mixtape50

Creates a Spotify playlist that spells out a message. View the about page here.

• 1. Installation (beginner-friendly!)
  • 1.1. Clone the repository
  • 1.2. Create a virtual environment
  • 1.3. Install dependencies
  • 1.4. Get the API keys from Spotify
  • 1.5. Authorise mixtape50
• 2. Run the app

1. Installation (beginner-friendly!)

Ensure you have Python 3 installed on your machine.

1.1. Clone the repository

For example, to clone this project to a new folder (which you might name mixtape50):

~ $ mkdir mixtape50
~ $ cd mixtape50
~/mixtape50 $ git clone https://github.com/jchanke/mixtape50.git

This creates a local copy of the files on your computer.

1.2 Create a virtual environment

Once in your folder, run this command to create a 'virtual environment'. (That way whatever python libraries you install won't interfere with your existing python setup. Pretty neat, huh?)

~/mixtape50 $ python -m venv venv

This creates a virtual environment called venv inside the mixtape50 folder:

(venv) ~/mixtape50 $

1.3. Install dependencies

mixtape50 is built mainly with two python libraries.

• spotipy is an interface for the Spotify Web API, which allows mixtape50 to create playlists in your account.
• flask is a library that the application itself is built with. It organises the information on the site, so when you enter the right address, you are taken to the right page. (And a bit more.)

Since the python virtual environment has the pip module pre-installed, you can install everythng with one command by reading the requirements.txt text file (make sure you are in your virtual environment first!):

(venv) ~/mixtape50 $ pip install -r requirements.txt

1.4. Get the API keys from Spotify

Sign in at the Spotify Developer Dashboard with your Spotify account.

• Click Create An App
• Fill in a App name and App description (e.g. Mixtape50 & Creates a playlist with song titles matching a user's input. It doesn't matter what you choose.)
• Click on your new app > Edit settings, and add http://127.0.0.1:5000/callback to the Redirect URIs.

One last thing! From the dashboard, get the Client ID and Client Secret (both hexadecimal numbers) and enter this into your terminal (replacing SPOTIPY_CLIENT_ID and SPOTIPY_CLIENT_SECRET with your own values, of course):

(venv) ~/mixtape50 $ export SPOTIPY_CLIENT_ID=d234a39...
(venv) ~/mixtape50 $ export SPOTIPY_CLIENT_SECRET=68cdff4...
(venv) ~/mixtape50 $ export FLASK_ENV=development

Now you're all set up!

1.5. Authorise mixtape50

In the terminal, start the helpers.py module (in interactive -i mode) and call the search_spotipy method:

(venv) ~/mixtape50 $ python -i helpers.py

>>> search_spotipy("track: hello world!", type="track", limit=50)

A page should open, allowing you to sign into your Spotify account.

2. Run the app

In your terminal window, run:

(venv) ~mixtape50 $ flask run

If successful, you should see text like this:

* Environment: development
* Debug mode: on
* Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)
* Restarting with stat
* Debugger is active!
* Debugger PIN: 123-456-789

Open http://127.0.0.1:5000 to view the app!