playlist-pipeline

A CLI for programmatically organising, pruning & grooming your Spotify playlists

Prerequisites

• Node.js >=18
• A paid for Spotify account
• A Spotify developer account

Installation

You can install playlist-pipeline globally:

npm i -g playlist-pipeline

or use it directly via npx:

npx playlist-pipeline <command>

Usage

Before you can use playlist-pipeline you need to have setup and configured an app in your Spotify developer account:

1. Login to your developer account
2. Click the Create app button
3. Give your app a name, description and accept Spotify's developer terms of service
4. Once your app is created, navigate to it and click the Settings button
5. Add http://localhost:3182 as a Redirect URI and save the changes
6. Make a note of the Client ID for the app (visible on the main page for the app)

Now that the Spotify app has been setup and configured, playlist-pipeline should be configured to use the app:

playlist-pipeline set-client-id <your-app-client-id>

playlist-pipeline has now been configured and can be used:

playlist-pipeline run <path-to-config-file>

If this is the first time you are executing playlist-pipeline you will be required to provide permission for the app you have previously created to access your account (follow the instructions on the terminal).

playlist-pipeline will request the following scopes:

• playlist-modify-public - Needed to save changes to public playlists
• playlist-modify-private - Needed to save changes to private playlists
• playlist-read-private - Needed to read data from private playlists
• playlist-read-collaborative - Needed to read data from collaborative playlists
• user-library-read - Needed to read data from library

playlist-pipeline will store the access token retrieved from Spotify locally and encrypt it. To remove all data saved by playlist-pipeline use the reset command:

playlist-pipeline reset

The config file

The config file represents a single pipeline and the tasks that should occur during its execution. The config file is defined using YAML:

name: Remove duplicate tracks

tasks:
  get_tracks:
    type: playlist.get_tracks
    spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/<playlist_id>

  dedupe_tracks:
    type: tracks.dedupe
    tracks: get_tracks

  save_tracks:
    type: playlist.replace_tracks
    spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/<playlist_id>
    tracks: dedupe_tracks

name and tasks are required properties. name provides context as to what the pipeline is for and tasks defines the actions that should be executed.

Each task has an ID to provide context as to what the task is doing, and to later reference any data that is returned from the task. Different properties will be available to configure the task depeding on its type.

In the above example the first task has the ID get_tracks. It's type is playlist.get_tracks which means it is going to retrieve tracks from a playlist. spotify_url defines where the task will retrieve the tracks from.

The next task in the pipeline has the ID dedupe_tracks. It's type is tracks.dedupe which means it is going to remove duplicates from a collection of tracks. tracks defines which collection of tracks to remove duplicates from. The value for this should be the ID of a task that has already been executed that returns a collection tracks. In this example the tracks retreived during the get_tracks task will be used.

The final task in the pipeline has the ID save_tracks. It's type is playlist.replace_tracks which means it is going to replace all of the tracks in a playlist with the tracks in a specified collection of tracks. spotify_url defines which playlist will have its tracks replaced. tracks defines which collection of tracks to use to replace the tracks in the playlist. The value for this should be the ID of a task that returns a collection tracks. In this example the tracks de-duplicated during the dedupe_tracks task will be used.

A pipeline can contain an unlimited number of tasks and each task will be executed sequentially. If an error occurs during the execution of a task, any tasks after will not be executed.

Task types

• playlist.get_tracks
• album.get_tracks
• library.get_tracks
• tracks.dedupe
• tracks.merge
• tracks.sort
• tracks.shuffle
• tracks.filter
• playlist.replace_tracks
• tracks.export
• playlist.update_details

playlist.get_tracks

Retrieve tracks from a playlist

<task_id>:
  type: playlist.get_tracks
  spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/<playlist_id>

• spotify_url - Spotify URL for playlist

---

album.get_tracks

Retrieve tracks from an album

<task_id>:
  type: album.get_tracks
  spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/album/<album_id>

• spotify_url - Spotify URL for album

---

library.get_tracks

Retrieve tracks from the authenticated users library (saved / liked tracks)

<task_id>:
  type: library.get_tracks

---

tracks.dedupe

Remove duplicate tracks from a track collection

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.dedupe
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>

• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection

---

tracks.merge

Merge multiple track collections into one collection

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.merge
  tracks: 
    - <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
    - <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
    - <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>

• tracks - IDs of tasks that return a track collection. There is no limit to the number of track collections that can be merged together

---

tracks.sort

Sort tracks in a track collection by a specified field(s)

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.sort
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  sort:
    <field>: <direction>

• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection
• sort - The field(s) to sort by and the direction
  • Valid fields are:
    • album - Album name
    • artist - Artist name
    • name - Track name
    • releaseDate - Track release date
    • releaseYear - Track release year
    • trackNumber - Track number
    • popularity - Track popularity (out of 100)
    • duration - Track duration (in milliseconds)
  • Valid directions are asc (ascending, A-Z, 0-9) and desc (descending, Z-A, 9-0).

