Spotify MCP server

Last verified: 2026-09

Search tracks and control playback.

Community Chat, mail & docs Needs a secret Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code

What it does

Spotify Web API MCP: search, playback, playlists. Needs a Spotify developer app (client id/secret) and a user OAuth login. Confirm the repo is still live.

It sits in Chat, mail & docs: These servers act as the bot or the integration you install.

Good for

Search a track or album without opening Spotify.
Start playback on a device that already has Spotify open.
Edit a throwaway playlist, not the shared office one.
Skip it for research that is actually YouTube or docs.

Tools

search — Tracks, albums, playlists.
playback / playlists — Control the active device and edit playlists when scopes allow.

Config (Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf)

Paste the JSON below. Same mcpServers shape. Replace placeholder paths and secrets. Windows paths look like C:\\Users\\you\\project, not /path/to. Host-side steps →

Claude Desktop

OS	Config file
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (usually `C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\Claude\`)
Linux	`~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

Cursor

Scope	macOS / Linux	Windows
This project	`.cursor/mcp.json` in the repo root
This user	`~/.cursor/mcp.json`	`%USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json`

Windsurf

OS	Config file
macOS / Linux	`~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`
Windows	`%USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json`

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spotify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "spotify-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID": "...",
        "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET": "..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf remote MCP: use serverUrl instead of url if the block below is HTTP.

One-liner: npx -y spotify-mcp

Secrets it wants: SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID, SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET

Source repo →

How to get started

Create a Spotify app. Complete the OAuth redirect the README describes.
Ask it to search a track before touching playback.
Playback only works if a Spotify client is open on a device.

Access risk

Playlist writes and playback on a shared speaker. Client secret is the app, OAuth is the user.

When to skip it

Skip it for YouTube research or for local files.

Instead: YouTube, Fetch.

Chat, mail & docsYouTubeSearch and summarize YouTube videos. OfficialFetchFetch a URL and turn the page into readable text.

Vs alternatives

Server	Official?	Needs a secret?	Best for
Spotify	No	Yes	Search tracks and control playback.
YouTube	No	Yes	Search and summarize YouTube videos.
Fetch	Yes	Yes	Fetch a URL and turn the page into readable text.

More in Chat, mail & docs

OfficialGoogle MapsGeocode and place search via Google Maps. OfficialSlackRead channels and post messages. Chat, mail & docsAsanaTasks and projects in Asana. Chat, mail & docsConfluenceRead Confluence pages.

All 18 in this category →

FAQ

Repo 404?

Confirm the package still exists before putting client id/secret in env.

Why isn't playback working?

A Spotify client must be open on a device. The API cannot spawn the app from nothing.

User OAuth?

Yes — developer app + user login. Client secret is the app; OAuth is the user.

Can it follow people or buy Premium?

Assume playlist writes are on. Do not grant scopes you do not need.