How to use the command spotdl (with examples)
Spotdl is a command-line tool that allows you to download Spotify playlists and songs along with their metadata. It is an open-source project available on GitHub that can be used to download music from Spotify and save it on your local machine. In this article, we will explore different use cases of the spotdl command.
Use case 1: Download songs from the provided URLs and embed metadata
Code:
spotdl open.spotify.com/playlist/playlistId open.spotify.com/track/trackId ...
Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to download specific songs or playlists from Spotify and save them locally. It allows you to keep a local copy of your favorite songs without the need for an internet connection.
Explanation: The command “spotdl” is followed by the URLs of the songs or playlists you want to download. You can provide multiple URLs separated by spaces.
Example output: The songs or playlist will be downloaded and saved in your local directory, along with their metadata such as artist name, track name, album name, and release date.
Use case 2: Start a web interface to download individual songs
Code:
spotdl web
Motivation: This use case is ideal for those who prefer a graphical user interface to download individual songs instead of using the command line. It provides a user-friendly way to search for and download songs from Spotify.
Explanation: The command “spotdl web” starts a web interface where you can search for songs or artists and download them by clicking on the download button. It launches a local web server that you can access through your web browser.
Example output: After running the command, a web interface will be launched, and you can use it to search for songs or artists. Once you find the desired song, you can click on the download button to save it locally.
Use case 3: Save only the metadata without downloading anything
Code:
spotdl save open.spotify.com/playlist/playlistId ... --save-file path/to/save_file.spotdl
Motivation: This use case is helpful when you only want to save the metadata of a playlist or song without actually downloading the audio files. It can be useful for creating playlists or organizing your music library.
Explanation: The command “spotdl save” is followed by the URLs of the songs or playlists whose metadata you want to save. You can provide multiple URLs separated by spaces. The argument “–save-file” specifies the path and filename where the metadata will be saved.
Example output: The metadata of the provided songs or playlist will be saved in the specified file in the .spotdl format. The saved metadata includes information such as artist name, track name, album name, and release date.
Conclusion:
In this article, we explored different use cases of the spotdl command. We learned how to download songs from specific URLs, start a web interface for downloading individual songs, and save only the metadata without downloading the actual audio files. Spotdl is a powerful tool that allows you to have offline access to your favorite music and manage your music library efficiently.
