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[GH-ISSUE #263] Refreshing a token with authorization code flow #144

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opened 2026-02-27 23:21:03 +03:00 by kerem · 19 comments
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:03 +03:00
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Originally created by @nhend on GitHub (Mar 12, 2018).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/spotipy-dev/spotipy/issues/263

I have a long-running script using spotipy. After an hour (per the Spotify API), my access token expires. I am catching this successfully, but I don't know where to go from there in regards to actually refreshing the token. I am using the authorization code flow, not client credentials. Here's how I authorize:

`token = util.prompt_for_user_token(username,scope=scopes,client_id=client_id,client_secret=client_secret, redirect_uri=redirect_uri)

sp = spotipy.Spotify(auth=token)`

All refresh examples I've seen involve an oauth2 object (ex. oauth.refresh_access_token()), and the docs list only that function as a method of refreshing your token. It's my understanding that with authorization code flow, you don't need an oauth object (because you authenticate with prompt_for_user_token(). If that's the case, how do I refresh my token?

Originally created by @nhend on GitHub (Mar 12, 2018). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/spotipy-dev/spotipy/issues/263 I have a long-running script using spotipy. After an hour (per the Spotify API), my access token expires. I am catching this successfully, but I don't know where to go from there in regards to actually refreshing the token. I am using the authorization code flow, not client credentials. Here's how I authorize: `token = util.prompt_for_user_token(username,scope=scopes,client_id=client_id,client_secret=client_secret, redirect_uri=redirect_uri) sp = spotipy.Spotify(auth=token)` All refresh examples I've seen involve an `oauth2` object (ex. `oauth.refresh_access_token()`), and the docs list only that function as a method of refreshing your token. It's my understanding that with authorization code flow, you don't need an `oauth` object (because you authenticate with `prompt_for_user_token()`. If that's the case, how do I refresh my token?
kerem 2026-02-27 23:21:03 +03:00
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@onatilhan commented on GitHub (Mar 18, 2018):

+1

<!-- gh-comment-id:373963340 --> @onatilhan commented on GitHub (Mar 18, 2018): +1
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@nhend commented on GitHub (Mar 20, 2018):

Since I'm fairly certain refreshing a token without OAuth isn't possible, I'm linking my StackOverflow post where I detailed my solution and OAuth implementation, for Googler's sake

<!-- gh-comment-id:374778717 --> @nhend commented on GitHub (Mar 20, 2018): Since I'm fairly certain refreshing a token without OAuth isn't possible, I'm linking my StackOverflow post where I detailed my solution and OAuth implementation, for [Googler's sake](https://xkcd.com/979/)
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@kylegbakker commented on GitHub (Mar 20, 2018):

If you look at https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/master/spotipy/util.py you can see it does all the oauth for you, however I am experiencing a similar issue where my tokens are not refreshing. I'm not sure if it is just my implementation or what. Available information is spotty at best.

<!-- gh-comment-id:374793740 --> @kylegbakker commented on GitHub (Mar 20, 2018): If you look at https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/master/spotipy/util.py you can see it does all the oauth for you, however I am experiencing a similar issue where my tokens are not refreshing. I'm not sure if it is just my implementation or what. Available information is spotty at best.
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@nhend commented on GitHub (Mar 21, 2018):

Yeah, but without actually having the OAuth object, you can't call any of the refresh functions. Perhaps refreshing should be built into the prompt_for_user_token() function, since that's where the OAuth object lives.

<!-- gh-comment-id:374797881 --> @nhend commented on GitHub (Mar 21, 2018): Yeah, but without actually having the OAuth object, you can't call any of the refresh functions. Perhaps refreshing should be built into the prompt_for_user_token() function, since that's where the OAuth object lives.
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@kylegbakker commented on GitHub (Mar 21, 2018):

out of curiosity, what version of python are you running?

<!-- gh-comment-id:374802045 --> @kylegbakker commented on GitHub (Mar 21, 2018): out of curiosity, what version of python are you running?
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@nhend commented on GitHub (Mar 21, 2018):

3.6

<!-- gh-comment-id:374802352 --> @nhend commented on GitHub (Mar 21, 2018): 3.6
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@RaymondReed1208 commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2018):

For what its worth, I've noticed that I am able to successfully refresh my spotify token when launching a python session in terminal, and running my code line by line... but if I try to do this in a python script, i get an invalid refresh token error

<!-- gh-comment-id:385278956 --> @RaymondReed1208 commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2018): For what its worth, I've noticed that I am able to successfully refresh my spotify token when launching a python session in terminal, and running my code line by line... but if I try to do this in a python script, i get an invalid refresh token error
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@devxpy commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2018):

@nhend I haven't tried this myself, but these are my findings -

The token does get automatically refeshed when you call the prompt_user_for_token() function

Here is the trace

sp_oauth.get_cached_token() in prompt_for_user_token()

self.refresh_access_token(token_info['refresh_token']) in get_cached_token()

However, you can see that refresh_access_token() only gets called if it can find the cached token, and it's expired.