Multiple fields can be used to sort:

# Sort by artist name ascending and release date descending

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.sort
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  sort:
    artist: asc
    releaseDate: desc

Group sorting

If you have more advanced sorting needs, you can group tracks together before sorting them, then sort by the groups themselves:

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.sort
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  group_by: <field>
  sort:
    <field>: <direction>
  sort_group:
    <field>: <direction>

• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection
• group_by - The field to group tracks together by
  • album - Album name
  • albumId - Album ID
  • albumUri - Album URI
  • artist - Artist name
  • artistId - Artist ID
  • artistUri - Artist URI
  • name - Track name
  • releaseDate - Track release date
  • releaseYear - Track release year
  • trackNumber - Track number
  • popularity - Track popularity (out of 100)
  • duration - Track duration (in milliseconds)
• sort - The field(s) to sort the tracks by and the direction
  • Valid fields are:
    • album - Album name
    • artist - Artist name
    • name - Track name
    • releaseDate - Track release date
    • releaseYear - Track release year
    • trackNumber - Track number
    • popularity - Track popularity (out of 100)
    • duration - Track duration (in milliseconds)
  • Valid directions are asc (ascending, A-Z, 0-9) and desc (descending, Z-A, 9-0).
• sort_group - The field(s) to sort the groups by and the direction
  • Valid fields are:
    • album - Album name
    • artist - Artist name
    • name - Track name
    • releaseDate - Track release date
    • releaseYear - Track release year
    • trackNumber - Track number
    • popularity - Track popularity (out of 100)
    • duration - Track duration (in milliseconds)
  • Valid directions are asc (ascending, A-Z, 0-9) and desc (descending, Z-A, 9-0).

The first track of each group is used to sort the groups.

# Group tracks by album, sort tracks by track number ascending, sort groups by release date ascending 

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  group_by: album
  sort:
    trackNumber: asc
  sort_groups:
    releaseDate: asc

---

tracks.shuffle

Randomly shuffle the tracks in a track collection

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.shuffle
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>

• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection

---

tracks.filter

Filter tracks in a track collection by a specified field(s)

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    <field>:
      operator: <filter_operator>
      value: <filter_value>

• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection
• filter - The field(s) to filter by and what operator & value to use
  • Valid fields are:
    • album - Album name (string)
    • artist - Artist name (string)
    • name - Track name (string)
    • trackNumber - Track number (number)
    • genre - Artist genre (string)
    • explicit - Track explicitness (boolean)
    • popularity - Track popularity (out of 100) (number)
    • duration - Track duration (in milliseconds) (number)
    • releaseDate - Track release date (date)
    • releaseYear - Track release year (number)
  • Valid operators are:
    • eq - Equal to
    • neq - Not equal to
    • gt - Greater than
    • gte - Greater than or equal to
    • lt - Less than
    • lte - Less than or equal to
  • Different fields allow different operators:
    • album - eq, neq
    • artist - eq, neq
    • name - eq, neq
    • trackNumber - eq, neq, gt, gte, lt, lte
    • genre - eq, neq
    • explicit - eq, neq
    • popularity - eq, neq, gt, gte, lt, lte
    • duration - eq, neq, gt, gte, lt, lte
    • releaseDate - gt, lt
    • releaseYear - eq, neq, gt, gte, lt, lte

# Filter tracks that are less than 3 minutes

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    duration:
      operator: lt
      value: 180000

# Filter tracks that are non explicit and by blink-182 

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    artist:
      operator: eq
      value: blink-182
    explicit:
      operator: eq
      value: false

# Filter tracks that are not pop and were released before 2021

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    releaseDate:
      operator: lt
      value: 2021
    genre:
      operator: neq
      value: pop

When there are multiple fields in the filter the tracks in the track collection will be filtered by all of them (i.e field x is y AND field z is a). You can also filter by multiple sets of filters which act as an OR (field x is y OR field x is z):

# Filter tracks that are either by blink-182 or box car racer

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    - artist:
        operator: eq
        value: blink-182
    - artist:
        operator: eq
        value: box car racer

# Filter tracks that are either by blink-182 and released after 2003 or by box car racer and released after 2003

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    - releaseDate:
        operator: gt
        value: 2003
      artist:
        operator: eq
        value: blink-182
    - releaseDate:
        operator: gt
        value: 2003
      artist:
        operator: eq
        value: box car racer

