ncspot (Spotify terminal client)

I prefer ncspot to Spotify's client. It's less distracting, less of a product, and more of a tool. It's a music player, not a music discoverer.

Pros:

• Doesn't have a homepage.
• Doesn't show music suggestions.
• Doesn't show album art.
• Doesn't show how popular songs are.
• Controlled with keyboard shortcuts.

Cons:

• Requires Spotify Premium.
• Doesn't work offline.
• Have to learn keyboard shortcuts.
• Doesn't work as well on Mac (no media keys or global shortcuts).

1     Install

• Ubuntu:
  1. Ubuntu 20.04:
     1. Install ncspot from snap: sudo snap install ncspot
     2. Change the configuration path below to: ~/snap/ncspot/common/.config/config.toml
  2. Ubuntu 22.04:
     1. Download libssl1.1: http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/o/openssl/libssl1.1_1.1.0g-2ubuntu4_amd64.deb (github.com/hrkfdn/ncspot/issues/812#issuecomment-1125521136)
     2. Install libssl1.1: sudo gdebi ~/Downloads/libssl1.1_1.1.0g-2ubuntu4_amd64.deb
     3. Download ncspot: github.com/hrkfdn/ncspot/releases/tag/v0.13.4 (Versions past v1.0.0 don't support play/pause from custom keyboard shortcuts)
     4. Unpack: ncspot
     5. Move to your /usr/bin folder: sudo mv ~/Downloads/ncspot /usr/bin/
• Mac:
  1. Install ncspot: brew install ncspot

2     Configuration

1. Open ncspot in the terminal: ncspot
2. Login to your Spotify account.
3. Quit ncspot: Q
4. Run this to configure ncspot:

   cat <<EOF > ~/.config/ncspot/config.toml
   flip_status_indicators = true
   shuffle = true
   library_tabs = ["playlists"]
   [theme]
   background = "#000000"
   primary = "#F1F1F1"
   secondary = "#DCDCDC"
   title = "#1ED760"
   playing = "#1ED760"
   playing_selected = "#1ED760"
   playing_bg = "#000000"
   highlight = "#F1F1F1"
   highlight_bg = "#181818"
   error = "#FFE4E4"
   error_bg = "#A50000"
   statusbar = "#F1F1F1"
   statusbar_progress = "#00AC4C"
   statusbar_bg = "#000000"
   cmdline = "#CBFFDE"
   cmdline_bg = "#444444"
   EOF

To disable search:

[keybindings]
"F2" = "seek +10s"

2.1     Ubuntu only

1. Create a desktop application for ncspot:

   cat <<EOF > ~/.local/share/applications/ncspot.desktop
   [Desktop Entry]
   Comment=Spotify terminal client
   Terminal=false
   Name=ncspot
   Exec=gnome-terminal -e "bash -c 'ncspot -d /tmp/ncspot.debug; exit'"
   Type=Application
   Icon=gnome-music
   NoDisplay=false
   EOF

2. Ubuntu Settings > Keyboard > View and Customise Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts:
   • New row:
     • Name: ncspot previous track
     • Command: dbus-send --print-reply --dest=org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.ncspot /org/mpris/MediaPlayer2 org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.Player.Previous
     • Shortcut: Super+F7
   • New row:
     • Name: ncspot next track
     • Command: dbus-send --print-reply --dest=org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.ncspot /org/mpris/MediaPlayer2 org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.Player.Next
     • Shortcut: Super+F9
   • New row:
     • Name: ncspot play/pause
     • Command: dbus-send --print-reply --dest=org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.ncspot /org/mpris/MediaPlayer2 org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.Player.PlayPause
     • Shortcut: Ctrl+Super+Q

3     Shortcuts

? Help

Enter Play track or playlist

Shift+P Play/pause

< Previous song

> Next song

Ctrl+Win+Q Global play/pause (Ubuntu only)

Win+F7 Global previous song (Ubuntu only)

Win+F9 Global next song (Ubuntu only)

Shift+F Seek forward

Shift+B Seek backwards

[ Volume down

] Volume up

R Toggle repeat mode

Z Toggle shuffle mode

/ Find

O Open menu for selected item

Backspace Close current view

Q Quit

. Play selected item next (add to queue)

F1 Queue

F2 Search

F3 Library