spotify-profile-monitor 2.2

Tool implementing real-time tracking of Spotify users activities and profile changes including playlists

spotify_profile_monitor

spotify_profile_monitor is an OSINT tool for real-time monitoring of Spotify users' activities and profile changes including playlists.

NOTE: If you want to track Spotify friends' music activity, check out another tool I developed: spotify_monitor.

Features

• Real-time tracking of Spotify user activities and profile changes:
  • addition/removal of followings and followers
  • addition/removal of playlists
  • addition/removal of tracks in playlists (including collaborator info for newly added tracks)
  • playlists name and description changes
  • number of likes for playlists
  • number of collaborators for playlists
  • profile picture changes
  • username changes
• Email notifications for various events (as listed above)
• Attaching changed profile pictures directly to email notifications
• Displaying the profile picture right in your terminal (if you have imgcat installed)
• Additional functionalities on top of the monitoring mode allowing to display detailed info about the user, list of followers & followings, recently played artists and possibility to search for users in Spotify catalog with specific names
• Ability to display and export the list of tracks for a specific playlist (including Liked Songs for the user who owns the Spotify access token)
• Saving all profile changes (including playlists) with timestamps to the CSV file
• Clickable Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Genius Lyrics search URLs printed in the console & included in email notifications
• Possibility to control the running copy of the script via signals

Table of Contents

1. Requirements
2. Installation
   • Install from PyPI
   • Manual Installation
3. Quick Start
4. Configuration
   • Configuration File
   • Spotify sp_dc Cookie
   • How to Get a Friend's User URI ID
   • Spotify sha256 (optional)
   • Time Zone
   • SMTP Settings
   • Storing Secrets
5. Usage
   • Monitoring Mode
   • Listing Mode
   • Email Notifications
   • CSV Export
   • Detection of Changed Profile Pictures
   • Displaying Images in Your Terminal
   • Playlist Blacklisting
   • Check Intervals
   • Signal Controls (macOS/Linux/Unix)
   • Coloring Log Output with GRC
6. Change Log
7. License

Requirements

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Libraries: requests, python-dateutil, urllib3, pyotp, pytz, tzlocal, python-dotenv

Tested on:

• macOS: Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia
• Linux: Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye, Bookworm), Ubuntu 24, Rocky Linux 8.x/9.x, Kali Linux 2024/2025
• Windows: 10, 11

It should work on other versions of macOS, Linux, Unix and Windows as well.

Installation

Install from PyPI

pip install spotify_profile_monitor

Manual Installation

Download the spotify_profile_monitor.py file to the desired location.

Install dependencies via pip:

pip install requests python-dateutil urllib3 pyotp pytz tzlocal python-dotenv

Alternatively, from the downloaded requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Quick Start

• Grab your Spotify sp_dc cookie and track the spotify_user_uri_id profile changes (including playlists):

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -u "your_sp_dc_cookie_value"

Or if you installed manually:

python3 spotify_profile_monitor.py <spotify_user_uri_id> -u "your_sp_dc_cookie_value"

To get the list of all supported command-line arguments / flags:

spotify_profile_monitor --help

Configuration

Configuration File

Most settings can be configured via command-line arguments.

If you want to have it stored persistently, generate a default config template and save it to a file named spotify_profile_monitor.conf:

spotify_profile_monitor --generate-config > spotify_profile_monitor.conf

Edit the spotify_profile_monitor.conf file and change any desired configuration options (detailed comments are provided for each).

Spotify sp_dc Cookie

Log in to https://open.spotify.com/ in your web browser.

Locate and copy the value of the sp_dc cookie.

Use your web browser's dev console or Cookie-Editor by cgagnier to extract it easily: https://cookie-editor.com/

Provide the SP_DC_COOKIE secret using one of the following methods:

• Pass it at runtime with -u / --spotify-dc-cookie
• Set it as an environment variable (e.g. export SP_DC_COOKIE=...)
• Add it to .env file (SP_DC_COOKIE=...) for persistent use

Fallback:

• Hard-code it in the code or config file

The sp_dc cookie is typically valid for up to 2 weeks. You will be informed by the tool once the cookie expires (proper message on the console and in email).

