Description
Deskbeat adds a compact music widget to the Desktop Mode desktop. Once a site administrator connects a Spotify Developer app, each user links their own Spotify account with a single click and gets:
- Now playing — album art, track, and artist, updating live.
- Transport controls — play/pause, next, previous, shuffle, repeat, seek, and volume.
- In-browser playback — for Spotify Premium accounts, via the Spotify Web Playback SDK. Free accounts can see and control playback on their other devices.
- Browse your library — Queue, Liked Songs, Top tracks, Recently played, and Playlists, plus a search — all inside the widget, with infinite scroll.
This plugin requires the Desktop Mode plugin and works as a widget you add from the Desktop Mode widget picker.
Not affiliated with Spotify
This plugin is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Spotify. “Spotify” is a trademark of Spotify AB. It works with Spotify through the official Spotify Web API and Web Playback SDK, using credentials you provide.
Credentials stay yours
No Spotify credentials ship with this plugin. Each site connects using its own Spotify Developer app: an administrator creates a free app and enters its Client ID and Secret once. Tokens are stored server-side per user; the Client Secret and refresh tokens never reach the browser.
External services
This plugin connects to Spotify so you can view and control your own Spotify playback from the Desktop Mode desktop. It relies on the following Spotify services:
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Spotify Web API (
https://accounts.spotify.com,https://api.spotify.com)- What it is: Spotify’s official API for account authorization and playback control.
- What is sent and when: after you click “Connect Spotify”, the server exchanges an OAuth authorization code for access/refresh tokens; while the widget is open, it sends playback commands (play, pause, next, previous, seek, shuffle, repeat, volume, transfer) and reads your now-playing state, library, and search queries you type. Requests are made server-side on your behalf; your Client Secret and refresh token are never exposed to the browser.
- No data is sent until you connect your account.
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Spotify Web Playback SDK (
https://sdk.scdn.co/spotify-player.js)- What it is: Spotify’s official in-browser player library, loaded via a script tag (it must be served from Spotify’s own domain; there is no self-hosted version).
- What is sent and when: for Spotify Premium accounts, when you start in-browser playback it registers a playback device with Spotify and streams audio using a short-lived access token.
Use of Spotify is subject to Spotify’s terms and privacy policy:
– Terms of Use: https://www.spotify.com/legal/end-user-agreement/
– Privacy Policy: https://www.spotify.com/legal/privacy-policy/
– Developer Terms (for the app credentials the administrator provides): https://developer.spotify.com/terms/
This plugin is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Spotify. No Spotify credentials are bundled — each site uses its own Spotify Developer app.
Screenshots
Installation
- Install and activate the Desktop Mode plugin.
- Install and activate Music Player for Desktop Mode.
- Create a free app at the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
- In the app’s settings, add the Redirect URI shown in the widget’s setup screen (it is your site’s REST callback), and enable Web API and Web Playback SDK.
- In Desktop Mode, add the Music widget from the widget picker. As an administrator, paste the app’s Client ID and Client Secret in the setup screen.
- Click Connect Spotify to link your account.
FAQ
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Do end users need the Client ID/Secret?
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No. Only an administrator enters them once, per site. Everyone else just clicks “Connect Spotify”.
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Why do I need to create a Spotify app?
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Spotify requires every integration to be a registered app with its own redirect URI. For security and to respect Spotify’s rate limits, no shared credentials are bundled — each site uses its own app.
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No. The Spotify Web Playback SDK requires Premium. Free accounts can still view and control playback happening on their other devices.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“Deskbeat for Desktop Mode” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release: now-playing widget with controls, volume, library browsing, and search for Desktop Mode.