How to make a playlist on YouTube: a step-by-step guide

YouTube is home to billions of videos, and the library is only growing. But scrolling through search results to find your favorite content isn’t the only way to navigate the platform. By creating a YouTube playlist, you can sort videos into curated folders that match any mood, whether you’re watching for fun or growing your creator and business presence on YouTube.

Want hours of study-friendly music that auto-plays to keep you in the zone? How about a series of short yoga sessions you can squeeze in before work? YouTube playlists can be built on desktop or mobile, effortlessly organizing videos into personalized libraries that you can watch (and rewatch) on-demand.

Below, we break down exactly how to create, edit, reorder, and share playlists on YouTube.

What is a YouTube playlist?

A YouTube playlist is an ordered collection of videos saved under one title that plays in sequence. When one video finishes, the next video in the playlist starts automatically. Playlists are typically curated around a specific theme, topic, or sequential order, commonly used for step-by-step tutorials, organizing workout routines, or binge-watching content like music videos.

A playlist contains links pointing to the original video; if the video is removed by its owner, it disappears from your playlist, too. Plus, each playlist can be set to public (anyone can search for and view the playlist), private (only the creator can view the playlist), or unlisted (only people with the direct link can view the playlist).

How to make a YouTube playlist

You can create a YouTube playlist on desktop or mobile. Simply open any YouTube video, click or tap Save, and select Create new playlist (or save it to an existing playlist). Keep in mind that the steps to creating a YouTube playlist differ slightly depending on which device you’re using.

💡 Pro tip: When saving videos on YouTube, you can decide to Save to Watch later or Save to a playlist. Creating a playlist is the best way to categorize your saved videos into handy folders that align with specific topics or themes, whether that's new music from your favorite artist or a series of 20-minute at-home workouts.

How to create a YouTube playlist on desktop

To create a playlist from a video on desktop:

1. Go to the watch page of a video you want to add to a playlist.
2. Click Save (click More … if you can’t see this option).
3. Save the video to an existing playlist, or select + New playlist.
4. Choose a title for your playlist, select your visibility (public, private, or unlisted) and toggle on Collaborate if you want others to contribute to this playlist.
5. Click Create.

To create a playlist from a Short on desktop:

1. Go to the watch page of a Short you want to add to a playlist.
2. Click More … and select Save to playlist.
3. Save the video to an existing playlist, or select + New playlist.
4. Choose a title for your playlist, select your visibility (public, private, or unlisted) and toggle on Collaborate if you want others to contribute to this playlist.
5. Click Create.

How to create a YouTube playlist on mobile

To create a playlist from a video on mobile:

1. Go to the watch page of a video you want to add to a playlist.
2. Tap the Save (bookmark) icon.
3. By default, the video will save to your Watch later folder. Alternatively, you can tap + New playlist.
4. Add a title for your playlist, select your visibility (public, private, or unlisted) and toggle on Collaborate if you want others to contribute to this playlist.
5. Tap Create.

To create a playlist from a Short on mobile:

1. Go to the Shorts tab or open the watch page for the Short you want to add to a playlist.
2. Tap the Save (bookmark) icon.
3. By default, Shorts will be saved to your Saved Shorts folder.
4. To save this video to a playlist, tap the three vertical dots (⋮) and tap Save to playlist.
5. Select an existing playlist, or tap + New playlist.
6. Add a title for your playlist, select your visibility (public, private, or unlisted) and toggle on Collaborate if you want others to contribute to this playlist.
7. Tap Create.

💡 Pro tip: If you're posting Shorts as often as long-form videos, you can queue them up ahead of time. Here's how to schedule your YouTube Shorts.

Adding, reordering, and removing videos on YouTube playlists

You can organize your YouTube playlist by manually dragging and dropping videos into your preferred order, or use automatic sorting options (such as ordering by Most popular or Date published).

