v0.10.1

Change Notes

This is a general-purpose fix for several high-profile bugs found in the latest v0.10.0 release. It should be considered a hotfix and I strongly recommend everybody using v0.10.0 or any v0.9.x version to upgrade to v0.10.1.

There are still many versions to go before I consider this app stable. Thank you for all users for your testing/usage so far!

Product

• [Retroactive] An arm64 (Apple Silicon) build was added to the product.

Features

N/A.

Bug Fixes

• Once the first access token is no longer valid, a new access token is requested. This should invisibly fix issues that people had with needing to constantly re-authenticate.
• On first login, playlists now appear (not just collaborative ones).
• A rare authentication loop is prevented using a new method of performing reauthentication.

Tasks

• "Logged Out" was inconsistent, especially with first login. The message will no longer be displayed.
• Instead of showing an infinite loading screen when definitely not logged in, the app now tells you to reauthenticate.

Security

• ansi-regex updated to v5.0.1 by upgrading electron-builder to v22.14.4.

Known Issues

N/A.

The SHA-256 hash for this release is:

57bd5deba355648f5e758e85bc579a429e31cba2e2d1f8734e1698fe5dba0790  dist/Now Playing-0.10.1.dmg
cd058c1061df1cefbe6dbb3a3d5f4f245f2d1e179ba4bd2ce93f48a811cf476a  dist/Now Playing-0.10.1-arm64.dmg

Please note that when I rebuilt the app for both i64 and arm64 the SHA-256 hash changed for the i64 version.

Please download the correct version for your architecture:

• If you're running a machine before mid 2020, you should download the file without arm64 in the filename.
• If you have an M1, M1 Pro, or M1 Max chip on your machine, you should download the arm64 version.

v0.10.0

Change Notes

I've been excited to release these features ever since I hard-forked the original repo!

At the very least, this is an important security update that is recommended for all users.

Product

N/A.

Features

• Major overhaul of the OAuth2 authentication process.

You can now log out and log in.

When you log out, the title of the tray icon will be changed to reflect this. Note that since Now Playing will try to authenticate you on login, it only shows Logged Out when you explicitly do so:

Of course, the right click context menu allows you to log back in at any time:

Now, the most important feature added in v0.10.0 (aside from a major bug fix of a defect preventing successful log in) was the addition of browser-based authentication. Users will no longer need to blindly trust Now Playing in regards to phishing risk and can now use the classic OAuth2 flow they are likely used to:

You can safely click "always allow" because the protocol used is now-playing://.

Bug Fixes

• Logging in is no longer impossible.

Tasks

• Began a major refactor of some of the old code smells of the parent repository.

There are a number of things that don't particularly work for me of the original project. Modernisation of the codebase has been an ongoing effort in order to attract third party developers (especially approaching Hacktoberfest) which includes moving the entire codebase to TypeScript + React (with scoped styles) rather than pure JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

I think potential contributors should keep in mind that I'm aware of certain problems in the architectural pattern of Now Playing. I am working actively to fix them.

• Regenerated the lock file and updated some dependencies.

Security

• See Features above: the user no longer needs to trust that Now Playing is not trying to steal login information.

Known Issues

• On first login, more often than not, private playlists are not shown (only collaborative ones) when trying to add a song to a playlist.

A workaround for this is simply to close and re-open the app. This would have been fixed in v0.10.0 if not for the fact that users were not able to authenticate without a workaround.

The SHA-256 hash for this release is:

dc25768308c3d3213979fac365d7661ef8f08170962ff81dcb6a564fd4733147  dist/Now Playing-0.10.0.dmg

v0.9.1

Change Notes

This is a hotfix to fix notifications not appearing on the current macOS Monterey beta. It also contains security updates and is recommended for all users.

Bugfixes

• Notifications: outdated version of the notifications engine updated to latest to support notifications on macOS Monterey.
• Dock: dock icon does not appear anymore (neither active nor inactive).

Tasks

• Slightly reworded dropdown menu (on right click on status bar).
• Feedback link in the status menu goes to a better form for logged-in GitHub accounts.
• Removed unused Sentry integration reducing local errors and possibly improving performance.
• Several other software dependencies were updated to later versions resulting in potentially better security and performance.
• Improved codebase (still JS for now) for potential contributors.

The SHA-256 hash for this release is:

5afef518ac0ee34318f6d25b69d560c968452dbdec5409c67394ca357437850a  Now Playing-0.9.1.dmg

v0.9.0

Change Notes

The main change this version aside from some notable bug fixes is our update from major version 3 of Electron to major version 13 (the current version). This may not affect our users that much, but it provides a good precedent for future development.

Product

• Another rename: the application is now known as Now Playing for usability and legal reasons.
• The marketing materials present in the README.md are much easier on the eyes now.

Bugfixes

• UX: The "song in tray" feature now does not scroll such that the display is not jittery.
• UX: macOS Light mode is now supported.

Tasks

• Several security and feature updates to our main framework, Electron (v3.1.14 -> v13.1.6).

Known Issues

• The dock icon may appear in the "most recently used apps" section. This will be patched in the next minor version.

The SHA-256 hash for this release is:

cefa75f1ecbb814290cf4d6266124b48df196e1a28a574f2e21424ccdbd35054  Now Playing-0.9.0.dmg

v0.8.1

Change Notes

This is a hotfix. Users of v0.8.0 should immediately update to this version.

Bugfixes

• The updater no longer pops up if your version is equal or greater than the latest GitHub version.
• Dependencies are correct for the released application.

The SHA-256 hash for this release is:

775e6716a65d1bf64809f8e170d82024178bf67c7b142ed3ab7f9fc4212b1c34  dist/Now Playing for Spotify-0.8.1.dmg

v0.8.0

Change Notes

Hotfixed: please use v0.8.1 instead of this version!

This is the first version of Spotify Now Playing published by @teaminkling.

Product

• The application is now known as Now Playing for Spotify for usability and legal reasons.
• The application logo has been changed.
  • Big thanks to Inkling Interactive designer Cindy Xu! 🎉

Features

• Notifications now show album art.

Bugfixes

• The "next song" button in the notification now works.

Tasks

• Various configuration management fixes for maintainers.
  • README.md is more up-to-date and concise in its goals as well as developer/distributor documentation.
  • .github folder has been updated with some Actions and shorter issue templates for a better contributor experience.
• Presentation and usability fixes for the updater and the app when no music is playing.

Security

• The .app file is now code signed and notarised.
• Various security updates have been applied to dependencies.

The SHA-256 hash for this release is:

838d85c158aa6d59f95bac03915448efc1f9d728d421394ae9a47bd46c3bea9d  dist/Now Playing for Spotify-0.8.0.dmg

v0.7.0

This is a version in the original repository.

The changelog states:

• Add song name in the menu bar (thanks to @incognitojam 🎉 🎉 👊).

v0.6.1

This is a version in the original repository.

The changelog states:

• Add timeout of 5 seconds to notification.

v0.6.0

This is a version in the original repository.

The changelog states:

• Add notification when song changes (thanks to @bressan3!! 🎉 🎉 👊 );
• Add shuffle option (again, thanks to @bressan3!! 🎉 🎉 👊 );
• Improve control of errors.

v0.5.1

This is a version in the original repository.

The changelog states:

• Add automatic error tracking with Sentry;
• Add message when update has downloaded.