# How to Add a New Country or Region to the Free-TV IPTV Playlist > Learn how to add a new country to the Free-TV IPTV playlist. Create a Markdown list, update the script, and regenerate your M3U files easily for a comprehensive channel list. - Repository: [Free TV/IPTV](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-06-26 --- **To add a new country to the Free-TV IPTV playlist, create a Markdown channel list in the `lists/` directory, register the ISO-3166-1 alpha-2 code in [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py), optionally update [`flag_order.txt`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/flag_order.txt) for positioning, and run the playlist generator to produce the updated M3U files.** The **Free-TV/IPTV** repository automatically aggregates IPTV channels into standardized M3U playlists using a Python-based build system. When you need to add a new country or region to the IPTV playlist, you must follow a specific four-step workflow that integrates with the existing automation in [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py). ## Step 1 — Create the Channel List File Each geographic region requires a dedicated Markdown file in the `lists/` directory (e.g., [`lists/myland.md`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/lists/myland.md)). This file must contain a specific HTML heading and table structure that the parser recognizes. The file must start with an `

` tag defining the group name, followed by a pipe-delimited table with five columns: `#`, `Channel name`, `URL`, `Logo`, and `EPG`. ### Required Markdown Format ```markdown

Myland TV

| # | Channel name | URL | Logo | EPG | |---|--------------|-----|------|-----| | 1 | Myland News | [>](http://myland.example.com/news.m3u8) | | | | 2 | Myland Sports | [>](http://myland.example.com/sports.m3u8) | | | ``` ### The URL Marker Syntax The `[>]` marker preceding the URL tells [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py) that the stream is valid and should be included in the generated playlist (see line 53 of the script). Logo images typically use Imgur URLs with a width of 100 pixels, while empty EPG cells are acceptable provided the column remains present. ## Step 2 — Register the Country Code The generator assigns the `tvg-country` attribute using the `COUNTRY_CODES` dictionary defined at lines 6–92 of [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py). You must map your new country's filename (without extension) to its ISO-3166-1 alpha-2 code. Add a new entry following the existing pattern: ```python COUNTRY_CODES = { # ... existing entries ... "myland": "ML", } ``` The dictionary key must match the lowercase filename of your Markdown list (e.g., `"myland"` for [`lists/myland.md`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/lists/myland.md)). The two-letter value becomes the `tvg-country` value in the final M3U output. ## Step 3 — Update the Flag Ordering (Optional) To control where your country appears in the README flag grid and the generated playlist order, insert the country's key into [`flag_order.txt`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/flag_order.txt). This file defines the sequence of regions in blocks like "ANGLOSPHERE" (see lines 10–14 of the current file). Add the lowercase key on its own line where you want it positioned relative to existing entries. The README automatically pulls flag images from hatscripts based on these filenames; you do not need to edit the README manually. ## Step 4 — Regenerate the Playlists Execute the build script to process all Markdown files in `lists/` and generate the master `playlist.m3u8` plus per-country files: ```bash python3 make_playlist.py ``` The script iterates through the directory (lines 38–45), parses each channel using the handling logic at lines 51–57, and outputs `playlists/playlist_myland.m3u8` alongside the aggregated playlist. ## Complete Working Example ### Sample lists/myland.md ```markdown

Myland TV

| # | Channel name | URL | Logo | EPG | |---|--------------|-----|------|-----| | 1 | Myland News | [>](http://myland.example.com/news.m3u8) | | | | 2 | Myland Sports | [>](http://myland.example.com/sports.m3u8) | | | ``` ### Sample COUNTRY_CODES Entry ```python COUNTRY_CODES = { # ... existing entries ... "myland": "ML", # Maps lists/myland.md to ISO code ML } ``` ### Running the Generator ```bash $ python3 make_playlist.py Generating Myland Tv # ... additional output ... ``` ## Summary - **Create** a Markdown file in `lists/.md` with the required table structure and `[>]` URL markers. - **Register** the ISO-3166-1 alpha-2 mapping in `COUNTRY_CODES` within [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py). - **Optionally** insert the country key into [`flag_order.txt`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/flag_order.txt) to control visual ordering. - **Run** [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py) to generate `playlist.m3u8` and per-country playlists. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What file format should the channel list use? The channel list must be a Markdown file using HTML `

` tags for the group title and pipe tables for channel data. This specific format allows [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py) to parse the stream URLs and metadata correctly using its internal Markdown table parser. ### Where does the tvg-country attribute come from? The `tvg-country` attribute is populated from the `COUNTRY_CODES` dictionary in [`make_playlist.py`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/make_playlist.py) (lines 6–92). Each entry maps the filename root to an ISO-3166-1 alpha-2 code, which the script injects into the M3U output during generation. ### Do I need to manually edit the README.md? No. The README automatically generates its flag grid based on [`flag_order.txt`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/flag_order.txt) and pulls flag images from hatscripts based on the ISO codes. You only need to modify [`flag_order.txt`](https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/main/flag_order.txt) if you want to change the country's position in the display order. ### How do I validate my new channel list before committing? Run `python3 make_playlist.py` locally and verify that the script successfully generates `playlists/playlist_.m3u8` without errors. Check that the output file contains the correct `tvg-country` attribute and that stream URLs marked with `[>]` appear in the final playlist.