If you store the SP_DC_COOKIE in a dotenv file you can update its value and send a SIGHUP signal to the process to reload the file with the new sp_dc cookie without restarting the tool. More info in Storing Secrets and Signal Controls (macOS/Linux/Unix).

It is recommended to create a new Spotify account for use with the tool since we are not using the official Spotify Web API most of the time as most features needed by the tool (like fetching a list of followers/followings, followings count and recently played artists) are not available.

How to Get a Friend's User URI ID

The easiest way is via the Spotify desktop or mobile client:

• go to your friend's profile
• click the three dots (•••) or press the Share button
• copy the link to the profile

You'll get a URL like: https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify_user_uri_id?si=tracking_id

Extract the part between /user/ and ?si= - in this case: spotify_user_uri_id

Use that as the user URI ID (spotify_user_uri_id) in the tool.

Alternatively you can use the built-in functionality to search for usernames (-s flag) to get the user URI ID:

spotify_profile_monitor -s "user name"

It will list all users with such names with their user URI ID.

Before using this feature make sure you followed the instructions here.

Spotify sha256 (optional)

This step is optional and only necessary if you want to use the feature to search Spotify's catalog for users with a specific name to obtain their Spotify user URI ID (-s flag).

To do this, you need to intercept your Spotify client's network traffic and obtain the sha256 value.

To simulate the required request, search for the user in the Spotify client. Then, in the intercepting proxy, look for requests with the searchUsers or searchDesktop operation name.

Display the details of one of these requests and copy the sha256Hash parameter value, then place it in the SP_SHA256 secret.

Example request: https://api-partner.spotify.com/pathfinder/v1/query?operationName=searchUsers&variables={"searchTerm":"spotify_user_uri_id","offset":0,"limit":5,"numberOfTopResults":5,"includeAudiobooks":false}&extensions={"persistedQuery":{"version":1,"sha256Hash":"XXXXXXXXXX"}}

You are interested in the string marked as "XXXXXXXXXX" here.

Provide the SP_SHA256 secret using one of the following methods:

• Set it as an environment variable (e.g. export SP_SHA256=...)
• Add it to .env file (SP_SHA256=...) for persistent use

Fallback:

• Hard-code it in the code or config file

Time Zone

By default, time zone is auto-detected using tzlocal. You can set it manually in spotify_profile_monitor.conf:

LOCAL_TIMEZONE='Europe/Warsaw'

You can get the list of all time zones supported by pytz like this:

python3 -c "import pytz; print('\n'.join(pytz.all_timezones))"

SMTP Settings

If you want to use email notifications functionality, configure SMTP settings in the spotify_profile_monitor.conf file.

Verify your SMTP settings by using --send-test-email flag (the tool will try to send a test email notification):

spotify_profile_monitor --send-test-email

Storing Secrets

It is recommended to store secrets like SP_DC_COOKIE, SP_SHA256 or SMTP_PASSWORD as either an environment variable or in a dotenv file.

Set environment variables using export on Linux/Unix/macOS/WSL systems:

export SP_DC_COOKIE="your_sp_dc_cookie_value"
export SP_SHA256="your_spotify_client_sha256"
export SMTP_PASSWORD="your_smtp_password"

On Windows Command Prompt use set instead of export and on Windows PowerShell use $env.

Alternatively store them persistently in a dotenv file (recommended):

SP_DC_COOKIE="your_sp_dc_cookie_value"
SP_SHA256="your_spotify_client_sha256"
SMTP_PASSWORD="your_smtp_password"

By default the tool will auto-search for dotenv file named .env in current directory and then upward from it.

You can specify a custom file with DOTENV_FILE or --env-file flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> --env-file /path/.env-spotify_profile_monitor

You can also disable .env auto-search with DOTENV_FILE = "none" or --env-file none:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> --env-file none

As a fallback, you can also store secrets in the configuration file or source code.

