Files
spotifast/docs/_guide/getting-started.md
Carmine Paolino 16a9dde2ca Drop the old name from packages, release scripts and docs
Packages no longer install a fastpotify command or declare that they
replace, provide or conflict with the old packages. Releases no longer
carry the 0.9.1 bridge files, the release script only checks and sums
Spotifast downloads, and the Flatpak, Homebrew, macOS and Windows
recipes lose their old-identity branches and clean-ups. Packaging CI
tests the v0.11.2 release instead of installing the 0.8.0 package first.
The Rename page and the notes pointing to it are gone.

Updates begun by 0.10.2 or earlier on Windows relaunch fastpotify.exe,
which the installer no longer provides; such an install updates, but
needs starting by hand once.
2026-10-03 14:18:23 +02:00

128 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown

---
title: Getting Started
description: Install the app, sign in through your browser, and enable playback on this computer.
nav_order: 2
---
## Install
Choose your system on the [Download page](/download/) and follow its
installation steps. Then open **Spotifast**.
## Sign in
Press **Sign in with Spotify**. Your browser opens Spotify's sign-in page.
Approve access there, then return to Spotifast to see your library.
Spotifast never sees your Spotify password.
Spotifast remembers your sign-in using your computer's protected storage,
so you normally do not need to sign in each time you open the app.
## Enable playback on this computer
**Playing music requires Spotify Premium.** To listen on this computer,
open the device menu in the bottom player bar and select **Set up playback
here**, or find the same option in Settings.
Spotify asks you to approve playback separately from library access. Follow
the browser prompt once; Spotifast remembers this approval too.
[Read more about the two sign-ins](/how-it-connects/).
The computer then appears as a Spotify Connect device named **Spotifast**.
You can rename it in Settings.
## Basics
- **Closing the window does not stop the music.** Spotifast keeps playing
from the system tray; reopen it from the tray icon and quit from the tray
menu or Ctrl+Q. On macOS you can also reopen it from the Dock. Settings can
turn this off. On Linux, including Flatpak, a desktop with a working system
tray is required for this behavior.
- **Play and Pause fade.** With the default audio settings, music played on
this computer fades in or out to avoid a hard cut.
- **Play buttons show progress.** The button spins until Spotify responds.
- **Artist names are links.** Click a credited artist in the player bar to
open their page, even while the rest of the song's details are loading.
- **Common actions have shortcuts.** Space plays and pauses, Ctrl+F or `/`
searches, and `Q` opens the queue. Ctrl+/ shows the full list.
- **Right-click for more actions.** Right-click a song, playlist, album,
artist, or podcast to see its menu. These menus are available in Home,
Search, Library, and artist pages. Your own playlists include **Edit details**
and **Delete**. Opening a menu does not start playback.
In **Add to playlist**, type a playlist name to find it, or choose
**New playlist**. Typing chooses the first match, so `Enter` adds to it;
the up and down arrows choose another. You can add one song or a selection.
If the playlist already contains the song, Spotifast asks before adding
another copy.
- **Spotify links open in Spotifast.** A `spotify:` link shared from another
app opens its page, starting Spotifast if it is not running. Links to
`open.spotify.com` go through the browser first, which hands them over the
same way. `spotifast <link>` does the same from a terminal.
## Match your desktop theme
Open **Settings → Appearance → Theme** and choose **Light**, **Dark**, or
**Follow system**. Follow system matches your desktop's appearance.
On Omarchy, Spotifast matches your desktop theme from the first time you open
it; the AUR package also installs the theme hook. Choose **Follow system** or **Omarchy**, then change your
desktop theme: Spotifast's colours follow while the music keeps playing.
New installations already use Follow system. Updating keeps your previous
theme choice.
For your own colours or a manual installation, see
[custom themes and Omarchy setup](/settings-and-files/#custom-themes).
## If song titles show empty boxes
Spotifast uses your computer's fonts to display titles in different languages.
macOS and Windows already include fonts for most languages. On Linux,
install `noto-fonts` and `noto-fonts-cjk` (Arch) or `fonts-noto` and
`fonts-noto-cjk` (Debian or Ubuntu) if letters are missing.
Titles can mix languages, including those written from right to left.
Long titles are shortened with dots to fit the available space.
![Japanese, Chinese, and Korean titles in a playlist](/assets/images/scripts.png)
## Choosing the interface language
Spotifast uses your computer's language when it has a translation for it, and
English otherwise. To pick another language, open **Settings → Appearance →
Language**. Each language is listed under its own name, and the change applies
at once. Choose **System** to follow the computer again. Spanish and Turkish
are complete; other translations are in progress, and anything not yet translated
appears in English. See [Translating Spotifast](/translating/) to help.
## Choosing which app opens Spotify links
On macOS, opening Spotifast makes it available for Spotify links. If Spotify's
own app is installed too, macOS uses whichever app last registered for them.
On Windows, choose the app in **Settings → Apps → Default apps**.
On Linux, after installing the current app launcher:
```sh
xdg-mime default spotifast.desktop x-scheme-handler/spotify
```
## If your network needs a proxy
**In development, not included in 0.8.0:** you can configure a proxy, a server
your network uses to reach the internet, on the sign-in screen or in
**Settings → Proxy**. Enter the address, port, and any login details supplied
by your network administrator. Spotifast protects the saved proxy password.
If it cannot save the password, it tells you and uses it only until you quit.
Playing music on this computer supports only HTTP proxies without a login.
With other proxy types, music connects directly to Spotify even though
browsing uses the proxy. Your browser has separate proxy settings, which may
also need configuring for sign-in.
See [proxy options and limits](/how-it-connects/#proxy).
## Build from source
If you want to build Spotifast yourself, follow the
[build instructions in the README](https://github.com/crmne/spotifast#install).
They list the Rust version and other tools needed for each system.