So maybe try seeing if the token is cached in your local pc?

<!-- gh-comment-id:394075885 --> @devxpy commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2018): @nhend I haven't tried this myself, but these are my findings - The token does get automatically refeshed when you call the `prompt_user_for_token()` function Here is the trace [`sp_oauth.get_cached_token()`](https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/4c2c1d763a3653aa225c4af848409ec31286a6bf/spotipy/util.py#L57) in `prompt_for_user_token()` [`self.refresh_access_token(token_info['refresh_token'])`](https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/4c2c1d763a3653aa225c4af848409ec31286a6bf/spotipy/oauth2.py#L139) in `get_cached_token()` However, you can see that `refresh_access_token()` only gets called if it can find the cached token, and it's expired. So maybe try seeing if the token is cached in your local pc?
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@josephgroton commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2019):

Hi, I'm trying to authenticate, and I'm using the code snippet you posted above, but I keep getting the error: "NameError: name 'util' is not defined"
Would you happen to know why this might be happening?

<!-- gh-comment-id:550439064 --> @josephgroton commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2019): Hi, I'm trying to authenticate, and I'm using the code snippet you posted above, but I keep getting the error: "NameError: name 'util' is not defined" Would you happen to know why this might be happening?
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@nhend commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2019):

@josephgroton See this instead: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49239516/spotipy-refreshing-a-token-with-authorization-code-flow

I used an OAuth object since the method I was originally posting about doesn't have a working refresh method.

<!-- gh-comment-id:550441181 --> @nhend commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2019): @josephgroton See this instead: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49239516/spotipy-refreshing-a-token-with-authorization-code-flow I used an OAuth object since the method I was originally posting about doesn't have a working refresh method.
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@JattMones commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2020):

I believe @devxpy is correct in that refresh_access_token() only gets called by the prompt_for_user_token() function if it can find the cached token. However, I believe it should be able to find the refresh token in a file called '.cache-spotifyUsername', which should appear in your current working directory after you've authorized (ie. login with spotify username and password and entered the redirect url) your Spotify account with the app once. If you add the keyword cache_path and path\to\.cache-file as the value in prompt_for_user_token(), it should be able to automatically refresh this token for you (this is because the refresh token never expires, it is only deactivated when requested).

<!-- gh-comment-id:575779418 --> @JattMones commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2020): I believe @devxpy is correct in that `refresh_access_token()` only gets called by the `prompt_for_user_token()` function if it can find the cached token. However, I believe it should be able to find the refresh token in a file called '.cache-spotifyUsername', which should appear in your current working directory after you've authorized (ie. login with spotify username and password and entered the redirect url) your Spotify account with the app once. If you add the keyword `cache_path` and `path\to\.cache-file` as the value in `prompt_for_user_token()`, it should be able to automatically refresh this token for you (this is because the refresh token never expires, it is only deactivated when requested).
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@JattMones commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2020):

An example for Bob Smith's Spotify would be: prompt_for_user_token(client_id='your_client_id', client_secret='your_client_secret', cache_path='.cache-BobSmith1234')

I'm not exactly sure how the cache file is created since I haven't done that much testing. It may require you to do your initial authentication slightly differently, but still following the Spotify OAuth2.0 flow (that is if the file isn't created using the normal prompt_for_user_token() function).

<!-- gh-comment-id:575782442 --> @JattMones commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2020): An example for Bob Smith's Spotify would be: `prompt_for_user_token(client_id='your_client_id', client_secret='your_client_secret', cache_path='.cache-BobSmith1234')` I'm not exactly sure how the cache file is created since I haven't done that much testing. It may require you to do your initial authentication slightly differently, but still following the Spotify OAuth2.0 flow (that is if the file isn't created using the normal `prompt_for_user_token()` function).
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Jan 26, 2020):

Here is a suggestion that replaces https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/issues/87#issuecomment-578539933, please let me know what you think:

sp_oauth = oauth2.SpotifyOAuth(scope=SCOPE, prompt=True)
sp = spotipy.Spotify(oauth_manager=sp_oauth)

while True:
    sp.do_something()
    time.sleep(60)

Basically:

  • it adds a new oauth_manager parameter, just like we have one for the other flow client_credentials_manager https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/master/examples/client_credentials_flow.py
  • this would deprecate util.prompt_for_user_token which has always been a bit confusing. We would keep it but the documentation would not mention it anymore
  • oauth2.SpotifyOAuth is called only once and does everything that util.prompt_for_user_token used to do, that includes prompting for the token if prompt=True and there is no cached token
  • spotipy.Spotify would be responsible for refreshing the token (it's already doing it for the client credentials flow)
  • it's also making the client ID/SECRET/URI and username optional, knowing that we can get them from the environment variables

