A new headless Spotify client for terminal-based and DIY setups.
Spotify Soloist is a lightweight, command-line Spotify Connect receiver for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Install it on a Raspberry Pi, a home server, any Linux box, or your Mac or PC, and it shows up in your Spotify app as a Connect device, ready to play. It is built on the same playback engine as the other Spotify apps.
Read the full announcement on the Spotify for Developers blog.
- Music, podcasts, and audiobooks: the whole catalog, streaming into your custom setup
- Spotify Connect: control playback from your phone or desktop
- Local WebSocket API: playback control, real-time events, and queue access for building your own DIY integrations
- Jam: listen together with your family and friends
- Loudness normalization with peak limiting
- Smart Shuffle and Autoplay to keep the music flowing
- Lossless audio: up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz (Premium)
- Crossfade and automix for smooth transitions between tracks (Premium)
- One of:
- A Raspberry Pi or any other Linux device on ARMv7, AArch64, or x86_64, with PipeWire (or PulseAudio) for audio output
- An Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 13 or newer
- An x86_64 Windows PC
- A Premium account is needed to set up Spotify Soloist, but once it’s running both Free and Premium users can connect. Premium unlocks lossless audio and mixing
- A Spotify for Developers account, used to download Spotify Soloist and issue your device credential.
Read the full Getting Started instructions on Spotify for Developers.
Spotify Soloist runs a local WebSocket server for integrations. It accepts playback commands (play, pause, seek, volume, shuffle, repeat, add to queue), emits real-time playback events, and exposes the play queue with full track metadata. If you are building a now-playing display, a hardware controller, or a home automation hook, start here: WebSocket API
Questions and general feedback: the Soloist thread on the Spotify Community forum. Bug reports: open an issue on this repository.