Spotify MCP Server

A lightweight Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants like Cursor & Claude to control Spotify playback and manage playlists.

Local derivative of marcelmarais/spotify-mcp-server

This project retains the original Spotify MCP implementation and adds a Docker-first workflow, local .env configuration, persisted OAuth tokens, and Codex-friendly MCP setup. It is maintained as an independent local copy rather than a GitHub fork.

• Example Interactions

• Tools

  • Read Operations

  • Album Operations

  • Play / Create Operations

• Playlist Operations

• Docker Usage

• Setup

  • Prerequisites

  • Installation

  • Creating a Spotify Developer Application

  • Spotify API Configuration

  • Authentication Process

• Integrating with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VsCode (Cline)

Example Interactions

• "Play Elvis's first song"

• "Create a Taylor Swift / Slipknot fusion playlist"

• "Copy all the techno tracks from my workout playlist to my work playlist"

• "Turn the volume down a bit"

Related MCP server: YouTube Music MCP

Tools

Read Operations

1. searchSpotify

   • Description: Search for tracks, albums, artists, or playlists on Spotify

   • Parameters:

     • query (string): The search term

     • type (string): Type of item to search for (track, album, artist, playlist)

     • limit (number, optional): Maximum number of results to return (10-50)

   • Returns: List of matching items with their IDs, names, and additional details

   • Example: searchSpotify("bohemian rhapsody", "track", 20)

2. getNowPlaying

   • Description: Get information about the currently playing track on Spotify, including device and volume info

   • Parameters: None

   • Returns: Object containing track name, artist, album, playback progress, duration, playback state, device info, volume, and shuffle/repeat status

   • Example: getNowPlaying()

3. getMyPlaylists

   • Description: Get a list of the current user's playlists on Spotify

   • Parameters:

     • limit (number, optional): Maximum number of playlists to return (default: 20)

     • offset (number, optional): Index of the first playlist to return (default: 0)

   • Returns: Array of playlists with their IDs, names, track counts, and public status

   • Example: getMyPlaylists(10, 0)

4. getPlaylistTracks

   • Description: Get a list of tracks in a specific Spotify playlist

   • Parameters:

     • playlistId (string): The Spotify ID of the playlist

     • limit (number, optional): Maximum number of tracks to return (default: 100)

     • offset (number, optional): Index of the first track to return (default: 0)

   • Returns: Array of tracks with their IDs, names, artists, album, duration, and added date

   • Example: getPlaylistTracks("37i9dQZEVXcJZyENOWUFo7")

5. getRecentlyPlayed

   • Description: Retrieves a list of recently played tracks from Spotify.

   • Parameters:

     • limit (number, optional): A number specifying the maximum number of tracks to return.

   • Returns: If tracks are found it returns a formatted list of recently played tracks else a message stating: "You don't have any recently played tracks on Spotify".

   • Example: getRecentlyPlayed({ limit: 10 })

6. getUsersSavedTracks

   • Description: Get a list of tracks saved in the user's "Liked Songs" library

   • Parameters:

     • limit (number, optional): Maximum number of tracks to return (1-50, default: 50)

     • offset (number, optional): Offset for pagination (0-based index, default: 0)

   • Returns: Formatted list of saved tracks with track names, artists, duration, track IDs, and when they were added to Liked Songs. Shows pagination info (e.g., "1-20 of 150").

   • Example: getUsersSavedTracks({ limit: 20, offset: 0 })

7. getQueue

   • Description: Get the currently playing track and upcoming items in the Spotify queue

   • Parameters:

     • limit (number, optional): Maximum number of upcoming items to show (1-50, default: 10)

   • Returns: Currently playing track and list of upcoming tracks in the queue

   • Example: getQueue({ limit: 20 })

8. getAvailableDevices

   • Description: Get information about the user's available Spotify Connect devices

   • Parameters: None

   • Returns: List of available devices with name, type, active status, volume, and device ID

   • Example: getAvailableDevices()

9. removeUsersSavedTracks

   • Description: Remove one or more tracks from the user's "Liked Songs" library (max 40 per request)

