How to use Spotify API with Next.js

May 11, 2022

7 min read

1322 words

On my website, there is a stats page, which showcases many things such as my Dev. To blog stats and the GitHub repository count and the Spotify stats, we will talk about how you can implement that in your dream project.

Preview

Let's first Look what am talking about. The following images are just to showcase what I made with Spotify API.

Create a Spotify App

Firstly, we need to create an application on the spotify-

Go to Spotify Developer Dashboard
Login with Spotify Account
Click on Create an App
Fill the Name and the Description then Click Create
Save your Client ID and Secret in your .env.local
Click on Edit Setting on top-right and add the http://localhost:3000/callback as the callback url and click on Save.

Everything is done. Now let's get into the authentication stuff.

Authentication with `refresh_token`

There are many types of authentication we are going with refresh_token because we only want to authenticate once. You can learn about Authorization here

Authorization Code

As you can see in the above image we have everything except scopes. Which defines, what we need fetch from the Spotify API.

To do that we need a url that send the following parameter to the Spotify-

response_type : it should be code (as shown in the image)
redirect_uri : callback url same as you enter in the Spotify Dashboard
client_id : your project's client_id
scope : you can read about that here

We want to fetch the user's top stats and the currently playing song. for that scope is user-top-read and user-read-currently-playing. You can add as many scopes as you want separated by plus ("+"). So, now our URL looks like this (enter your project client_id)-

URL

https://accounts.spotify.com/authorize?client_id=bda10cd719564898818245d97727de7e&response_type=code&redirect_uri=http://localhost:3000/callback&scope=user-read-currently-playing+user-top-read

Now enter the URL in the browser and then click Enter. After authorizing, you'll be redirected back to your redirect_uri. In the URL, there's a code query parameter. Store this value somewhere because we are going to need it in the next step.

Code

http://localhost:3000/callback?code=CDxRCu......NLdsM

Get `refresh_token`

After doing all this work now we need to get the refresh_token to authorization. You'll need to generate a Base 64 encoded string containing the Client ID and Client Secret from earlier. You can use this tool to encode it online. The format should be exactly the same as this client_id:client_secret.

Your url should look like this -

Demo URL

# URL to get "refresh_token"
 
curl -H "Authorization: Basic <base64 encoded client_id:client_secret>" -d grant_type=authorization_code -d code=<code> -d redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost:3000/callback https://accounts.spotify.com/api/token

So after encoding the Client ID and Client Secret it should be looks like this-

client_id:client_secret

YmRhMTBjZDcxOTU2NDg5ODgxODJmMmQ5NzcyN2RlN2U6NjZmZTU5OTJjYjZlNDFjZmEwNDdfkdjfkHKkjdfdwODk0YjI=

Now the final url should looks like this-

Auth URL

curl -H "Authorization: Basic YmRhMTBjZDcxOTU2NDg5ODgxODJmMmQ5NzcyN2RlN2U6NjZmZTU5OTJjYjZlNDFjZmEwNDdfkdjfkHKkjdfdwODk0YjI=" -d grant_type=authorization_code -d code=AQD_kIzZ0OVXkeeIU4jnLWADFJDKdcWLYo9ySdfdfdkHKJFtGExxgw_aCxJrZflWVeARvjaGDfdfddf6KYpFlo2t2JZ0SQceyvdKs4AcGgCLSqm7vMyiRWCy_t06WmLet8v6aEBx8U4eKHxKiEx_sBgvCSlYo5wptKUd0Gwa6oyqOHFZnE7KSbxTVwMkQ668Ezjz2aeFEPp1TU9ij6dM4AjO4YFCH2hoMWgO3k5XrbdKnK7U2Y30wb8gHjEA6LnE8yu8cyvaY9WQ -d redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost:3000/callback https://accounts.spotify.com/api/token

After running this on your terminal it will return a JSON object containing refresh_token. This token is valid indefinitely unless you revoke access, so we'll want to save this in an environment variable. The JSON will looks like this-

{
  "access_token":"DKjdfkdjkdfjdRU67VlhTLc3HUHHRvcG6W3F56ISDFodvSiSmFZIIUwOzzZCyCcgOia-TXX-y_wq8n7jEHTI0JEYO6djABMQmlutMqsUPgEiVJ2isj98BrBYFV4dfdsjkfksudJKDUIkdfdfdk1vxR07V_r7Y-aLjMyqwBaSqxneFokM",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "refresh_token":"dfkdjkkdjfdfrrdkfjd9984maWbrIrXqNNK63SOzJdWQGaTYQGD6Ji1dWsAywEgm-eUspfuOlug8f71XL2oBWtD_pzd6EzCWwqCVnDSWspbJelOwVDY62TuAI",
  "scope": "user-read-currently-playing user-top-read user-read-private"
}

That's a lot to digest, but now our work is done, we have all the necessary things we needed for authorization.