You can also filter based on multiple conditions per field (this acts as an AND not an OR):

# Filter tracks that were released 2003 - 2006

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    releaseYear:
      - operator: gte
        value: 2003
      - operator: lte
        value: 2006

Shorthand filters

A shorthand syntax is also supported so that you do not have to explicitly define the operator and value of a filter:

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    artist: blink-182

This is the same as:

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    artist:
      operator: eq
      value: blink 182

A few examples:

# Filter tracks that are by blink-182

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    artist: blink-182

# Filter tracks that are not by blink-182

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    artist: '!blink-182'

# Filter tracks that are longer than 3 minutes

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    duration: '>180000'

# Filter tracks that were released before 2008

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    track: '<2008'

# Filter tracks that are explicit

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    explicit: true

# Filter tracks that are more popular than 69/100

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    popularity: ">=70"

# Filter tracks that were released 2003 - 2006

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.filter
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  filter:
    releaseDate: 
      - ">= 2003"
      - "<= 2006"

Quotes (" or ') are needed around a value that contains an operator ( !, <, >, >=, <=)

Both syntaxes are supported interchangeably.

Shorthand Opertators:

• = (or no operator at all) - Equal to
• ! - Not equal to
• > - Greater than
• >= - Greater than or equal to
• < - Less than
• <= - Less than or equal to

---

playlist.replace_tracks

Replace the tracks in a playlist with tracks from a track collection

<task_id>:
  type: playlist.replace_tracks
  spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/<playlist_id>
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>

• spotify_url - Spotify URL for playlist
• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection

---

tracks.export

Export the tracks in a track collection to a file

<task_id>:
  type: tracks.export
  tracks: <id_of_task_returning_a_track_collection>
  format: <format>
  fields: 
    - <field>
  filename: <name_of_file_to_export_tracks_to>

• tracks - ID of a task that returns a track collection
• format - The format to use for the export data
  • Valid formats are:
    • json
• fields - The fields to include in the export data
  • Valid fields are:
    • id - Track ID
    • name - Track name
    • trackNumber - Track number
    • album - Album name
    • albumId - Album ID
    • albumUri - Album URI
    • releaseDate - Track release date
    • releaseYear - Track release year
    • artist - Artist name
    • artistId - Artist ID
    • artistUri - Artist URI
    • uri - Track URI
    • genre - Artist genre
    • popularity - Track popularity (out of 100)
    • duration - Track duration (in milliseconds)
    • explicit - Track explicitness
• filename - The name of the file to export to (without extension)

---

playlist.update_details

Update the details of a playlist

<task_id>:
  type: playlist.update_details
  spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/<playlist_id>
  name: <name>
  description: <description>

• spotify_url - Spotify URL for playlist
• name - Name of playlist
• description - Description for playlist

You can include the current date in the description using the date tag:

<task_id>:
  type: playlist.update_details
  spotify_url: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/<playlist_id>
  description: 'Last Updated: {{ date "dd MMMM Y" }}'

{{ date "dd MMMM Y" }} will be replaced with the current date using the provided format. See here for details on how to format the date.

---

See the examples directory for further config file examples.

Advanced Usage

Here be dragons 🐉

Debugging

If you want to see what playlist-pipeline is doing under the hood when executing a pipeline, pass the debug option (-d) when executing a command:

playlist-pipeline run -d <path-to-config-file>

Using stdin instead of a config file

playlist-pipeline supports reading config from stdin. The config must be defined using JSON when providing in this way (under the hood, playlist-pipeline converts a YAML config file to JSON)

echo '{"name":"foo bar baz","tasks":{}}' | playlist-pipeline run

This is useful if you are dynamically generating config.

See the examples/stdin directory for examples.

Using your own access token

You can provide your own access token by passing the token option (-t) when executing the run command:

playlist-pipeline run -t '<your-access-token>' <path-to-config-file>

When using your own access token, no token refereshing happens - when your token expires you will need to provide a refereshed access token.

This is useful if you are handling authentication externally to playlist-pipeline.

Obtaining your own access token

You will have needed to have given your Spotify app permission to access your account before you can obtain an access token manually. Once you have done this you can follow the guides here to retrieve an access token:

https://developer.spotify.com/documentation/general/guides/authorization-guide/

FAQS

How does playlist-pipeline authenticate with Spotify?

Authorization Code Flow with Proof Key for Code Exchange (PKCE). This method is used so that the acquired access token can be refereshed when it has expired, without the need to provide the client secret.

Why do I need to use my own Spotify app?

The original intention was to release a Spotify app for use with playlist-pipeline so that this step would not be needed, but unfortuntately CLI apps like this do not fit with Spotify's vision for the Spotify app platform 😢

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