   • Parameters:

     • trackIds (array): Array of Spotify track IDs to remove (max 40)

   • Returns: Success confirmation message

   • Example: removeUsersSavedTracks({ trackIds: ["4iV5W9uYEdYUVa79Axb7Rh", "1301WleyT98MSxVHPZCA6M"] })

Play / Create Operations

1. playMusic

   • Description: Start playing a track, album, artist, or playlist on Spotify

   • Parameters:

     • uri (string, optional): Spotify URI of the item to play (overrides type and id)

     • type (string, optional): Type of item to play (track, album, artist, playlist)

     • id (string, optional): Spotify ID of the item to play

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device to play on

   • Returns: Success status

   • Example: playMusic({ uri: "spotify:track:6rqhFgbbKwnb9MLmUQDhG6" })

   • Alternative: playMusic({ type: "track", id: "6rqhFgbbKwnb9MLmUQDhG6" })

2. pausePlayback

   • Description: Pause the currently playing track on Spotify

   • Parameters:

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device to pause

   • Returns: Success status

   • Example: pausePlayback()

3. resumePlayback

   • Description: Resume Spotify playback on the active device

   • Parameters:

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device to resume playback on

   • Returns: Success status

   • Example: resumePlayback()

4. skipToNext

   • Description: Skip to the next track in the current playback queue

   • Parameters:

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device

   • Returns: Success status

   • Example: skipToNext()

5. skipToPrevious

   • Description: Skip to the previous track in the current playback queue

   • Parameters:

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device

   • Returns: Success status

   • Example: skipToPrevious()

6. createPlaylist

   • Description: Create a new playlist on Spotify

   • Parameters:

     • name (string): Name for the new playlist

     • description (string, optional): Description for the playlist

     • public (boolean, optional): Whether the playlist should be public (default: false)

   • Returns: Object with the new playlist's ID and URL

   • Example: createPlaylist({ name: "Workout Mix", description: "Songs to get pumped up", public: false })

7. addTracksToPlaylist

   • Description: Add tracks to an existing Spotify playlist

   • Parameters:

     • playlistId (string): ID of the playlist

     • trackUris (array): Array of track URIs or IDs to add

     • position (number, optional): Position to insert tracks

   • Returns: Success status and snapshot ID

   • Example: addTracksToPlaylist({ playlistId: "3cEYpjA9oz9GiPac4AsH4n", trackUris: ["spotify:track:4iV5W9uYEdYUVa79Axb7Rh"] })

8. addToQueue

   • Description: Adds a track, album, artist or playlist to the current playback queue

   • Parameters:

     • uri (string, optional): Spotify URI of the item to add to queue (overrides type and id)

     • type (string, optional): Type of item to queue (track, album, artist, playlist)

     • id (string, optional): Spotify ID of the item to queue

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device to queue on

   • Returns: Success status

   • Example: addToQueue({ uri: "spotify:track:6rqhFgbbKwnb9MLmUQDhG6" })

   • Alternative: addToQueue({ type: "track", id: "6rqhFgbbKwnb9MLmUQDhG6" })

9. setVolume

   • Description: Set the playback volume to a specific percentage (requires Spotify Premium)

   • Parameters:

     • volumePercent (number): The volume to set (0-100)

     • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device to set volume on

   • Returns: Success status with the new volume level

   • Example: setVolume({ volumePercent: 50 })

10. adjustVolume

• Description: Adjust the playback volume up or down by a relative amount (requires Spotify Premium)

• Parameters:

  • adjustment (number): The amount to adjust volume by (-100 to 100). Positive values increase volume, negative values decrease it.

  • deviceId (string, optional): ID of the device to adjust volume on

• Returns: Success status showing the volume change (e.g., "Volume increased from 50% to 60%")

• Example: adjustVolume({ adjustment: 10 }) (increase by 10%)

• Example: adjustVolume({ adjustment: -20 }) (decrease by 20%)

Album Operations

1. getAlbums

   • Description: Get detailed information about one or more albums by their Spotify IDs

   • Parameters:

     • albumIds (string|array): A single album ID or array of album IDs (max 20)

   • Returns: Album details including name, artists, release date, type, total tracks, and ID. For single album returns detailed view, for multiple albums returns summary list.

