StreamCore32

StreamCore32 is a Connect-device implementation for Qobuz and Spotify, written in C++, currently targeting ESP32 with VS1053 modules.

This library is derived from feelfreelinux/cspot.

Note

• Spotify playback requires a Spotify Premium account.
• Qobuz will only play 30 seconds per track without a paid subscription.

Building

Prerequisites

Summary:

• cmake (version 3.0 or higher)
• gcc / clang for the CLI target
• esp-idf v5.5 or higher
• downloaded submodules
• golang (1.16)
• protoc
• mbedtls

This project utilizes submodules, please make sure you are cloning with the --recursive flag or use git submodule update --init --recursive.

This library uses nanopb to generate c files from protobuf definitions. Nanopb itself is included via submodules, but it requires a few external python libraries to run the generators.

To install them you can use pip:

$ pip3 install protobuf grpcio-tools

Building for ESP32

The ESP32 target is built using the esp-idf toolchain

# Follow the instructions for setting up esp-idf for your operating system, up to `. ./export.sh` or equivalent
# esp-idf has a Python virtualenv, install nanopb's dependencies in it
$ pip3 install protobuf grpcio-tools
# update submodules after each code pull to avoid build errors
$ git submodule update --init --recursive
# navigate to the targets/esp32 directory
$ cd targets/esp32
# run once after pulling the repo
$ idf.py set-target esp32

Configure streamcore according to your hardware

# run visual config editor, when done press Q to save and exit
$ idf.py menuconfig

Navigate to WiFi Configuration and provide wifi connection details

Navigate to Spotify Configuration, you may configure device name and audio quality.

Navigate to Audio Sink Configuration, you may configure the audio sink and further options.

Spotify should still be supporting different Audio Sinks, but Qobuz is currently solely focused on VS1053b.

Building and flashing

Build and upload the firmware

# compile
$ idf.py build

# upload
$ idf.py flash

The ESP32 will restart and begin running streamcore. You can monitor it using a serial console.

Optionally run as single command

# compile, flash and attach monitor
$ idf.py build flash monitor

Architecture

External interface

streamcore is meant to be used as a lightweight C++ library for playing back Spotify music and receive control notifications from Spotify connect. It exposes an interface for starting the communication with Spotify and Qobuz servers trough MDNS.

Internal details

The connection with Spotify servers to play music and recieve control information is pretty complex. First of all an access point address must be fetched from Spotify (ApResolve fetches the list from http://apresolve.spotify.com/). Then a PlainConnection with the selected Spotify access point must be established. It is then upgraded to an encrypted ShannonConnection.