Setting up Environment Variables

Now all the things we get in the above process we need to add those to the .env.local

.env.local

SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID=
SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET=
SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN=

Using Spotify API

Now we can use the refresh_token to get the final access_token. The following Code fetches the access_token by using the refresh_token

lib/spotify.js

const getAccessToken = async () => {
  const refresh_token = process.env.SPOTIFY_REFRESH_TOKEN;
 
  const response = await fetch("https://accounts.spotify.com/api/token", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Basic ${Buffer.from(
        `${process.env.SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID}:${process.env.SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET}`
      ).toString("base64")}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
    },
    body: new URLSearchParams({
      grant_type: "refresh_token",
      refresh_token,
    }),
  });
 
  return response.json();
};

Fetch the Top Tracks

Now you can use this access_token fetch your data. In our case it is the top tracks.

lib/spotify.js

export const topTracks = async () => {
  const { access_token } = await getAccessToken();
 
  return fetch("https://api.spotify.com/v1/me/top/tracks", {
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${access_token}`,
    },
  });
};

Creating API route top tracks

In the beginning, I mentioned that we are going to use the Next.js API routes. If you are not familiar with that then give this a read

pages/api/stats/tracks.js

import { topTracks } from "../../../lib/spotify";
 
export default async function handler(req, res) {
  const response = await topTracks();
  const { items } = await response.json();
 
  const tracks = items.slice(0, 5).map((track) => ({
    title: track.name,
    artist: track.artists.map((_artist) => _artist.name).join(", "),
    url: track.external_urls.spotify,
    coverImage: track.album.images[1],
  }));
 
  res.setHeader(
    "Cache-Control",
    "public, s-maxage=86400, stale-while-revalidate=43200"
  );
 
  return res.status(200).json(tracks);
}

This will return the first five top tracks, I've removed unnecessary information. You can modify this as you like. Now visit the localhost:3000/api/stats/tracks. If everything worked correctly, you should see some data like this -

localhost:3000/api/stats/tracks

[
  // ...........
 {
    "title": "Blowing Up",
    "artist": "KR$NA",
    "url": "https://open.spotify.com/track/3Oh2FwWbnKIAyUE2gToFYu",
    "coverImage": {
      "height": 300,
      "url": "https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d00001e02f8c35169d5bab01327f87e5a",
      "width": 300
    }
  },
  {
    "title": "Jaan Bolti Hai",
    "artist": "Karma",
    "url": "https://open.spotify.com/track/4KGZlLtfKV4raRbsoB2Rw9",
    "coverImage": {
      "height": 300,
      "url": "https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d00001e028e3626063a42b11b847663b3",
      "width": 300
    }
  },
  //.........
]

To see my stats you can visit https://jatin.vercel.app/api/stats/tracks.

Fetch the Top Artist

Now you can use this access_token fetch your data. In our case it is the top artists.

lib/spotify.js

export const topArtists = async () => {
  const { access_token } = await getAccessToken();
 
  return fetch("https://api.spotify.com/v1/me/top/artists", {
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${access_token}`,
    },
  });
};

Creating API route top artists

pages/api/stats/artists.js

import { topArtists } from "../../../lib/spotify";
 
export default async function handler(req, res) {
  const response = await topArtists();
  const { items } = await response.json();
 
  const artists = items.slice(0, 5).map((artist) => ({
    name: artist.name,
    url: artist.external_urls.spotify,
    coverImage: artist.images[1],
    followers: artist.followers.total,
  }));
 
  res.setHeader(
    "Cache-Control",
    "public, s-maxage=86400, stale-while-revalidate=43200"
  );
 
  return res.status(200).json(artists);
}

It returns your's top Spotify artists.

Fetch the Currently Playing Song

Now, as you can see on my website's footer there is an option to see if I am currently playing the song or not, if yes then which one. To do that, we fetch the following URL.

lib/spotify.js

export const currentlyPlayingSong = async () => {
  const { access_token } = await getAccessToken();
 
  return fetch("https://api.spotify.com/v1/me/player/currently-playing", {
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${access_token}`,
    },
  });
};

Creating API route for Currently Playing Song

pages/api/now-playing .js

import { currentlyPlayingSong } from "../../lib/spotify";
 
export default async function handler(req, res) {
  const response = await currentlyPlayingSong();
 
  if (response.status === 204 || response.status > 400) {
    return res.status(200).json({ isPlaying: false });
  }
 
  const song = await response.json();
 
  if (song.item === null) {
    return res.status(200).json({ isPlaying: false });
  }
 
  const isPlaying = song.is_playing;
  const title = song.item.name;
  const artist = song.item.artists.map((_artist) => _artist.name).join(", ");
  const album = song.item.album.name;
  const albumImageUrl = song.item.album.images[0].url;
  const songUrl = song.item.external_urls.spotify;
 
  res.setHeader(
    "Cache-Control",
    "public, s-maxage=60, stale-while-revalidate=30"
  );
 
  return res.status(200).json({
    album,
    albumImageUrl,
    artist,
    isPlaying,
    songUrl,
    title,
  });
}

This returns all the song details if the user is playing the song. Otherwise, isPlaying will return false. You can handle both the conditions now. If the user is playing the song, then simply show the song Otherwise Display Not Playing.

Tip

You should use swr to fetch the data Otherwise it will show you the old data which you might not like.

Output

You can view the Example of this on my website

Jatin's Newsletter

I write monthly Tech, Web Development and chrome extension that will improve your productivity. Trust me, I won't spam you.

Table of Contents

How to use Spotify API with Next.js

Preview

Create a Spotify App

Authentication with `refresh_token`

Authorization Code

Get `refresh_token`

Setting up Environment Variables

Using Spotify API

Fetch the Top Tracks

Creating API route top tracks

Fetch the Top Artist

Creating API route top artists

Fetch the Currently Playing Song

Creating API route for Currently Playing Song

Output

Jatin's Newsletter

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