I am using win 10 with a regular keyboard with media buttons (Alienware default PC keyboard, but I'm using an Asus Rog so no Alienware local programs to check). All buttons work correctly when Spotify is running so no problem there. But no matter what I tried I cannot get the music player launcher button to launch Spotify instead of Groove.
It may no longer have the back catalog of Taylor Swift, but Spotify remains one of the world’s most popular music streaming services.
Using Spotify on a Chromebook is easy thanks to the official, slick, and feature-packed Web Player. While it’s not as grand sounding as a native desktop app, the Spotify web player can be set to run in its own window to lend it the illusion of “app-iness”.
But maybe you want a bit more than the illusion of integration? Maybe you want to control playback using some keyboard hotkeys, even when Spotify itself is minimised in the background.
Well, you’re in luck.
Spotify Web Player Hotkey Extension
Spotify Web Player Hotkey is a nifty Chrome extension that lets you set up regular keyboard shortcuts to pause, play next and previous tracks in Spotify’s online app.
It defaults to the following key combos, all set to work when Chrome is in focus (i.e., you’re in a different tab):
These may not be quite to your tastes (or finger flexing abilities). The extension allows you to change them to a preferred combination of keys (so long as they don’t conflict with existing system functions, e.g., Ctrl + C).
To do this head to Extensions > Keyboard Shortcuts > Spotify Web Player Hotkeys and click in the box, press some keys and away you go.
If you’d like the keyboard shortcuts to work globally — meaning you can control playback while working in Microsoft Word or browsing photos in Pixsta, you can. But, again, pay attention to conflicts. Download premium spotify apk file.
The extension is a free add-on and works exclusively with the Spotify Web Player available at play.spotify.com.
If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber — get you, fancy pants — did you know you easily stream music from the command line?
Like, music from the actual Spotify library?
Well, you can! And it’s all thanks to an
ncurses Spotify written in Rust called (obviously) ncspot .
Now I know what you’re thinking: there is an official, sanctified, and (somewhat regularly) updated Spotify for Linux client for the desktop. It’s even available as a Snap.
Command line? Pah! Who needs it. We should use what Spotify gives us, for free, and say thanks, right?
And you’re right.
Well, half right.
Well, maybe not even half right because the official Spotify desktop app is aab outright, absolute, never ending garbage fire.
It works (sometimes) but it runs poorly. And while it might integrate with Linux DEs to the point I can smush a keyboard media key to skip a track, that’s only really useful if the thing plays some music to skip in the first place!
Maybe I’m being mean. But it has just taken me nigh on 6 minutes to go from launching the Spotify for Linux apps to it actually loading, let alone doing what I want (which is play New Found Glory’s cover of Eye of the Tiger in honour of the new Ubuntu 20.04 wallpaper) so whatever ??♂️.
ncspot is a CLI Spotify Player
Back to
ncspot , source code for which you’ll find up on Github.
Keep in mind that as this is a geekishly (new word, learn it) cool tool and superbly designed (for a terminal app) it isn’t what a man more patronising than me would describe as ‘grandpa-friendly’.
— tl;dr: this is not the “easiest” way to listen to Spotify on Linux.
But it works well, which is all I really care about as I like to listen to music, not stare at it.
Helpfully the app even boasts support for MPRIS, i.e. media player controls:
And it can be configured with keybindings too — neat!
Oh, I haven’t even mentioned that it’s super resource efficient yet, either!
That’s what I call a table.
But best of all
ncspot is very easy to install on virtually any Linux distro out there because it’s available as a Snap app on the Snapcraft store.
To install ncspot on Ubuntu run:
Boom — done!
The first time you run
ncspot Download csv spotify. in a new terminal window you’ll be prompted to login with your Spotify Premium account. This is all “on screen” and easy to do. The app even saves your credentials after login so that you don’t have to login each time you use it.
And that’s pretty much all there is to it!
Be sure to take a few minutes out to glance over the litany of keyboard shortcuts needed to navigate the UI, manage tracks, queues and playlists, and so on.
Bad news: there are a lot of shortcuts to learn.
Good news: they are very logical and easy to remember.
Spotify unlimited premium free download pc. Better yet, if you forget which key does what just press the
? key with the CLI tool in focus to call up a handy cheat sheet.
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In summary, if you’re not put off by the idea of streaming music from a command line app and you happen to be a Spotify Premium subscriber there’s no better client out there than
ncspot .
P.S., in case you missed the memo in the copy above, this client does not work with free Spotify accounts. I checked. So, for something similar, try Tizonia instead.
Try it out and let me know what you think of it in the comments — and if you fancy hand crafting a Yaru-themed colour scheme for it, do share it below!
Found a cool CLI app for a task? Let me know about it via the tip form
Spotify Keyboard Shortcut
H/t Popey
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