Help & manual

Install once, create a playlist, add music, and press play.

1. 1
   Install Windows Beats Download Beats-Setup-x64.exe from the home page or GitHub Releases.
2. 2
   Open the dashboard Press Ctrl + \, or click the gear on the widget.
3. 3
   Create a playlist Click New Playlist in the sidebar, type a name, then click OK. Each playlist is a real folder on disk.
4. 4
   Add music Open a playlist, click +, then choose Add files, Add folder, or Paste audio link.
5. 5
   Press play Double-click a song or use the play button on the widget.

A floating pill that stays on top of every app.

Shows album art, track info, and playback controls — without taskbar clutter.

Move

Drag the album art to reposition anywhere on screen.

Hide & show

Press Alt + \ to slide off the nearest edge, or click the chevron tab at the top of your screen.

Expanded controls

Hover to reveal loop and settings .

Your control center for playlists, downloads, and playback.

Open with Ctrl + \ or the gear button .

• Playlists sidebar - create, rename, delete, and pin playlists
• Track list - browse, play, drag to reorder, remove songs
• Now playing footer - seek, volume, like, save, shuffle, loop
• Header - extended widget, layout reset, help, minimize, exit

Resize & zoom

Drag edges to resize. Ctrl + Shift + \ resets layout. Hold Ctrl and scroll to zoom the track list.

Create playlists (folders), add local files, or download from links.

Default library location: %USERPROFILE%\\Music\\Windows Beats

Create a playlist

1. 1
   Open the dashboard Press Ctrl + \ or click the gear on the widget.
2. 2
   Create Click New Playlist in the left sidebar.
3. 3
   Name your playlist Type any name you want, then click OK. Windows Beats will create a matching folder on disk.

Add local music

Open a playlist, then click the + button.

• Add files - browse your PC and multi-select songs to add them to the playlist
• Add folder - pick a folder and add everything inside (it works the same way as adding files)
• Paste audio link - paste a link and download it straight into the playlist

Supported formats include MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus, WMA, AIFF, and ALAC.

Download music from a link

1. 1
   Open the add menu Open a playlist, click +, then select Paste audio link.
2. 2
   Paste a URL Paste a link (YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, SoundCloud, and more) then click Download. Playlist links work too.
3. 3
   Done Windows Beats downloads the audio and saves it into the playlist folder automatically. That’s it.

Control music from the widget or dashboard footer.

• Seek bar - jump within the current track
• Volume - saved between sessions
• Shuffle & loop - on widget or in footer
• Like & save - add to Liked Songs or Saves

Double-click a song to play. Drag to reorder within a playlist.

Keyboard controls for Windows Beats.

Optional fix for YouTube bot-checks and Instagram login prompts.

Export a Netscape-format cookies.txt while logged into YouTube or Instagram, then point Windows Beats at it.

Step 1 - Export

• Install a cookie export extension (yt-dlp wiki)
• Export cookies for youtube.com and/or instagram.com while logged in
• Save as cookies.txt in Documents or similar

Step 2 - Import in Windows Beats

• Open + on a playlist, then Paste audio link
• Click Set up cookies in Windows Beats
• Browse to your cookies.txt file

Where Windows Beats stores settings and music.

App data

%APPDATA%\Beats\
├── settings.json
├── liked-songs.json
├── artwork\
└── tools\
    ├── yt-dlp.exe
    ├── ffmpeg.exe
    └── spotdl.exe

Music library

%USERPROFILE%\Music\Beats\
├── My Playlist\
│   └── song.mp3
└── Another Playlist\

Edit PlaylistsRoot in settings.json to change the music folder. Restart Windows Beats after editing.

Common fixes.

YouTube or Instagram blocked

Set up download cookies. Windows Beats also retries with multiple yt-dlp clients for YouTube.

Hotkeys don't work

Another app may use the same combo. Use the chevron tab or on-screen buttons.

Widget off-screen

Press Ctrl + Shift + \ to reset position.

"Already running"

If Windows Beats says it’s already running, open Task Manager and end the Windows Beats process.

More help

Visit GitHub Issues for support, or delexo.store for updates.

Quick answers.