely look at any of the recommended playlists. I just like my own stuff and that's it.

I get that you think the new sidebar is nice and fancy and trendy. That's great. So let me celebrate it and make it take up the entire application if I want! Let me hide the main window and all those playlists I'm not interested in, I don't need to see them. Let me choose how I want to customise my spotify experience.

I use spotify in therapy. I use spotify when I'm in distress. It's one of my first go-to comforts, and I've been a paid user for years because of that. This is the first time there's been an update that genuinely makes my experience worse. I don't want to have to use spicetify to get an experience that is acceptable for me, but I will if I have to. Please fix this, or adjust course. I'm not the only one who's frustrated by the new layout.

[Joostdehaas]

I generally like the new desktop UI, because it makes it easier to see what is saved to my library.

But, it also made me find out I saved lots (I mean LOTS) of albums to my library over the years that I never want to listen to again.

I noticed you can't shift-click on multiple albums to bulk-select / delete them.

Is there another way I can get to my list of liked songs / albums and just unlike all of it?

This new UI makes me want to start over organizing my library, because I feel (in the end) it's a very nice UI. But before I can start fresh I need to throw away a lot of stuff. HOW? Because now it seems it can only be done one by one, and that is not a nice thing to do...

Probably not possible. Asking anyway. Thanks!

[ScreamingForever]

Honestly, what is this? Why is the album art floating above like this?

[davidwhiting]

This is so so horrible I cannot even comprehend how this was designed and got past user testing. Following this awful trend of ignoring different usage patterns between desktop and mobile users and trying to unify the interfaces. It just doesn't make any logical sense.

Please change it back immediately. We don't want this.

[thomasmills89]

How do you rollback this update? As a long-term paid subscriber this is unacceptable. I have never liked the mobile library, it's so bloated, requires multiple extra touches but you give me no option and now you force this on desktop.

All I want is my playlists alphabetically; other sort options could be useful but not for me; A-Z of your collections (playlists) is the most simple list display in software development but you keep reinventing this and failing. I cannot fathom the thinking behind adding albums and artists to this sidebar, this is really insane bloat. Really starting to think I need to reconsider my Spotify subscription with these forced changes.

[Rexxi]

The new desktop UI feels really clunky and awkward to navigate, and somehow increases my CPU usage for no apparent reasons.

Please at least give users option to change it back to the old one, 

AND please add a new toggle option to give users to choose whether or not to opt in the so-called 'new UI experiments.' 

This change-to-new-UI-without-user-consent thing has already been the second time happened to me,

and I am really NOT happy about this, both times.

Very annoying.

[Rexxi]

Same here.

The mobile app version feels really awkward to use, poorly designed.

That's why I'm sticking to desktop version.

And now they're trying to make desktop 'more like' the mobile one.

It's getting really ridiculous......

[ander223]

I guess Spotify won't revert the app to something a normal human being would enjoy using, so...

I don't like the other streaming services much but they can't possibly be worse than this. Goodbye.

[Seekyr]

The new UI redesign seems universally hated - just like the ones before it. Why does pretty graphic design matter more to this team than my ability to just listen to my music and have things in a compact list without album art everywhere? (Yes, I do have compact library layout on) Why did they take the extra pains to break old downgraded versions of Spotify to make SURE I have to use this awful design? I have loved Spotify for years and years and now I'm having to consider where I will move my music if this team cannot stop prioritizing what they think looks nice over what the community actually wants.

The threads I see about these redesigns are full of people begging for the ability to revert to old designs or at least customize their app more, and poor community managers always tell them to add it as suggestions that seem completely ignored. I'm just really frustrated that every website around me seems determined to fix things that were not broken, and often things that the community really liked about their service in the first place.

[Seekyr]

As far as I can tell they found a way to break downgraded versions of Spotify that I and others had been using for years to avoid these awful redesigns. If you do find a way please tell me, I can't stand how cluttered things are now.