Getting Started

Guides

Set up your Spotify Developer account and make your first API call

This tutorial walks you through setting up your Spotify Developer account, creating an application, and making your first API call to retrieve artist data.

Prerequisites

A Spotify account (free or Premium)
Basic knowledge of JavaScript/Node.js
Node.js 18+ installed

Create a Spotify App

Log into the Developer Dashboard

Go to the Spotify Developer Dashboard and log in with your Spotify account.
Create a new app

Click “Create app” and fill in the details:
- App name: Your application’s name
- App description: Brief description of what you’re building
- Redirect URI: http://localhost:3000/callback (for development)
- APIs used: Select “Web API”
Get your credentials

After creating the app, you’ll see your Client ID on the app dashboard. Click “View client secret” to reveal your Client Secret.

Keep your Client Secret secure. Never expose it in client-side code or commit it to version control.

Your First API Call

Let’s make a simple API call to get information about an artist.

Option 1: Quick Test with cURL

# First, get an access token
curl -X POST "https://accounts.spotify.com/api/token" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
  -d "grant_type=client_credentials&client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"

# Use the token to get artist info (Taylor Swift)
curl "https://api.spotify.com/v1/artists/06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Option 2: Using the SDK

First, install the Spotted SDK:

npm install spotted-ts

Create a new file spotify-test.js:

import Spotted from "spotted-ts";

// Initialize the client (uses SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID and SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET env vars)
const client = new Spotted();

// Get Taylor Swift's artist profile
async function main() {
  const artist = await client.artists.retrieve("06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02");

  console.log(`
    Artist: ${artist.name}
    Followers: ${artist.followers.total.toLocaleString()}
    Genres: ${artist.genres.join(", ")}
    Popularity: ${artist.popularity}/100
  `);
}

main();

Run it:

node spotify-test.js

You should see output like:

Artist: Taylor Swift
Followers: 100,000,000+
Genres: pop, pop dance
Popularity: 100/100

Understanding the API Response

Here’s what a typical artist object looks like:

{
  "id": "06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02",
  "name": "Taylor Swift",
  "type": "artist",
  "uri": "spotify:artist:06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02",
  "followers": {
    "total": 100000000
  },
  "genres": ["pop", "pop dance"],
  "images": [
    {
      "url": "https://i.scdn.co/image/...",
      "height": 640,
      "width": 640
    }
  ],
  "popularity": 100,
  "external_urls": {
    "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/artist/06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02"
  }
}

Key Fields

Field	Description
`id`	Unique Spotify ID for the artist
`uri`	Spotify URI (used for playback and linking)
`name`	Artist name
`followers.total`	Number of followers
`genres`	Array of genre tags
`popularity`	0-100 popularity score
`images`	Array of profile images in different sizes

Searching for Content

Now let’s search for tracks:

import Spotted from "spotted-ts";

const client = new Spotted();

// Search for "Blinding Lights"
async function main() {
  const results = await client.search.query({
    q: "Blinding Lights",
    type: ["track"],
    limit: 10,
  });

  console.log("Search Results:");
  results.tracks.items.forEach((track, i) => {
    console.log(`${i + 1}. ${track.name} by ${track.artists[0].name}`);
  });
}

main();

Building a Simple CLI App

Here’s a complete example that combines multiple API calls using the SDK:

import Spotted from "spotted-ts";

const client = new Spotted();

async function exploreArtist(artistId) {
  // Get artist info
  const artist = await client.artists.retrieve(artistId);
  console.log(`\n🎤 ${artist.name}`);
  console.log(`   Followers: ${artist.followers.total.toLocaleString()}`);
  console.log(`   Genres: ${artist.genres.slice(0, 3).join(", ")}`);

  // Get top tracks
  const { tracks } = await client.artists.getTopTracks(artistId, {
    market: "US",
  });
  console.log(`\n🎵 Top Tracks:`);
  tracks.slice(0, 5).forEach((track, i) => {
    console.log(`   ${i + 1}. ${track.name} (${track.album.name})`);
  });

  // Get albums (using async iterator)
  console.log(`\n💿 Recent Albums:`);
  let albumCount = 0;
  for await (const album of client.artists.listAlbums(artistId, {
    include_groups: "album",
  })) {
    if (albumCount >= 5) break;
    console.log(`   • ${album.name} (${album.release_date.slice(0, 4)})`);
    albumCount++;
  }

  // Get related artists
  const { artists: related } = await client.artists.getRelatedArtists(artistId);
  console.log(`\n👥 Similar Artists:`);
  console.log(
    `   ${related
      .slice(0, 5)
      .map((a) => a.name)
      .join(", ")}`,
  );
}

// Explore The Weeknd
exploreArtist("1Xyo4u8uXC1ZmMpatF05PJ");

Output:

🎤 The Weeknd
   Followers: 75,000,000+
   Genres: canadian contemporary r&b, canadian pop, pop

🎵 Top Tracks:
   1. Blinding Lights (After Hours)
   2. Starboy (Starboy)
   3. Save Your Tears (After Hours)
   4. Die For You (Starboy)
   5. The Hills (Beauty Behind the Madness)

💿 Recent Albums:
   • Dawn FM (2022)
   • After Hours (2020)
   • Starboy (2016)
   • Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)
   • Kiss Land (2013)

👥 Similar Artists:
   Dua Lipa, Post Malone, Drake, Doja Cat, Harry Styles

Next Steps

Now that you’ve made your first API calls, explore these guides to build more advanced features:

Authentication Learn about OAuth flows for accessing user data

Search & Discovery Find tracks, artists, albums, and playlists

Playlist Management Create and manage playlists

User Library Access saved tracks and listening history