[GH-ISSUE #415] librespot with Spotify Free accounts (server sided limitation?) #270

Closed
opened 2026-02-27 19:29:44 +03:00 by kerem · 2 comments
Owner

Originally created by @Seegee on GitHub (Dec 27, 2019).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/librespot-org/librespot/issues/415

Hi guys,

I've read over issue #261, and from what I understand, the 'premium account' restriction is in librespot to comply with Spotify's TOS.

Is it technically possible to stream songs on a free account using the same approach as librespot, or is this a server side limitation by Spotify? I ask because I'd like to use librespot as a base to make a custom player for an embedded device that supports free accounts. Ideally, I'd be able to integrate ad breaks, skip limits, and everything else needed to comply with Spotify free. I just want to know if librespot is a good starting point for me, or if whatever APIs it utilizes are limited by Spotify to only premium accounts.

Originally created by @Seegee on GitHub (Dec 27, 2019). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/librespot-org/librespot/issues/415 Hi guys, I've read over issue #261, and from what I understand, the 'premium account' restriction is in librespot to comply with Spotify's TOS. Is it technically possible to stream songs on a free account using the same approach as librespot, or is this a server side limitation by Spotify? I ask because I'd like to use librespot as a base to make a custom player for an embedded device that supports free accounts. Ideally, I'd be able to integrate ad breaks, skip limits, and everything else needed to comply with Spotify free. I just want to know if librespot is a good starting point for me, or if whatever APIs it utilizes are limited by Spotify to only premium accounts.
kerem 2026-02-27 19:29:44 +03:00
Author
Owner

@sashahilton00 commented on GitHub (Jan 2, 2020):

Technically it's possible. There are no server side limitations that I know of, and @plietar mentioned that there is a minor change that can be made to the current code to support free accounts. I haven't done enough reverse engineering to work out what that is though, nor has anyone looked at reversing the limited plays/adverts/metrics/etc. functionality that would also need to be implemented as far as I know. Nothing stopping you though if you want to add support for free accounts from a technical standpoint.

<!-- gh-comment-id:570095787 --> @sashahilton00 commented on GitHub (Jan 2, 2020): Technically it's possible. There are no server side limitations that I know of, and @plietar mentioned that there is a minor change that can be made to the current code to support free accounts. I haven't done enough reverse engineering to work out what that is though, nor has anyone looked at reversing the limited plays/adverts/metrics/etc. functionality that would also need to be implemented as far as I know. Nothing stopping you though if you want to add support for free accounts from a technical standpoint.
Author
Owner

@coxackie commented on GitHub (Jan 10, 2021):

I am curious as to why this is open. Is there actually any prospect to free accounts being supported? I would happy if yes, and also understand if you do not want to do this, in order not to piss off spotify. Howevern, in the latter case should you not close this issue?

<!-- gh-comment-id:757457549 --> @coxackie commented on GitHub (Jan 10, 2021): I am curious as to why this is open. Is there actually any prospect to free accounts being supported? I would happy if yes, and also understand if you do not want to do this, in order not to piss off spotify. Howevern, in the latter case should you not close this issue?
Sign in to join this conversation.
No milestone
No project
No assignees
1 participant
Notifications
Due date
The due date is invalid or out of range. Please use the format "yyyy-mm-dd".

No due date set.

Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference
starred/librespot#270
No description provided.