Or, keeping util.prompt_for_user_token:

util.prompt_for_user_token(scope=SCOPE)
sp_oauth = oauth2.SpotifyOAuth(scope=SCOPE)
sp = spotipy.Spotify(oauth_manager=sp_oauth)

while True:
    sp.do_something()
    time.sleep(60)
<!-- gh-comment-id:578539713 --> @stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Jan 26, 2020): Here is a suggestion that replaces https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/issues/87#issuecomment-578539933, please let me know what you think: ``` sp_oauth = oauth2.SpotifyOAuth(scope=SCOPE, prompt=True) sp = spotipy.Spotify(oauth_manager=sp_oauth) while True: sp.do_something() time.sleep(60) ``` Basically: - it adds a **new `oauth_manager` parameter**, just like we have one for the other flow `client_credentials_manager` https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/master/examples/client_credentials_flow.py - this would **deprecate `util.prompt_for_user_token`** which has always been a bit confusing. We would keep it but the documentation would not mention it anymore - `oauth2.SpotifyOAuth` is called only once and does everything that `util.prompt_for_user_token` used to do, that includes prompting for the token if `prompt=True` and there is no cached token - `spotipy.Spotify` would be responsible for refreshing the token (it's already doing it for the client credentials flow) - it's also making the client ID/SECRET/URI and username optional, knowing that we can get them from the environment variables --------- Or, keeping `util.prompt_for_user_token`: ``` util.prompt_for_user_token(scope=SCOPE) sp_oauth = oauth2.SpotifyOAuth(scope=SCOPE) sp = spotipy.Spotify(oauth_manager=sp_oauth) while True: sp.do_something() time.sleep(60) ```
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@MaZderMind commented on GitHub (Jan 26, 2020):

Your first suggestion seems like a reasonable API design that would solve the problem neatly. 👍

<!-- gh-comment-id:578547450 --> @MaZderMind commented on GitHub (Jan 26, 2020): Your first suggestion seems like a reasonable API design that would solve the problem neatly. 👍
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Feb 10, 2020):

Done in https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/pull/435 thanks to @stefanondisponibile

Now there is no need for util.prompt_for_user_token anymore. Instead you need to instantiate an oauth object. That will also take care of refreshing the token in the background so you shouldn't need to do it yourself.

Example from https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/master/examples/simple4.py:

spotify = spotipy.Spotify(auth_manager=spotipy.SpotifyOAuth())
me = spotify.me()
<!-- gh-comment-id:584339333 --> @stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Feb 10, 2020): Done in https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/pull/435 thanks to @stefanondisponibile Now there is no need for `util.prompt_for_user_token` anymore. Instead you need to instantiate an oauth object. That will also take care of refreshing the token in the background so you shouldn't need to do it yourself. Example from https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/blob/master/examples/simple4.py: spotify = spotipy.Spotify(auth_manager=spotipy.SpotifyOAuth()) me = spotify.me()
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@philipzimmermann commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020):

First of all thanks for spotipy. I am struggling with refreshing the token for a while now. Unfortunately, the example code does not seem to work for me. I tried:

spotify=spotipy.Spotify(auth_manager=spotipy.SpotifyOAuth(client_id,client_secret,redirect_uri,scope=scope,cache_path=cache_path))
me = spotify.me()
pprint(me)

But I'm getting a TypeError: __init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'auth_manager'

<!-- gh-comment-id:585445155 --> @philipzimmermann commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020): First of all thanks for spotipy. I am struggling with refreshing the token for a while now. Unfortunately, the example code does not seem to work for me. I tried: ``` spotify=spotipy.Spotify(auth_manager=spotipy.SpotifyOAuth(client_id,client_secret,redirect_uri,scope=scope,cache_path=cache_path)) me = spotify.me() pprint(me) ``` But I'm getting a `TypeError: __init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'auth_manager'`
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@stefanondisponibile commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020):

Hey @phixxx5 , I guess that's because the changes have been merged to master but still haven't been released to pypi.

If you really can't wait or simply want to try the preview I think you could clone the repo and pip install . it. But I'd suggest waiting for the next release, if possible 🙂

<!-- gh-comment-id:585448579 --> @stefanondisponibile commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020): Hey @phixxx5 , I guess that's because the changes have been merged to master but still haven't been [released to pypi](https://pypi.org/project/spotipy/#history). If you really can't wait or simply want to try the preview I think you could clone the repo and `pip install .` it. But I'd suggest waiting for the next release, if possible 🙂
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020):

@phixxx5 creating a new release now

<!-- gh-comment-id:585448894 --> @stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020): @phixxx5 creating a new release now
kerem commented 2026-02-27 23:21:04 +03:00
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@stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020):

Done, just do pip install spotipy --upgrade

I haven't updated the doc yet, but yes your code above should now work!

<!-- gh-comment-id:585456453 --> @stephanebruckert commented on GitHub (Feb 12, 2020): Done, just do `pip install spotipy --upgrade` I haven't updated the doc yet, but yes your code above should now work!
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