   • Example: getAlbums("4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy") or getAlbums(["4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy", "1DFixLWuPkv3KT3TnV35m3"])

2. getAlbumTracks

   • Description: Get tracks from a specific album with pagination support

   • Parameters:

     • albumId (string): The Spotify ID of the album

     • limit (number, optional): Maximum number of tracks to return (1-50)

     • offset (number, optional): Offset for pagination (0-based index)

   • Returns: List of tracks from the album with track names, artists, duration, and IDs. Shows pagination info.

   • Example: getAlbumTracks("4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy", 10, 0)

3. saveOrRemoveAlbumForUser

   • Description: Save or remove albums from the user's "Your Music" library

   • Parameters:

     • albumIds (array): Array of Spotify album IDs (max 20)

     • action (string): Action to perform: "save" or "remove"

   • Returns: Success status with confirmation message

   • Example: saveOrRemoveAlbumForUser(["4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy"], "save")

4. checkUsersSavedAlbums

   • Description: Check if albums are saved in the user's "Your Music" library

   • Parameters:

     • albumIds (array): Array of Spotify album IDs to check (max 20)

   • Returns: Status of each album (saved or not saved)

   • Example: checkUsersSavedAlbums(["4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy", "1DFixLWuPkv3KT3TnV35m3"])

Playlist Operations

1. getPlaylist

   • Description: Get details of a specific Spotify playlist including tracks count, description and owner

   • Parameters:

     • playlistId (string): The Spotify ID of the playlist

   • Returns: Playlist name, owner, track count, visibility, description, ID, and URL

   • Example: getPlaylist({ playlistId: "37i9dQZEVXcJZyENOWUFo7" })

2. updatePlaylist

   • Description: Update the details of a Spotify playlist (name, description, public/private, collaborative)

   • Parameters:

     • playlistId (string): The Spotify ID of the playlist

     • name (string, optional): New name for the playlist

     • description (string, optional): New description for the playlist

     • public (boolean, optional): Whether the playlist should be public

     • collaborative (boolean, optional): Whether the playlist should be collaborative (requires public to be false)

   • Returns: Success confirmation with list of updated fields

   • Example: updatePlaylist({ playlistId: "3cEYpjA9oz9GiPac4AsH4n", name: "New Name", public: true })

3. removeTracksFromPlaylist

   • Description: Remove one or more tracks from a Spotify playlist (max 100 tracks per request)

   • Parameters:

     • playlistId (string): The Spotify ID of the playlist

     • trackIds (array): Array of Spotify track IDs to remove (max 100)

     • snapshotId (string, optional): The playlist snapshot ID to target a specific version

   • Returns: Success confirmation with the number of tracks removed

   • Example: removeTracksFromPlaylist({ playlistId: "3cEYpjA9oz9GiPac4AsH4n", trackIds: ["4iV5W9uYEdYUVa79Axb7Rh"] })

4. reorderPlaylistItems

   • Description: Reorder a range of tracks within a Spotify playlist by moving them to a new position

   • Parameters:

     • playlistId (string): The Spotify ID of the playlist

     • rangeStart (number): The position of the first item to move (0-based index)

     • insertBefore (number): The position where the items should be inserted (0-based index)

     • rangeLength (number, optional): Number of consecutive items to move (defaults to 1)

     • snapshotId (string, optional): The playlist snapshot ID to target a specific version

   • Returns: Success confirmation with the move details

   • Example: reorderPlaylistItems({ playlistId: "3cEYpjA9oz9GiPac4AsH4n", rangeStart: 2, insertBefore: 0 })

Docker Usage

This is the recommended way to run the server. You need Docker Desktop running, a Spotify Premium account for playback controls, and an application in the Spotify Developer Dashboard.

