How to Install and Use Spotify Player in OpenClaw

Open your terminal and install the spotify-player skill from the ClawHub registry. The skill package includes the Spotify Web API client, OAuth handling, and the natural language command parser that maps chat messages to Spotify API calls. After installation completes, verify it is active by listing your installed skills. You should see spotify-player with a version number and 'installed' status. The skill will appear as 'inactive' until you complete the OAuth authentication in a later step — this is expected. If you are running OpenClaw on a server or headless machine, note that the OAuth step requires a browser redirect. You can complete the auth on a machine with a browser, then copy the resulting token files to your server. The spotify-player documentation on ClawHub explains the manual token transfer process for headless setups.

1# Install the Spotify Player skill
2clawhub install spotify-player
3
4# Verify installation
5clawhub list --installed | grep spotify-player
6
7# Check initial status (will show 'inactive' until OAuth is complete)
8clawhub status spotify-player

The Spotify Player skill requires a Spotify Developer app to authenticate. This is a free step — Spotify provides API access at no cost for personal and development projects. Go to developer.spotify.com and log in with your regular Spotify account. Click 'Create App' in the top-right corner. Fill in the form: - App name: 'OpenClaw Controller' (or any name you choose) - App description: 'OpenClaw Spotify integration' - Redirect URI: enter `http://localhost:8888/callback` exactly — this is where Spotify sends the auth code during the OAuth flow - API/SDKs: check 'Web API' Click 'Save'. Spotify creates the app and takes you to its dashboard. Click 'Settings' in the top-right of the app dashboard. You will see your Client ID displayed — copy it. Click 'View client secret' to reveal your Client Secret — copy it immediately. Keep this browser tab open — you will need both values in the next step. Never share your Client Secret or commit it to version control.

1# Redirect URI to enter in Spotify Developer dashboard:
2http://localhost:8888/callback
3
4# Scopes required by the spotify-player skill (automatically requested during OAuth):
5# user-read-playback-state
6# user-modify-playback-state
7# user-read-currently-playing
8# playlist-read-private
9# user-library-read

Add your Spotify Client ID and Client Secret to the OpenClaw config file. Open `~/.openclaw/config.yaml` in a text editor and add the spotify-player skill section under the `skills` key. If a `skills` section already exists from other installed skills, add the spotify-player block inside it. The SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID and SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET values go directly in the config file under the skill's settings block. OpenClaw encrypts sensitive values in the config at rest — the values you enter here are not stored as plaintext after OpenClaw first reads them. If you prefer to use environment variables instead of the config file (for example, in a server deployment), the skill also reads SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID and SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET from the shell environment automatically. Both approaches work; the config file is simpler for personal desktop setups.

1# ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
2skills:
3  spotify-player:
4    client_id: "YOUR_SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID_HERE"
5    client_secret: "YOUR_SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE"
6    redirect_uri: "http://localhost:8888/callback"
7    default_device: ""        # Optional: set to your preferred device name
8    volume_step: 10           # Volume increment for 'turn up/down' commands (default: 10)
9    queue_limit: 10           # Max songs to add when queuing a playlist (default: 5)

With credentials configured, trigger the OAuth flow to authorize OpenClaw to control your Spotify account. Run the auth command in your terminal — this starts a local server on port 8888 and opens your browser to the Spotify authorization page. In the browser, you will see a Spotify permission screen listing the actions OpenClaw is requesting: read playback state, control playback, read playlists, and read your library. Click 'Agree'. Spotify redirects back to localhost:8888/callback, completes the token exchange, and the terminal shows 'Authentication successful'. The skill stores the access token and refresh token locally in `~/.openclaw/tokens/spotify-player.json`. The access token expires every 60 minutes, but the skill refreshes it automatically using the refresh token — you will not need to repeat this step unless you revoke the app's access from your Spotify account settings.

1# Trigger the OAuth authentication flow
2clawhub auth spotify-player
3
4# The command will output something like:
5# Opening browser for Spotify authorization...
6# Waiting for callback on http://localhost:8888/callback
7# Authentication successful! Token saved.
8
9# Verify auth succeeded
10clawhub status spotify-player
11# Should now show 'active' status

Open the OpenClaw chat interface and test Spotify commands. Make sure Spotify is open and active on at least one device before issuing commands — the Spotify API requires an active device to receive playback instructions. Start with a simple command to confirm the integration is working, then explore more complex commands. The spotify-player skill understands natural language, so you do not need to memorize specific syntax. Commands like 'play some jazz', 'skip to the next track', 'turn the volume up', and 'what song is playing' all work as you would expect. For the best results, phrase commands clearly and include the artist or track name when searching for specific music. The skill uses Spotify's search API to find the best match and plays or queues it automatically.

1# Example OpenClaw chat commands for spotify-player:
2
3# Basic playback control
4"Play Spotify"
5"Pause"
6"Skip to the next track"
7"Go back to the previous song"
8
9# Search and play
10"Play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen on Spotify"
11"Play my Discover Weekly playlist"
12"Play some lo-fi hip hop for studying"
13
14# Queue management
15"Add 'Hotel California' to my Spotify queue"
16"Clear my queue and play my liked songs on shuffle"
17
18# Volume and device
19"Turn Spotify volume up to 80%"
20"Switch playback to my iPhone"
21
22# Information
23"What album is this song from?"
24"Who is the artist currently playing?"