FOLDERIDMusic

FOLDERID_Music is a Known Folder ID in the Windows Shell that identifies the user’s Music folder. It is part of the set of Known Folder IDs introduced to provide a stable, user‑specific storage location that applications can reference without relying on a fixed path.

By default, the path is C:\Users\<User>\Music, but it can be relocated or redirected by the user or enterprise policy. When cloud services such as OneDrive are used, the actual path may be redirected while the folder retains its Music designation.

Applications obtain the actual path using Windows APIs such as SHGetKnownFolderPath or SHGetFolderPath with the KNOWNFOLDERID corresponding to Music. In .NET, the equivalent is Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyMusic), which maps to the same location. The path is commonly used for saving, loading, or presenting music files in dialogs and file operations.

Relation to libraries: FOLDERID_Music is a Known Folder, not a Library. Libraries are aggregations of multiple locations, whereas Known Folders map to a single directory. Music, along with other Known Folders like Desktop, Documents, Pictures, and Videos, provides a standardized, user‑specific location for application interoperability across Windows versions and locales.

Notes: The ID helps maintain consistency across environments and configurations, supporting localization, roaming profiles, and policy-driven directory changes while preserving a canonical Music folder reference for software.