If an OBS playlist source does not show videos you have just added, first check what kind of source it is: the built-in VLC Video source, the third-party Media Playlist Source plugin, or a Browser Source. Their refresh behaviour is different, so there is no single refresh button that applies to all three.
For VLC Video, inspect the playlist entries in the source properties and check that VLC is installed in the architecture OBS requires. For the Media Playlist Source plugin, its author documents refreshing added-folder contents by changing a setting and saving the properties. A Browser Source refresh reloads a web page, not either kind of media playlist.
Identify which playlist source is in use
In OBS, look at the source name in the Sources list and open its Properties. The source type shown there is more useful than the name you or someone else gave it: a source called “Playlist” could still be a VLC Video source, a plugin source or something else. If the properties do not make the type clear, remove nothing; add a temporary source to a private test scene and inspect the available source types.
The built-in VLC Video source is OBS’s playlist-capable source that depends on VLC. It can play a list of media files, with controls for order, looping and shuffle. OBS’s Media Sources documentation says VLC must be installed for VLC Video to appear as an available source.
The Media Playlist Source is a separately installed plugin, not another name for the built-in VLC Video source. Its OBS forum listing describes its own handling of files added through folders. Follow that source’s documented behaviour rather than assuming a VLC Video setting applies to it.
A Browser Source displays web content. Its properties include controls related to reloading or refreshing the page, but those controls do not update a file list held by VLC Video or the plugin. OBS describes those page-specific controls in its Browser Source documentation.
An ordinary Media Source is different again: it plays media files, and its playback options include behaviour such as restarting when a scene becomes active. Those are playback controls for a media file, not instructions to rescan a playlist folder. OBS’s sources guide is useful if you are unsure which category a source belongs to.
Before changing anything, note the source type, the way its list was populated (individual files or a folder), and the OBS version. If the plugin is involved, note its version too. These details determine which of the steps below is relevant; they also make it easier to describe the problem accurately if you need help.
Check VLC installation and matching architecture
This step applies to the built-in VLC Video source, not to Browser Source or the third-party plugin merely because its name includes “playlist”. OBS’s documentation says VLC needs to be installed for VLC Video to appear. It also specifies that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. If OBS and VLC do not match, check the installed versions before treating the missing playlist entry as a refresh problem.
Open OBS’s source properties and check whether VLC Video is actually available and whether you are editing the expected source. If it is missing from the Add Source menu, confirm the VLC installation first. If it is present but the newly added video is missing, continue to inspect the source’s playlist entries; installing VLC does not itself add files to a list.
Do not use an installer or architecture guess as a substitute for checking what is installed. On a system where you have both applications already, verify which OBS build you are running and whether VLC is the corresponding 64-bit version. If you manage the streaming computer remotely, make the check there, not on a separate computer where OBS is not running.
Keep the distinction clear when asking for support. “VLC Video is unavailable” points to the VLC prerequisite or compatibility. “VLC Video is available, but its playlist does not contain the new path” points to the playlist configuration. “The path appears but the video does not play” is a playback or file-access question, not necessarily a refresh issue.
Inspect VLC Video source playlist entries
Open the VLC Video source’s Properties and look directly at the playlist. The first useful question is whether the newly added video is listed there. If it is absent, OBS has not been given that entry in the source’s playlist. Do not assume that copying another file into the same folder makes VLC Video add it automatically: the official documentation describes playlist entries and playback settings, but does not document a continuous folder scan or a dedicated refresh button for this source.
If you use explicit file entries, add the new file through the playlist controls in the properties and check that its path is correct. If you moved or renamed the file after adding it, the old path may remain in the list. A file visible in File Explorer is not proof that the entry in OBS points to that location. Check the full path and, where possible, select the file from its current folder rather than relying on a remembered name.
If the entry is present, check its place in the playlist and whether another item is currently playing. A newly added video may be at the end, which can look like it has not been added if the existing item is long or the source is looping. A shuffled playlist may play items in a different order from the list shown in properties. Confirm the current item and wait for the expected transition in a private test rather than repeatedly adding the same file.
If OBS shows the entry but cannot play it, test the media file outside the scene and confirm that the path is readable by the computer running OBS. A network location, removable drive or synchronised folder may not be available under the same account or at the time the scene is active. This is a file-access check; it does not establish that VLC Video can rescan a folder.
If the playlist is correct but playback still seems unchanged, avoid using unrelated controls as a cure. Restarting a single media item or reloading a web page is not documented as a way to scan a VLC Video folder. Save a note of what the Properties list contains, then test the source in a private scene. That separates “not in the list” from “in the list but not playing”.
A useful comparison is to keep a short, named test playlist separate from the live scene. Add one known playable file, check its exact path, and verify that the source behaves as configured. If that works, compare the live playlist’s entries and settings without disturbing an audience-facing broadcast.
Understand loop and shuffle behaviour
The VLC Video source’s playlist settings affect what happens to entries already in its list; they do not mean that OBS is discovering newly added files. Looping repeats the playlist according to the selected behaviour, while shuffle changes the order in which items are played. Neither setting is a folder-refresh mechanism.
This distinction matters when you add a video and do not see it immediately. With a long current item, the new entry may wait in the list. With shuffle enabled, you cannot infer the next item from the order displayed. With looping enabled, the source may return to earlier entries before you notice the new one. First verify that the file is listed, then interpret playback in light of the selected order and loop settings.
For a devotional channel, for example, a playlist might contain morning bhajans followed by evening recordings. If the new recording is listed at the end and the current item is still playing, the correct next step may simply be to test the transition privately, not to toggle shuffle or rebuild the source. For a study or ambience channel, a short test list makes it easier to distinguish sequence settings from a missing entry.
