Spotify MCP Server

Production-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Spotify with bulletproof error handling and token management.

Features

• 🔐 One-time OAuth authentication - Authenticate once, use forever (like spotifyd)
• 🛡️ Bulletproof error handling - Never invalidates tokens on transient failures
• 🔄 Automatic token refresh - Seamless refresh with concurrent request deduplication
• 💾 Atomic credential storage - Prevents corruption on process crash
• ⚡ Smart retry logic - Exponential backoff with rate limit handling
• 🎯 Conservative token management - Only clears credentials when provably invalid

Example Usage

Once set up, you can control Spotify using natural language prompts with Claude:

🎵 Search & Discovery

"Search for AC/DC songs"
"Find albums by The Beatles"
"Search for rock playlists"
"Find tech podcasts"
"Search for The Beatles - show me tracks, albums, and playlists"

▶️ Playback Control

"Play Back in Black by AC/DC"
"Play the album Highway to Hell"
"Play my Discover Weekly playlist"
"Pause the music"
"Skip to the next song"
"Go back to the previous track"
"What's currently playing?"

🎚️ Advanced Controls

"Set volume to 50%"
"Turn on shuffle"
"Enable repeat"
"Set repeat to one song only"
"Turn off repeat"

📱 Device Management

"Show my Spotify devices"
"Switch playback to my phone"
"Transfer playback to my speaker"

All these operations work seamlessly with automatic token refresh, rate limiting, and error recovery.

Installation

BEFORE:

You need to set up a Spotify developer app to get a client id and secret. This will be used to authenticate the MCP server.

Method 1: Prompt-Based Setup (Easiest)

Install via Claude CLI and let Claude guide you through setup:

# Install the MCP server
claude mcp add --transport stdio spotify -- npx -y @tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server

# Restart Claude Code
# (Fully quit and reopen)

The server starts without credentials and provides setup instructions when you need them. Simply ask Claude:

• "Authenticate the spotify mcp server"

Claude will provide step-by-step setup instructions including:

1. Creating a Spotify app
2. Running the authentication script
3. Configuring credentials

See Prompt-Based Setup Guide below for details.

Method 2: Interactive Authentication (Stored Credentials)

For persistent credentials that survive restarts:

# Install globally
npm install -g @tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server

# Run authentication
spotify-mcp-server auth

# Add to Claude Code config
claude mcp add --transport stdio spotify -- spotify-mcp-server

See Claude CLI Setup Guide for complete instructions.

Method 3: Environment Variables (Advanced)

For shared configurations or CI/CD:

# Set environment variables (see docs/CLAUDE_CLI_SETUP.md)
export SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id"
export SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret"
export SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN="your_refresh_token"
export SPOTIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN="your_access_token"

# Install with environment variables
claude mcp add --transport stdio spotify -- npx -y @tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server

See Claude CLI Setup Guide for full environment variable setup.

Local Development

git clone https://github.com/thebigredgeek/spotify-mcp-server.git
cd spotify-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
npm link

Setup

1. Create Spotify App

1. Go to Spotify Developer Dashboard
2. Create a new app
3. Note your Client ID and Client Secret
4. Add redirect URI: http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback

2. Authenticate

npm run auth

Follow the prompts to:

• Enter your Client ID and Client Secret
• Authorize in your browser
• Credentials are saved to ~/.spotify-mcp/credentials.json

3. Configure MCP Client

Claude CLI / Claude Code (Recommended)

Edit ~/.claude/settings.local.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "spotify-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

Or use environment variables (see Claude CLI Setup Guide):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID": "${SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID}",
        "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET": "${SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET}",
        "SPOTIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${SPOTIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN}",
        "SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN": "${SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

For local development:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/opensource/spotify-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Prompt-Based Setup Guide

The easiest way to set up the Spotify MCP server is to install it first, then let Claude guide you through authentication.

