To add local files to Spotify on desktop, open Settings, scroll to Library, switch Show Local Files on and choose your folders. On iPhone, switch Local audio files on under Settings and privacy, then Apps and devices.
Two jobs are often muddled here. One is telling Spotify to look for your files. The other is getting those files onto the device in the first place. Do them in that order. This page follows Spotify Support on local files, as of Nov 2026. Spotify says you can use the app to play any audio files legally stored on your device, and that you may need to allow access in your device settings, so if the switch seems to do nothing later on, that's the first place to go.
First, flip the setting
On a desktop
- Click your profile picture and select Settings.
- Scroll to Library and switch Show Local Files on.
- Under Show songs from, turn on the folders you want, or click Add a source to pick another folder.
- Your music appears in Your Library under Local Files.
On a computer, that's it. You aren't moving anything, you're only pointing Spotify at a folder that's already there. If your songs live somewhere unusual, Add a source is the option that matters, as the folders you've turned on are the only ones you're telling it about.
On an iPhone
- Tap your profile picture.
- Tap Settings and privacy, then Apps and devices.
- Switch Local audio files on.
- Your files then appear in Your Library under Local Files.
Don't be thrown by the different name. It's Show Local Files on desktop and Local audio files on iPhone, which is easy to miss if you're hunting for the same words on both.
Then choose how the files get across
A phone won't see what's sitting on your computer until you've moved it. Pick your route by where the file is right now.
| Your file is | Route | Where it needs to end up |
|---|---|---|
| Already on your iPhone, in another app's folder | Files app: copy or move | The Spotify folder under On My iPhone |
| On a computer, signed in to the same iCloud account | iCloud with Universal Clipboard | The Spotify folder under On My iPhone |
| On a computer with a cable to hand | USB via Finder, or iTunes on a desktop | Drag into the Spotify folder |
| Going to an Android phone | Download to the phone, or USB cable | On the phone, copied across from the computer or the other app |
iPhone, using the Files app
Use this one if the file's already on the phone. Copy or move it in the Files app into the Spotify folder under On My iPhone. No computer needed, which makes it the least fiddly of the iPhone routes.
iPhone, using iCloud
This one relies on Universal Clipboard, and the catch is that both devices have to use the same iCloud account. If they don't, skip straight to the cable.
iPhone, using USB
Connect by cable, use Finder (or iTunes on a desktop), and drag the files into the Spotify folder. It's the most hands-on route, but it's also the one to use when you've got a lot on the computer and don't want to fuss with the clipboard.
Android, using a download or a cable
You've got two ways in. Download the file to the phone from wherever it's stored; in Drive, for example, that's More then Download. Or connect by USB cable, tap Allow on the Allow access to your data notification, open the device on the computer and drag the files over.
Don't miss that Allow notification on the phone, as it's part of the cable route. Once your tracks are showing, you may want them in a playlist of your own; Spotify's fix-it steps mention local files in playlists, so they can sit in one. Spotify's page doesn't say whether they count towards anything else, such as your yearly Wrapped summary, so I won't make a claim either way.
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If it's not working, try these in order
- Check device permissions. Spotify warns you may need to allow access in your device settings.
- Look for the missing folder on iPhone. The Spotify folder under On My iPhone can disappear if the Help file inside it gets deleted. Restart the Spotify app and it'll show again.
- Update. Update both the app and the device.
- Start again from clean. Remove local files from any playlists, then go back through the steps.
- Do a clean reinstall as the last resort. You'll need to re-download any downloaded music and podcasts afterwards, which is why I'd leave it until the others have failed.
That vanishing folder is the one I'd check first if you can't see where to drop your files. Deleting a file called Help looks like harmless tidying, and it isn't obvious that it's what's holding the folder in place.
The crossfade quirk
One more oddity worth knowing. Crossfade only works between local files with the same sample rate and channel count, meaning mono or stereo. So if two of your own tracks butt up against each other instead of blending, the files themselves may be the reason. It's not necessarily a sign that your setup's gone wrong.
What Spotify doesn't spell out
Spotify's page leaves a few things out, and I won't fill the gaps with guesses. It doesn't list supported audio formats, a maximum number of local files or any Premium versus Free requirement. It doesn't cover syncing local files to your other devices either, so don't assume a track you've set up on one will follow you to another. And it doesn't deal with moving your library elsewhere: that's a separate job, and I've written about moving a playlist to YouTube Music on its own page.
Quick answers
Why can't I see my local files on Spotify?
Check you've switched the setting on, and that you've allowed access in your device settings if needed. On iPhone, also check the file went into the Spotify folder under On My iPhone.
Where's the Spotify folder on my iPhone?
It's under On My iPhone in the Files app. It can disappear if the Help file inside gets deleted, and restarting the Spotify app shows it again.
Do I need Premium to play local files on Spotify?
Spotify's local files page doesn't state a Premium or Free requirement, so it's not something I can confirm from that page.
Why won't crossfade work on my local files?
Spotify says crossfade only works between local files with the same sample rate and channel count, meaning mono or stereo.