Usage

Monitoring Mode

To monitor specific user for all profile changes (including playlists), just type Spotify user URI ID as a command-line argument (spotify_user_uri_id in the example below):

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id>

If you have not set SP_DC_COOKIE secret, you can use -u flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -u "your_sp_dc_cookie_value"

By default, the tool looks for a configuration file named spotify_profile_monitor.conf in:

• current directory
• home directory (~)
• script directory

If you generated a configuration file as described in Configuration, but saved it under a different name or in a different directory, you can specify its location using the --config-file flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> --config-file /path/spotify_profile_monitor_new.conf

By default, only public playlists owned by the user are fetched. To change this behavior:

• set GET_ALL_PLAYLISTS to True
• or use the -k flag

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -k

It is helpful in the case of playlists created by another user added to another user profile.

If you want to completely disable detection of changes in user's public playlists (like added/removed tracks in playlists, playlists name and description changes, number of likes for playlists):

• set DETECT_CHANGES_IN_PLAYLISTS to False
• or use the -q flag

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -q

If you want to skip some user's playlists from processing, you can use PLAYLISTS_TO_SKIP_FILE or -t flag (more info here)

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -t ignored_playlists

The tool runs until interrupted (Ctrl+C). Use tmux or screen for persistence.

You can monitor multiple Spotify users by running multiple copies of the script.

The tool automatically saves its output to spotify_profile_monitor_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>.log file. The log file name can be changed via SP_LOGFILE configuration option and its suffix via FILE_SUFFIX / -y flag. Logging can be disabled completely via DISABLE_LOGGING / -d flag.

The tool also saves the list of followings, followers and playlists to these files:

• spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_followings.json
• spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_followers.json
• spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_playlists.json

Thanks to this we can detect changes after the tool is restarted.

The tool also saves the user profile picture to spotify_profile_{user_uri_id/file_suffix}_pic*.jpeg files.

Listing Mode

There is also another mode of the tool which displays various requested information.

If you want to display details for a specific Spotify playlist URL (i.e. its name, description, number of tracks, likes, overall duration, creation and last update date, list of tracks with information on when they were added), then use the -l flag:

spotify_profile_monitor -l "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/playlist_uri_id"

If you want to not only display, but also save the list of tracks for a specific Spotify playlist to a CSV file, use the -l flag with -b indicating the CSV file:

spotify_profile_monitor -l "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/playlist_uri_id" -b spotify_playlist_tracks.csv

If you want to display similar information for Liked Songs playlist for the user owning the Spotify access token, use the -x flag (can also be used with -b):

spotify_profile_monitor -x

If you want to display details for a specific Spotify user profile URL (i.e. user URI ID, list and number of followers and followings, recently played artists, list and number of user's playlists with basic statistics like when created, last updated, description, number of tracks and likes) then use the -i flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -i

By default, only public playlists owned by the user are fetched. You can change this behavior with -k flag. It is helpful in the case of playlists created by another user added to another user profile:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -i -k

If you want to completely disable the processing of a user's public playlists while displaying details for a specific Spotify user profile URL (to speed up the process), you can use the -q flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -i -q

If you only want to display the list of followings and followers for the user (-f flag):

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -f

If you want to display a list of recently played artists (this feature only works if the user has it enabled in their settings), use the -a flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -a

To get basic information about the Spotify access token owner (-v flag):

spotify_profile_monitor -v

If you want to search the Spotify catalog for users with a specific name to obtain their Spotify user URI ID (-s flag):

spotify_profile_monitor -s "user name"

Email Notifications

To enable email notifications for all user profile changes (including playlists):

• set PROFILE_NOTIFICATION to True
• or use the -p flag

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -p

To disable sending an email about new followers/followings (these are sent by default when the -p flag is enabled):

• set FOLLOWERS_FOLLOWINGS_NOTIFICATION to False
• or use the -g flag

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -p -g

To disable sending an email on errors (enabled by default):

• set ERROR_NOTIFICATION to False
• or use the -e flag

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -e

Make sure you defined your SMTP settings earlier (see SMTP settings).