Initial setup

1. Open the .env file included in the project.

2. Fill SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID and SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET with your Spotify app credentials. Keep the default value for SPOTIFY_REDIRECT_URI.

3. In the Spotify app dashboard, register the exact http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback URI under Redirect URIs.

4. Build the local image:

   npm run docker:build

5. Authorize your Spotify account:

   npm run docker:auth

   Open the URL shown in the terminal, authorize the application, and wait for the success message. Tokens are stored in data/spotify-config.json; never publish or share this file.

Available commands

npm run docker:build  # build or update the image
npm run docker:auth   # connect the Spotify account in a browser
npm run docker:up     # start the local container in the background
npm run docker:logs   # follow container logs
npm run docker:down   # stop the local container

OAuth uses port 8888 only while npm run docker:auth is running. If Spotify revokes the token or automatic refresh fails, run npm run docker:auth again.

MCP client configuration

Because MCP uses stdio, configure the client to start an MCP process inside the persistent Docker service for each connection. Run npm run docker:up before opening a Codex task; npm run docker:down stops MCP access.

For Codex, Claude Desktop, Cursor, or another compatible client, use this configuration and adjust the path if the project lives elsewhere:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "compose",
        "-f",
        "/Users/agustinhopneto/www/indie/spotify-mcp-server/compose.yaml",
        "exec",
        "-T",
        "spotify-mcp",
        "node",
        "build/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

This avoids creating spotify-mcp-run-* containers for MCP sessions. The client provides the standard input and output for each in-container process.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js v16+

• A Spotify Premium account

• A registered Spotify Developer application

Installation

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

Creating a Spotify Developer Application

1. Go to the Spotify Developer Dashboard

2. Log in with your Spotify account

3. Click the "Create an App" button

4. Fill in the app name and description

5. Accept the Terms of Service and click "Create"

6. In your new app's dashboard, you'll see your Client ID

7. Click "Show Client Secret" to reveal your Client Secret

8. Click "Edit Settings" and add a Redirect URI (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback)

9. Save your changes

Spotify API Configuration

Create a spotify-config.json file in the project root (you can copy and modify the provided example):

# Copy the example config file
cp spotify-config.example.json spotify-config.json

Then edit the file with your credentials:

{
  "clientId": "your-client-id",
  "clientSecret": "your-client-secret",
  "redirectUri": "http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback"
}

Authentication Process

The Spotify API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. Follow these steps to authenticate your application:

1. Run the authentication script:

npm run auth

2. The script will generate an authorization URL. Open this URL in your web browser.

3. You'll be prompted to log in to Spotify and authorize your application.

4. After authorization, Spotify will redirect you to your specified redirect URI with a code parameter in the URL.

5. The authentication script will automatically exchange this code for access and refresh tokens.

6. These tokens will be saved to your spotify-config.json file, which will now look something like:

{
  "clientId": "your-client-id",
  "clientSecret": "your-client-secret",
  "redirectUri": "http://localhost:8888/callback",
  "accessToken": "BQAi9Pn...kKQ",
  "refreshToken": "AQDQcj...7w",
  "expiresAt": 1677889354671
}

Note: The expiresAt field is a Unix timestamp (in milliseconds) indicating when the access token expires.

7. Automatic Token Refresh: The server will automatically refresh the access token when it expires (typically after 1 hour). The refresh happens transparently using the refreshToken, so you don't need to re-authenticate manually. If the refresh fails, you'll need to run npm run auth again to re-authenticate.

Integrating with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VsCode Via Cline model extension

To use your MCP server with Claude Desktop, add it to your Claude configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["spotify-mcp-server/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

For Cursor, go to the MCP tab in Cursor Settings (command + shift + J). Add a server with this command:

node path/to/spotify-mcp-server/build/index.js

To set up your MCP correctly with Cline ensure you have the following file configuration set cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["~/../spotify-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "autoApprove": ["getListeningHistory", "getNowPlaying"]
    }
  }
}

You can add additional tools to the auto approval array to run the tools without intervention.