access-token-with-client-credentials-flow.md

Authorization Using the Client Credentials Flow

All API methods require authorization. Before using these methods you'll need to create an app at Spotify's developer site.

This method doesn't require any user interaction and no access to user information is therefore granted. This is the recommended method if you only need access to Spotify catalog data.

Step 1

The first step is to request a access token. Put the following code in its own file, lets call it auth.php. Replace CLIENT_ID and CLIENT_SECRET with the values given to you by Spotify.

Note: The API wrapper does not include any token management. It's up to you to save the access token somewhere (in a database, a PHP session, or wherever appropriate for your application) and request a new access token when the old one has expired.

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$session = new SpotifyWebAPI\Session(
    'CLIENT_ID',
    'CLIENT_SECRET'
);

$session->requestCredentialsToken();
$accessToken = $session->getAccessToken();

// Store the access token somewhere. In a database for example.

// Send the user along and fetch some data!
header('Location: app.php');
die();

You'll notice the missing redirect URI when initializing the Session. When using the Client Credentials Flow, it isn't needed and can simply be omitted from the constructor call.

Step 2

In a second file, app.php, tell the API wrapper which access token to use, and then make some API calls!

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

// Fetch the saved access token from somewhere. A database for example.

$api = new SpotifyWebAPI\SpotifyWebAPI();
$api->setAccessToken($accessToken);

// It's now possible to request data from the Spotify catalog
print_r(
    $api->getTrack('7EjyzZcbLxW7PaaLua9Ksb')
);

For more in-depth technical information about the Client Credentials Flow, please refer to the Spotify Web API documentation.