Note: Spotify for Linux is a labor of love from our engineers that wanted to listen to Spotify on their Linux development machines. They work on it in their spare time and it is currently not a platform that we actively support. The experience may differ from our other Spotify Desktop clients, such as Windows and Mac. $ snap install spotify Installing Spotify via RPM Fusion Repository in Fedora. RPM Fusion is a third-party software repository, that provides add-on packages for the Fedora Linux distribution. To install and enable RPM Fusion repository on the Fedora system use the following commands.
Spotify is the biggest music streaming service in the world with hundreds of millions of users around the world using it daily— and it’s available for Linux distros including Ubuntu.
- After the software sources updated, you can install the app to your system. Sudo apt-get install spotify-client Install Spotify For Other Linux Distributions. A few years ago, if you didn’t use Ubuntu, Debian or Linuxes based on these operating systems, the odds of using Spotify on your PC were very slim. In 2017, this is no longer true.
- Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs.
- If your distribution is Ubuntu, you can use the newly-released package by Spotify, the Snap for installing Spotify on Linux. Actions will be different on different versions of ubuntu. For Users who running Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04: Just go to Ubuntu Software Center, pick up the Spotify app and then install the Spotify snap package on your Linux.
- Though it may seem pointless to install Nuvola, seeing as how there isn’t much difference from the official app, it isn’t. Installing the Nuvola Spotify client on your Linux desktop is a great way to still get access to Spotify, the way the service intends while saving precious RAM and CPU usage.
The popularity of Spotify means there are lots of folks wondering how to install Spotify on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and above. So in this guide I walk you through the whole process, step by step.
There are free Spotify apps for Android and iOS, and the Spotify web player caters to those who like want to listen to the service from a web browser.
But it’s the Spotify desktop client for Windows, Mac and Linux that most people prefer to use, and it is this version this guide will show you how to install.
How to Install Spotify in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
You can install the Spotify for Linux client in Ubuntu and Linux Mint in a number of different ways. The two listed below are the most common (and recommended) methods. Which you choose is up to you and your preferences
Official Spotify Snap App
You can install the official Spotify Snap app on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and above (as well as on any Linux distro that supports Snap apps) very easily:
This makes installation super simple:
If you want to install Spotify from the command line you can run:
Both methods get you the exact same app.
Add the Spotify Linux Repository
Not a fan of Snap applications? You can add the official Spotify Linux repository to your system’s list of software sources to install the exact same desktop client in a more traditional manner.
Add the official repo to get automatic updates to new Spotify desktop releases automatically, as and when they’re released.
You can add the Spotify repository to your list of software sources in Ubuntu in two different ways: GUI and CLI.
First, you need to open the Software Sources app:
When the window opens select the ‘Other Software’ tab in Software Sources [1]
Click ‘Add’ [2] and paste the following the entry field of the box that appears:
Install Spotify For Linux
Click ‘Add Source’ [3] to confirm the change, then close Software Sources.
You can achieve the same thing using the command line:
Add the Spotify Repository Key
With the repo added the next step is to add the repository key. This allows Ubuntu, Linux Mint and other distros to verify that packages installed from this repository are made by who they say they are.
Open a new Terminal window, paste the following command, and hit return/enter:
CLI Fan? Run a single command
If you’re comfortable with the command line you can add the Spotify repository and its security key from the CLI by running the following command:
That’s that!
You can now install Spotify on Ubuntu using the Ubuntu Software app (after checking for new software updates first).
Alternatively, you can install the app by running the following command in the Terminal window:
Once installed, launch the Spotify desktop app from your preferred app launcher or app menu, sign in, and enjoy!
If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber — get you, fancy pants — did you know you easily stream music from the command line?
Like, music from the actual Spotify library?
Well, you can! And it’s all thanks to an ncurses Spotify written in Rust called (obviously) ncspot.
Now I know what you’re thinking: there is an official, sanctified, and (somewhat regularly) updated Spotify for Linux client for the desktop. It’s even available as a Snap.
Linux Install Spotify
Command line? Pah! Who needs it. We should use what Spotify gives us, for free, and say thanks, right?
And you’re right.
Well, half right.
Well, maybe not even half right because the official Spotify desktop app is aab outright, absolute, never ending garbage fire.
It works (sometimes) but it runs poorly. And while it might integrate with Linux DEs to the point I can smush a keyboard media key to skip a track, that’s only really useful if the thing plays some music to skip in the first place!
Maybe I’m being mean. But it has just taken me nigh on 6 minutes to go from launching the Spotify for Linux apps to it actually loading, let alone doing what I want (which is play New Found Glory’s cover of Eye of the Tiger in honour of the new Ubuntu 20.04 wallpaper) so whatever 💁🏻♂️.
ncspot is a CLI Spotify Player
Back to ncspot, source code for which you’ll find up on Github.
Keep in mind that as this is a geekishly (new word, learn it) cool tool and superbly designed (for a terminal app) it isn’t what a man more patronising than me would describe as ‘grandpa-friendly’.
— tl;dr: this is not the “easiest” way to listen to Spotify on Linux.
But it works well, which is all I really care about as I like to listen to music, not stare at it.
Helpfully the app even boasts support for MPRIS, i.e. media player controls:
And it can be configured with keybindings too — neat!
Oh, I haven’t even mentioned that it’s super resource efficient yet, either!
That’s what I call a table.
But best of all ncspot is very easy to install on virtually any Linux distro out there because it’s available as a Snap app on the Snapcraft store.
To install ncspot on Ubuntu run:
Boom — done!
The first time you run ncspot in a new terminal window you’ll be prompted to login with your Spotify Premium account. This is all “on screen” and easy to do. The app even saves your credentials after login so that you don’t have to login each time you use it.
And that’s pretty much all there is to it!
Be sure to take a few minutes out to glance over the litany of keyboard shortcuts needed to navigate the UI, manage tracks, queues and playlists, and so on.
Bad news: there are a lot of shortcuts to learn.
Good news: they are very logical and easy to remember.
Better yet, if you forget which key does what just press the ? key with the CLI tool in focus to call up a handy cheat sheet.
In summary, if you’re not put off by the idea of streaming music from a command line app and you happen to be a Spotify Premium subscriber there’s no better client out there than ncspot.
P.S., in case you missed the memo in the copy above, this client does not work with free Spotify accounts. I checked. So, for something similar, try Tizonia instead.
Try it out and let me know what you think of it in the comments — and if you fancy hand crafting a Yaru-themed colour scheme for it, do share it below!
Linux Spotify App
H/t Popey