Step 1: Install the Server

# Install via Claude CLI
claude mcp add --transport stdio spotify -- npx -y @tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server

# Restart Claude Code (fully quit and reopen)

Step 2: Ask Claude for Setup Instructions

After restarting, ask Claude any of these questions:

• "How do I set up Spotify?"
• "Check Spotify health"
• "Get Spotify authentication status"

Claude will respond with detailed setup instructions, including:

Creating a Spotify App:

1. Go to https://developer.spotify.com/dashboard
2. Click "Create app"
3. Fill in app name and redirect URI: http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback
4. Save your Client ID and Client Secret

Running Authentication:

# Install globally
npm install -g @tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server

# Run authentication
spotify-mcp-server auth

The auth script will:

• Prompt for your Client ID and Secret
• Open your browser for authorization
• Save credentials to ~/.spotify-mcp/credentials.json

Restart Claude Code - credentials are now loaded automatically!

Step 3: Verify

Ask Claude: "Check Spotify health"

You should see: ✅ Spotify MCP Server is authenticated and operational!

Manual Configuration

If you prefer to edit configuration files directly, here's how:

Option 1: Using Stored Credentials

1. Run authentication to generate credentials:

   npm install -g @tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server
   spotify-mcp-server auth
   

2. Edit Claude Code config at ~/.claude/settings.local.json:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "spotify": {
         "type": "stdio",
         "command": "spotify-mcp-server"
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Restart Claude Code - credentials are loaded from ~/.spotify-mcp/credentials.json

Option 2: Using Environment Variables

1. Get your credentials (run authentication once to obtain refresh token):

   spotify-mcp-server auth
   cat ~/.spotify-mcp/credentials.json
   

2. Set environment variables in your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

   export SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id_here"
   export SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret_here"
   export SPOTIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN="your_access_token_here"
   export SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN="your_refresh_token_here"
   

3. Edit Claude Code config at ~/.claude/settings.local.json:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "spotify": {
         "type": "stdio",
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "@tbrgeek/spotify-mcp-server"],
         "env": {
           "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID": "${SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID}",
           "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET": "${SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET}",
           "SPOTIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${SPOTIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN}",
           "SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN": "${SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN}"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

4. Reload your shell and restart Claude Code:

   source ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc
   

Locating Config Files

Claude Code Config:

~/.claude/settings.local.json  # User-specific (not version-controlled)
~/.claude/settings.json         # Global defaults

Spotify Credentials:

~/.spotify-mcp/credentials.json  # Stored credentials (from auth script)

Editing Config:

# macOS/Linux
code ~/.claude/settings.local.json
# or
vim ~/.claude/settings.local.json

After editing any config:

• Fully quit Claude Code (not just close window)
• Reopen Claude Code to load new configuration

Architecture Highlights

Error Handling

The server implements a sophisticated error classification system that never invalidates tokens unless absolutely necessary:

• ✅ Never clears tokens for: 500/502/503, 429 (rate limit), network errors, timeouts
• ✅ Retries transient errors: 403 errors (Spotify bug), network failures
• ✅ Only clears tokens when: Refresh token returns invalid_grant

Token Management

• Concurrent refresh deduplication: Multiple simultaneous API calls trigger only one token refresh
• Refresh token preservation: Keeps existing refresh token if new one not returned (Spotify behavior)
• 5-minute expiry buffer: Refreshes tokens before they expire
• Atomic writes: Credentials written to temp file, then atomically renamed

Retry Logic

• Exponential backoff: 1s → 2s → 4s delays (configurable)
• Rate limit handling: Respects Retry-After headers
• Smart retries: Up to 3 attempts for transient failures

Development

See DEVELOPMENT.md for local testing, debugging, and publishing workflows.

Build

npm run build

Test

npm test

Lint

npm run lint

Project Status

Current Version: Fully functional Spotify control with comprehensive search and playback capabilities

✅ Implemented Features:

• Core infrastructure with bulletproof error handling and token management
• Comprehensive search (tracks, albums, playlists, podcasts)
• Full playback control (play, pause, next, previous, volume)
• Advanced playback features (shuffle, repeat modes, device management)
• Multi-device support with transfer capabilities
• Real-time playback state monitoring

🚀 Future Enhancements:

• User library management (saved tracks, albums, playlists)
• Playlist creation and editing
• Recently played tracks
• User top tracks and artists

License

MIT - see LICENSE

Author

Andrew Rhyne andrew.rhyne@shopify.com