Problem or Motivation
When a track is playing from a playlist, there's no indication in the sidebar of which playlist is currently playing. The user has to check the player bar to see the track name, then mentally map that back to a playlist. In Apple Music, the currently-playing playlist gets a small "now playing" indicator (equalizer animation or accent highlight) next to its name in the sidebar.
This is especially useful when browsing between playlists, queueing up the next one, or confirming which playlist a shuffle is pulling from.
Proposed Solution
Show a now-playing indicator on the sidebar row of the playlist that the current track was played from. This could be:
- A small
NowPlayingIndicator (equalizer animation) next to the playlist name, matching the style already used in PlaylistDetailView track rows (line 765)
- An accent color highlight on the playlist row
- Both
The indicator should appear only when the current track's source playlist matches a sidebar playlist, and disappear when playback stops or the source changes.
Alternatives Considered
- Highlight only on hover: not discoverable enough
- Badge count: not relevant to "now playing"
Feature Area
Library / Playlists (also touches UI / Visual)
Priority
Would improve my experience
Mockups or Examples
Apple Music shows an equalizer animation next to the currently-playing playlist/album in the sidebar. Spotify highlights the playing playlist with a green accent.
Additional Context
The NowPlayingIndicator component already exists in the codebase (PlaylistDetailView.swift line 765: NowPlayingIndicator(isPlaying: self.playerService.isPlaying, size: 14)). The sidebar renders playlists via Sidebar.swift (pinned items section, sidebarPinnedRow). The missing piece is linking playerService.currentTrack's source playlist to the sidebar row.
PlayerService would need to track which playlist the current track was played from (it may already have this via the queue context), and Sidebar.swift's sidebarPinnedRow would need to check that and show the indicator.
Problem or Motivation
When a track is playing from a playlist, there's no indication in the sidebar of which playlist is currently playing. The user has to check the player bar to see the track name, then mentally map that back to a playlist. In Apple Music, the currently-playing playlist gets a small "now playing" indicator (equalizer animation or accent highlight) next to its name in the sidebar.
This is especially useful when browsing between playlists, queueing up the next one, or confirming which playlist a shuffle is pulling from.
Proposed Solution
Show a now-playing indicator on the sidebar row of the playlist that the current track was played from. This could be:
NowPlayingIndicator(equalizer animation) next to the playlist name, matching the style already used inPlaylistDetailViewtrack rows (line 765)The indicator should appear only when the current track's source playlist matches a sidebar playlist, and disappear when playback stops or the source changes.
Alternatives Considered
Feature Area
Library / Playlists (also touches UI / Visual)
Priority
Would improve my experience
Mockups or Examples
Apple Music shows an equalizer animation next to the currently-playing playlist/album in the sidebar. Spotify highlights the playing playlist with a green accent.
Additional Context
The
NowPlayingIndicatorcomponent already exists in the codebase (PlaylistDetailView.swiftline 765:NowPlayingIndicator(isPlaying: self.playerService.isPlaying, size: 14)). The sidebar renders playlists viaSidebar.swift(pinned items section,sidebarPinnedRow). The missing piece is linkingplayerService.currentTrack's source playlist to the sidebar row.PlayerServicewould need to track which playlist the current track was played from (it may already have this via the queue context), andSidebar.swift'ssidebarPinnedRowwould need to check that and show the indicator.