HTTP API to control a spotify player on Mac OS. Download spotify premium hack. Contribute to alternatelabs/spotify-mac-api development by creating an account on GitHub. Control Spotify on Mac OSX with NodeJS and AppleScript. Installation $ npm install spotify-node-applescript Running unit tests $ npm test API playTrack(uri, callback) Play a track with Spotify URI uri.
I've recently upgraded my laptop (after the 6 years my previous MacBookPro latest) and I've now got one of these touchbar things. It's cute, but I know that my laptop will be closed for 90% of the time and attach to an external monitor and keyboard.
That said, it absolutely does my head in that the control strip's 'play/pause' button will only control iTunes/Music. So I fixed that.
Karabiner Elements to the rescue
I've been using Karabiner Elements for a while now and it's a superb bit of software. It gives you complete control over the keyboard and sits in between and gives you the ability to completely change what the operating system actually sees.
So it stands to reason that I could capture the play/pause key press and completely take it over and send it to Spotify instead. It's not quite that simple, but it's no too far off.
Spotify Premium. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) Operating System. MacOs Catalina 10.15 (19A583) After upgrading to Catalina, the Play button on the Mac Keyboard no longer controls Spotify. With Spotify open, no other music player, if I hit the Play/Pause button, it will open the Apple Music app and not control Spotify.
Step one is to download and install Karabiner Elements. Once you've got that running, it needs to see the touch bar - which apparently announces itself as an entirely separate keyboard. So check this box:
Now Karabiner can see your keyboard - and a quick way to test this is to head to 'Simple Modifications' and add 'play_or_pause' and map it to (something like) 'mute'. Spotify some songs not downloading on samsung app. Now test the play control strip button - if it mutes, then it's working and the next step is to create a 'complex modification' to control Spotify (you should remove the simple modification now).
Controlling Spotify
From Karabiner Elements' preferences, on the Misc tab, click on the button the reads 'Open config folder'. This is where we'll add the following in new JSON file. Under the directory
complex_modifications
(make it if it doesn't exist), add this file as touchbar.json
(or as you please):This says: when the button pressed is
play_or_pause
then run an applescript and prevent the keyup. You can determine the key value from the Karabiner ElementsViewer that's also installed.The Apple Script
Control Spotify With Mac Pause Player
The last bit of the puzzle, you need to store this file in the same directory as the
touchbar.json
file (or change the location in the shell_command
value).Control Spotify With Mac Pause Playlist
And that…should be it. I now have control over my own machine, which is frankly how it should always be.
Honourable mention to Better Touch Tool which looks like it might do the job, but I'm already familiar with Karabiner and Karabiner definitely does the job!