Here’s how you can get it to show your music in the Spotify app for Windows.
1. Make Sure You’ve Enabled Local Files
There’s a possibility you or someone else fiddling with Spotify’s settings has disabled the option to show local files. You can check and rectify this problem, by following the steps below:
Open the Spotify app on your computer. In the top right corner of the middle panel, click on your profile name to bring down the dropdown menu, and then select Settings. Scroll down to the Local Files section, and if the toggle for Show Local Files is turned off, meaning it has a gray background, click it to turn it on. Also, make sure that the toggles for the folders where your local files are located are also turned on in the Show songs from section.
Check if you can see your local file now.
2. Make Sure the Local Files Are in the Right Format
If the local files you’re trying to import into Spotify aren’t in the right format, they will not show since the app can’t play them. On Windows, Spotify will only play MP3 and audio-only MP4 files.
If your local files are not in these two formats, you can use one of the best free audio conversion apps for Windows to convert them.
3. Clear Spotify’s Cache
The Spotify app has a cache it uses to store its temporary working data — this helps it load faster and run smoothly. Unfortunately, the files in the cache can become corrupted, causing Spotify to misbehave.
If this is the reason you can’t see your local files, our guide on how to clear your Spotify cache can help you fix the issue.
4. Get Rid of Index.dat in Spotify’s Storage Folder
If Spotify’s index.dat file gets corrupted, it can cause issues with playing music. Spotify creates this file automatically when you install it, and corruption can happen over time if Spotify has issues opening it.
Deleting it doesn’t prevent Spotify from working, and can potentially let you see local files in Spotify again. Here’s how to do that:
Open the Spotify app on your computer. In the top right corner of the middle panel, click on your profile name to bring down the dropdown menu, and then select Settings. Scroll down to the Storage section and check the file path under Offline storage location. Using the file path as a reference, navigate to its location, find the index. dat file, and delete it from your computer.
Once index.dat is gone, close Spotify and open the app again to see if the local files are showing.
5. Force-Refresh the Local Files
Sometimes, all it takes for Spotify to recognize your local files is to refresh the list. A quick way to do this is to turn off the Local Files toggle in Spotify’s settings, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on (as discussed in the first fix) to perform a soft reset.
If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to force-refresh the local files. Here’s how to do that.
Go to the location where you store the local files on your computer and copy them. For this example, let’s say you store them in the Music folder. Create a new folder somewhere on your computer and paste all your music files there. Go back to the Music folder and delete all the files in it. Go to the folder you created, copy the files, and then paste them back into the Music folder.
Now Spotify will refresh the list of local files, which can make them reappear.
6. Allow Spotify Through Windows Defender Firewall
Windows Defender Firewall can sometimes block apps from accessing certain parts of Windows if it deems them to be a threat. In this case, it could be what is preventing Spotify from importing your local files and displaying them for you to enjoy.
To fix this, you’ll need to tell Windows Defender Firewall to allow Spotify to have access to all of Windows by following the below steps:
Press Win + R to open Windows Run. Type control panel in the text box and then hit the Enter key to open the Control Panel. Head to System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall and click on the Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall link on the left side menu. In the Allowed apps window, click the Change settings button. Find Spotify Music in the list of apps and features and make sure the checkbox to its left is checked. Ensure that both the Private and Public checkboxes on the right side of Spotify Music are checked as well. Click OK to close the dialog box and save the changes.
Now open Spotify and see if the local files are there.
7. Reset Spotify
When an app is misbehaving on Windows, resetting it can fix it. A reset will delete all of the app’s data, including downloads, user accounts, and preferences, returning it to the state it was in when you first installed it.
If you’re on Windows 11, follow the below steps to reset Spotify:
Press Win + I to open the Settings app. Head to Apps > Installed apps. Enter spotify in the search box at the top. In the search results, click on the three horizontal dots on the right side of Spotify and select Advanced options. Scroll down to the Reset section and click the Reset button. In the pop-up, click Reset again to confirm that’s what you want to do.
To reset Spotify on Windows 10, follow the steps below:
Press Win + I to open the Settings app. Head to Apps > Apps & features. Find Spotify from the list of apps, click on it to reveal more options, and then click on the Advanced options link. Click the Reset button in the Reset section. In the pop-up, click Reset again to confirm that’s what you want to do.
Once you’ve reset the app, you can enable local files again and show Spotify where to find your music files. If resetting it didn’t work, you can try downloading the latest version of Spotify and reinstalling it.
Enjoy Listening to Your Local Files on Spotify
Spotify can function like a regular music player once you import your locally stored audio files. But if you can’t see them after performing the sync, you can try the steps mentioned above to get them to show again.
And if all else fails, you can consider backing up your Windows computer and resetting it.