Changing shuffle or loop can alter the experience for viewers, especially if the channel depends on a predictable sequence. Record the current setting before testing. Change one setting at a time in a private scene, observe the result, and restore the intended setting before using the source in the live scene.
If your actual requirement is “include every file that appears in this folder from now on”, confirm that the source you chose documents that behaviour. The built-in VLC Video documentation does not promise automatic folder discovery. That limit is more important than any playback setting: a correct loop cannot compensate for an item that never entered the playlist.
Check the plugin’s own folder-refresh behaviour
If the source is the third-party Media Playlist Source plugin and its playlist uses added folders, the plugin author documents a manual refresh behaviour: change a setting in the source properties and save them. The listing says folder contents are not refreshed continuously. Reopen the correct source’s properties, make a harmless setting change, and save. Then inspect the list again to see whether the new folder contents appear.
Take care to confirm that you have opened the plugin source rather than a similarly named VLC Video source. The plugin’s listing also says reopening Properties refreshes the displayed current filename when that display is stale. That is distinct from refreshing folder contents: use the setting-change-and-save procedure for added-folder contents, and reopen properties when the filename display itself appears out of date.
Plugin requirements can change over time. The listing’s update notes say version 0.1.0 raised the minimum OBS requirement to OBS 31. Check the current plugin listing and its compatibility information before installing or updating; do not assume an older walkthrough still matches the version you have. The listing is the primary place to check the plugin author’s current instructions.
If saving a setting does not update the folder contents, verify that the folder configured in the plugin is the one where you added the video, and check that the OBS process can access it. A path that differs by drive, account or mounted location may refer to a different folder than the one you are viewing. Avoid deleting and recreating the source until you have recorded its settings, since that can lose a useful configuration without addressing the path problem.
A private test scene is a safer place to confirm the plugin’s behaviour than the live output. Add a test folder or use a non-critical playlist, make a controlled change, save properties, then check whether the new file is included. If it works there but not in the live scene, compare the configured folder paths and source properties rather than assuming the plugin has a general refresh failure.
Why Browser Source refresh is different
Browser Source loads a web page. Its page refresh controls can reload that page, and its scene-activation behaviour can refresh the page when the scene becomes active. They do not rescan the file entries in a VLC Video source, nor do they trigger the Media Playlist Source plugin’s documented folder refresh.
This confusion often comes from a scene containing several sources. You may refresh a Browser Source in the same scene where a playlist is failing, see a change on screen, and conclude that the playlist refreshed too. The visible page and the media playlist are separate sources. Check each source’s properties independently and make changes to the one that owns the content in question.
If the videos are actually being shown by a web page that reads a remote playlist, then the page or its underlying service may have its own update rules. Investigate that web page’s documentation, but do not apply those rules to OBS’s VLC Video or the plugin. The fact that both can display video does not make their refresh mechanisms interchangeable.
For a static overlay page, a Browser Source cache refresh might be a reasonable way to check updated page content. For a local media playlist, it is not the remedy. OBS’s Browser Source documentation describes browser-specific properties; use it to understand those properties, not as evidence for a VLC folder scan.
If you are maintaining an always-on channel, source-specific testing is especially valuable before changing the live scene. A guide to avoiding desktop notifications during an OBS broadcast explains why private testing and scene preparation matter when a broadcast is already running. For a playlist problem, the practical principle is the same: isolate the change before it reaches viewers.
Verify changes in a private test
Use a private scene or a separate test collection if you can. Add or duplicate the relevant source there, and keep the live scene untouched while you check the source type, file path, playlist and expected playback. Do not start a public test stream merely to see whether a file appears in a local Properties window.
For VLC Video, check the playlist entries, confirm VLC’s installation and matching architecture, then test a known playable file. For the plugin, save a setting change and check the folder contents again. For Browser Source, refresh the page only when the page content is what you are testing. Write down the result in terms of the actual source and action, such as “the plugin folder updated after saving properties” or “the VLC entry appears but does not play”.
Once the private test behaves as expected, carry the verified change into the live scene at a suitable time. Keep a copy of the original source configuration or note its settings first. If something changes unexpectedly, you can restore the earlier state rather than trying several unrelated fixes while viewers are watching.
The same discipline helps when you are moving towards a longer-running YouTube channel. If your setup depends on a local computer staying on, account for what happens when you shut it down; this overview of cloud-PC playlist streaming covers a different operating approach. If you are comparing ways to keep a channel running, the options for a 24/7 YouTube stream in India address that broader decision. Neither changes how OBS refreshes a particular source, so solve the source-level issue first.
When the recurring problem is that a local computer must remain on just to keep a file-based channel broadcasting, StreamNeo removes that particular burden: you upload the video, provide your YouTube stream key, and the broadcast can continue with your computer switched off. It is YouTube-only, so it is not a way to refresh an OBS source or manage a setup.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Does OBS scan a folder automatically for new VLC Video playlist entries?
OBS’s Media Sources documentation does not document continuous folder scanning or a dedicated refresh button for the built-in VLC Video source. Inspect the playlist in Properties and add the file entry there if it is missing. Do not treat copying a file into a folder as proof that the source list has changed.
How do I refresh a folder in Media Playlist Source?
The plugin author’s listing documents a manual refresh for added-folder contents: change a setting in the source properties and save them. Folder contents are not described as refreshing continuously. Check the current listing for the plugin version and OBS compatibility before relying on version-specific instructions.
Will refreshing Browser Source cache update my OBS playlist?
No. Browser Source refresh controls reload web-page content; they do not update VLC Video entries or trigger the plugin’s folder refresh. Identify which source owns the content and use that source’s own properties.
What if the video is listed but still does not play?
That is different from a missing playlist entry. Check the path, file access and playback order, then test a known playable file in a private scene. For VLC Video, also verify the VLC installation and architecture required by your OBS build.