Spotify Control Plugin for Indigo

A comprehensive Indigo plugin for controlling Spotify and monitoring all playback data in real-time.

Features

Device States (Auto-Updated)

The plugin tracks and updates the following Spotify information:

Playback Status

• Player State: playing, paused, or stopped
• Is Playing: Boolean indicator
• Is Paused: Boolean indicator
• Is Stopped: Boolean indicator

Track Information

• Track Name: Current track title
• Artist: Track artist(s)
• Album: Album name
• Album Artist: Album artist
• Track Number: Track number on album
• Disc Number: Disc number for multi-disc albums
• Spotify URL: Direct Spotify link
• Track ID: Unique Spotify track ID
• Artwork URL: Album artwork image URL
• Popularity: Track popularity (0-100)
• Release Date: Track/album release date

Playback Position

• Player Position: Current position in seconds
• Player Position (Formatted): Position as MM:SS
• Duration: Track length in seconds
• Duration (Formatted): Duration as MM:SS
• Progress Percentage: Playback progress (0-100%)

Audio Settings

• Volume: Current volume (0-100)
• Muted: Boolean mute status
• Shuffling: Shuffle mode on/off
• Repeating: Repeat mode on/off

Display

• Status: Human-readable status (e.g., "▶ Artist - Track Name")

Actions

Playback Control

• Play: Start playback
• Pause: Pause playback
• Play/Pause Toggle: Toggle between play and pause
• Stop: Stop playback and reset position
• Next Track: Skip to next track
• Previous Track: Go to previous track

Volume Control

• Set Volume: Set specific volume level (0-100)
• Volume Up: Increase volume by specified amount
• Volume Down: Decrease volume by specified amount
• Mute: Mute audio (remembers previous volume)
• Unmute: Restore previous volume

Position Control

• Set Playback Position: Jump to specific second in track
• Skip Forward: Jump forward by seconds
• Skip Backward: Jump backward by seconds

Playback Options

• Set Shuffle: Turn shuffle on, off, or toggle
• Set Repeat: Turn repeat on, off, or toggle

Content Selection

• Play Specific Track: Play by Spotify URI or URL
• Play Playlist: Play entire playlist
• Play Album: Play entire album
• Play Artist: Play artist's top tracks
• Search and Play: Search Spotify and play first result

Utility

• Update Now: Force immediate status update

Installation

1. Download the Spotify.indigoPlugin package
2. Double-click the plugin file to install in Indigo
3. Restart the Indigo server if prompted

Setup

Creating a Spotify Device

1. In Indigo, go to Devices → New...
2. Set Type: Plugin → Spotify Control
3. Select Model: Spotify Player
4. Configure settings:
   • Update Frequency: How often to poll Spotify (0.5-10 seconds)
   • Update Indigo Variables: Enable to create/update variables
   • Variable Prefix: Prefix for variable names (default: "Spotify")

Device Settings

Update Frequency

Choose how often the plugin checks Spotify status: - 0.5 seconds: Smoothest updates, higher CPU usage - 1 second: Recommended for most uses - 2-5 seconds: Good for background monitoring - 10 seconds: Minimal CPU usage

Variable Updates

If enabled, the plugin will create and update Indigo variables with all Spotify data: - Variables are named: {Prefix}{StateName} (e.g., SpotifyTrackName) - Useful for Control Pages and other integrations - Variables are created automatically if they don't exist

Usage Examples

Basic Playback Control

-- In Indigo Actions
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Play"
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Pause"
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Next Track"

Volume Control

-- Set volume to 50%
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Set Volume" with value "50"

-- Increase volume by 10
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Volume Up" with value "10"

-- Mute/Unmute
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Mute"
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Unmute"

Play Specific Content

-- Play a specific track
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Play Specific Track"
  Track URI: "spotify:track:3n3Ppam7vgaVa1iaRUc9Lp"