Example email:

CSV Export

If you want to save all profile changes (including playlists) to a CSV file, set CSV_FILE or use -b flag:

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -b spotify_profile_changes_spotify_user.csv

The file will be automatically created if it does not exist.

Detection of Changed Profile Pictures

The tool can detect when a monitored user changes their profile picture. Notifications appear in the console and (if the -p flag is enabled) via email.

This feature is enabled by default. To disable it, either:

• set the DETECT_CHANGED_PROFILE_PIC to False
• or use the -j flag

How It Works

Since Spotify periodically changes the profile picture URL even when the image is the same, the tool performs a binary comparison of JPEG files to detect actual changes.

On the first run, it saves the current profile picture to spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_pic.jpeg

On each subsequent check a new image is fetched and it is compared byte-for-byte with the saved image.

If a change is detected, the old picture is moved to spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_pic_old.jpeg and the new one is saved to:

• spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_pic.jpeg (current)
• spotify_profile_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>_pic_YYmmdd_HHMM.jpeg (for history)

Displaying Images in Your Terminal

If you have imgcat installed, you can use the feature of displaying profile pictures right in your terminal.

To do this, set the path to your imgcat binary in the IMGCAT_PATH configuration option.

If you specify only the binary name, it will be auto-searched in your PATH.

Set it to empty to disable this feature.

Playlist Blacklisting

By default, all Spotify-owned playlists are skipped from processing, i.e. the tool won't fetch or report changed tracks and the number of likes for them. This is because they are typically dynamically generated with a high volume of changes in terms of likes and sometimes tracks as well. You can change this behavior by setting IGNORE_SPOTIFY_PLAYLISTS to False.

On top of that, you can also use the PLAYLISTS_TO_SKIP_FILE / -t flag which allows you to indicate a file with additional playlists to be blacklisted.

The file may include lines referencing playlist URIs and URLs, as well as the playlist owner's name, URI and URL. Below is an example of an ignored_playlists file with acceptable entries:

playlist_uri_id
spotify:playlist:playlist_uri_id
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/playlist_uri_id
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/playlist_uri_id?si=1
Some User Name
user_uri_id
spotify:user:user_uri_id
https://open.spotify.com/user/user_uri_id?si=1

You can comment out specific lines with # if needed.

If certain playlists are blacklisted, there will be an appropriate message. For example:

- 'Afternoon Acoustic' [ IGNORED ]
[ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX4E3UdUs7fUx?si=1 ]
[ songs: 100, likes: 2164491, collaborators: 0 ]
[ owner: Spotify ]
[ date: Fri 23 Aug 2024, 17:05:15 - 7 months, 10 hours, 27 minutes ago ]
[ update: Fri 23 Aug 2024, 17:05:15 - 7 months, 10 hours, 27 minutes ago ]
'Unwind and let the afternoon unfold.'

Check Intervals

If you want to customize polling interval, use -c flag (or SPOTIFY_CHECK_INTERVAL configuration option):

spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id> -c 900

Signal Controls (macOS/Linux/Unix)

The tool has several signal handlers implemented which allow to change behavior of the tool without a need to restart it with new configuration options / flags.

List of supported signals:

Signal	Description
USR1	Toggle email notifications for user's profile changes (-p)
TRAP	Increase the profile check timer (by 5 minutes)
ABRT	Decrease the profile check timer (by 5 minutes)
HUP	Reload secrets from .env file

Send signals with kill or pkill, e.g.:

pkill -USR1 -f "spotify_profile_monitor <spotify_user_uri_id>"

As Windows supports limited number of signals, this functionality is available only on Linux/Unix/macOS.

Coloring Log Output with GRC

You can use GRC to color logs.

Add to your GRC config (~/.grc/grc.conf):

# monitoring log file
.*_monitor_.*\.log
conf.monitor_logs

Now copy the conf.monitor_logs to your ~/.grc/ and log files should be nicely colored when using grc tool.

Example:

grc tail -F -n 100 spotify_profile_monitor_<user_uri_id/file_suffix>.log

Change Log

See RELEASE_NOTES.md for details.

License

Licensed under GPLv3. See LICENSE.