Here’s how to organize videos within your YouTube playlists on desktop:

1. From the YouTube home screen, click the hamburger icon (≡) and select Playlists.
2. Open the playlist you want to customize by clicking View full playlist.
   • To add a new video to this playlist, select the + icon. Here you can search all of YouTube or paste the video’s URL.
   • To reorder videos manually, select Manual from the dropdown menu. Then, click and hold the two horizontal lines (=) to drag and drop each video into your preferred order.
   • To quickly reorder videos automatically, select one of the options from the dropdown menu to filter by:
     • Date added (newest)
     • Date added (oldest)
     • Most popular
     • Date published (newest)
     • Date published (oldest)
   • To remove a video from this playlist, click the three vertical dots (⋮) on the video you want to remove, and click Remove from [playlist name].

Here’s how to organize videos within your YouTube playlists on mobile:

1. Open the YouTube app, tap You, and tap the playlist you want to customize.

• To add a new video to this playlist, select the + icon. Here you can search all of YouTube to find videos to add to this playlist.
• To reorder videos manually, select Manual from the dropdown menu. Then, tap and hold the two horizontal lines (=) to drag and drop each video into your preferred order.
• To quickly reorder videos automatically, select one of the options from the dropdown menu to filter by:
  • Date added (newest)
  • Date added (oldest)
  • Most popular
  • Date published (newest)
  • Date published (oldest)
• To remove a video from this playlist, tap the three vertical dots (⋮) on the video you want to remove, and tap Remove from [playlist name].

💡 Pro tip: Want to change your YouTube playlist settings? Simply open the playlist on desktop or mobile and select the pencil icon to adjust the title, add a description, or change the visibility settings.

How to make a YouTube playlist together

On YouTube, you can collaborate with others on any public or unlisted playlist. Make sure to turn on the Collaborate toggle when creating your playlist to easily invite others to build it with you.

There are several ways to build a playlist with others on YouTube:

• Add collaborators to a playlist on desktop: Select the playlist, click the Share (arrow) icon, and click Invite collaborators. You’ll receive a custom invite link you can send to anyone. Plus, you can decide how collaborators can interact with the playlist (such as adjusting whether they can add new videos or add other new collaborators).
• Add collaborators to a playlist on mobile: Select the playlist, tap the Share (arrow) icon, and tap Invite collaborators. You can send the custom invite link via SMS, email, or copy and paste it as needed.

Once invites are accepted, collaborators can add and remove videos from this playlist following the same steps above. You’ll see which videos each person has added, as their profile picture will appear on that video in the playlist.

Want to remove collaborators from your playlist? At the top of the playlist, select your collaborators' profile photo and turn off Collaborate (this removes everyone from your playlist). To leave a playlist you’ve been invited to, open the playlist, select the bookmark icon, and remove it from your library.

💡Pro tip: Did you know you can turn on the option for users to upvote or downvote videos in playlists on YouTube? You can decide whether everyone on YouTube can vote on your playlist or only people you have added as a collaborator can vote. Plus, you can disable voting on your playlists altogether. This is a helpful way to work collaboratively to optimize the order videos appear in your playlists.

Want more input from your audience? Here’s how to turn on comments on YouTube. And if you’ve ever wondered what a highlighted comment means on YouTube, we’ve got you covered.

Who can see your YouTube playlist?

The visibility of your YouTube playlists all depends on the privacy settings you’ve selected. Public playlists can be seen and shared by anyone, unlisted playlists can only be seen by people with the playlist link, and private playlists are visible only to you.

Source: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3127309

Keep in mind that each video’s privacy settings will influence whether or not it’s visible in your playlist. While an unlisted video can be watched by anyone once added to a public playlist, a private video will still remain unplayable even once added to a public playlist.

Organize your YouTube videos with playlists

Building a playlist allows you to round up your favorite YouTube videos into handy collections. Whether you’re curating your own videos or organizing your favorite videos from other creators, YouTube playlists are free to build, easy to customize, and ready to build collaboratively with others.