-- Play a playlist
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Play Playlist"
  Playlist URI: "spotify:playlist:37i9dQZF1DXcBWIGoYBM5M"

-- Search and play
Execute Action "Spotify Player - Search and Play"
  Search Query: "Bohemian Rhapsody Queen"
  Search Type: "Track"

Triggers Based on Spotify State

Create triggers based on device state changes: - Trigger when playback starts: isPlaying becomes true - Trigger when specific artist plays: artist contains "The Beatles" - Trigger when volume changes: soundVolume changes - Trigger when shuffle enabled: shuffling becomes true

Control Page Examples

Add Spotify controls to your Control Pages: - Display current track: Use status state - Show album art: Use artworkUrl state - Display progress: Use playerPositionFormatted and durationFormatted - Volume slider: Control via Set Volume action - Play/Pause button: Use Play/Pause Toggle action

Spotify URIs and URLs

The plugin accepts both Spotify URIs and URLs:

URI Format (preferred):

spotify:track:3n3Ppam7vgaVa1iaRUc9Lp
spotify:album:6QaVfG1pHYl1z15ZxkvVDW
spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2
spotify:playlist:37i9dQZF1DXcBWIGoYBM5M

URL Format (automatically converted):

https://open.spotify.com/track/3n3Ppam7vgaVa1iaRUc9Lp
https://open.spotify.com/album/6QaVfG1pHYl1z15ZxkvVDW
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXcBWIGoYBM5M

To get URIs/URLs: 1. Right-click any item in Spotify 2. Select Share → Copy Spotify URI (or Copy Link) 3. Paste into plugin action

Scripting Examples

Python Script

# Get current track info
spotify_dev = indigo.devices[12345]  # Your device ID
track = spotify_dev.states['trackName']
artist = spotify_dev.states['artist']
indigo.server.log(f"Now playing: {artist} - {track}")

# Control playback
indigo.device.execute("Spotify Player", action="play")
indigo.device.execute("Spotify Player", action="nextTrack")

AppleScript

tell application "IndigoServer"
    -- Get current track
    set trackName to value of variable "SpotifyTrackName"

    -- Execute actions
    execute action "Play/Pause Toggle" of device "Spotify Player"
end tell

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Updating

• Ensure Spotify desktop app is running
• Check that Update Frequency is set appropriately
• Try "Update Now" action to force refresh
• Check Indigo log for errors

Actions Not Working

• Verify Spotify desktop app is running and responsive
• Some actions require active playback
• Check that Spotify has proper macOS permissions
• Try controlling Spotify directly to verify it's working

Variables Not Created

• Enable "Update Indigo Variables" in device settings
• Check variable prefix doesn't conflict with existing variables
• Variables are created on first update after enabling

Spotify Not Responding

The plugin uses AppleScript to communicate with Spotify: - Spotify must be the desktop app (not web player) - macOS may prompt for accessibility permissions - Grant permissions in System Preferences → Security & Privacy

Technical Details

Requirements

• Indigo 2022.1 or later
• macOS with Spotify desktop app installed
• Python 3.7+ (included with Indigo)

How It Works

• Uses AppleScript to communicate with Spotify application
• Polls Spotify at configurable intervals
• No network requests required (all local)
• No Spotify API credentials needed

Performance

• Minimal CPU usage with 1-2 second update frequency
• No impact on Spotify performance
• Updates only when device is active in Indigo

Version History

1.0.7 (Current)

• Complete playback control
• Comprehensive state monitoring
• Variable integration
• All Spotify data available

Support

For issues or feature requests: 1. Check Indigo plugin log for errors 2. Verify Spotify desktop app is working 3. Test with different update frequencies 4. Report issues with log excerpts

License

This plugin is provided as-is for use with Indigo home automation.

Note: This plugin controls the Spotify desktop application on the Mac running Indigo. It does not control Spotify Connect devices or other Spotify instances. For multi-room control, use Spotify Connect within the Spotify app itself.