This guide explains how to obtain a new Spotify refresh token that includes the necessary scopes for accessing endpoints such as "currently playing" and "top tracks" using the Spotify API.

Note: You must have a Spotify Developer account and a registered application on the Spotify Developer Dashboard before proceeding.

Prerequisites

• Spotify Developer Account: Create an account or log in at the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
• Registered Application: Ensure you have created an app and added a valid Redirect URI.
• Client Credentials: Have your Spotify Client ID and Client Secret handy.
• Node.js Environment: For running the provided Node.js script.
  Tip: Node.js v18+ includes the fetch API by default.

Step 1: Construct the Authorization URL

To begin, you need an authorization URL that requests the required scopes. For accessing the currently playing track and top tracks, include:

• user-read-currently-playing
• user-top-read

Example Authorization URL:

https://accounts.spotify.com/authorize?client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&response_type=code&redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI&scope=user-read-currently-playing%20user-top-read&show_dialog=true

Replace: YOUR_CLIENT_ID with your actual Spotify Client ID. YOUR_REDIRECT_URI with the exact URI registered in your Spotify Developer Dashboard. Ensure the URI matches exactly (protocol, domain, port, and trailing slash, if any).

Step 2: Authorize and Retrieve the Code

1. Open the Authorization URL in your browser.
2. Log in to Spotify (if needed) and grant the requested permissions.
3. After granting permissions, Spotify will redirect you to your specified Redirect URI with a query parameter named code. For example:

https://your-app.com/callback?code=AUTHORIZATION_CODE&state=some_state

4. Copy the AUTHORIZATION_CODE from the URL. This code is temporary and will be used to request your tokens.

Step 3: Exchange the Authorization Code for Tokens

You now need to exchange the authorization code for an access token and a refresh token. This is done by sending a POST request to Spotify’s token endpoint.

Install Dependencies (if needed): If you're using Node.js older than v18, install node-fetch:

npm install node-fetch

Create a file named getRefreshToken.js (you can also find it in the repo) with the following content:

// If using Node.js v18+, you can remove the import statement below.
import fetch from 'node-fetch'; // For Node.js versions < 18; remove if not needed
 
const client_id = 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID';
const client_secret = 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET';
const redirect_uri = 'YOUR_REDIRECT_URI';
const code = 'YOUR_AUTHORIZATION_CODE'; // Replace with the code you copied from the URL
 
const basic = Buffer.from(`${client_id}:${client_secret}`).toString('base64');
 
async function getToken() {
  const response = await fetch('https://accounts.spotify.com/api/token', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Basic ${basic}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
    },
    body: new URLSearchParams({
      grant_type: 'authorization_code',
      code,
      redirect_uri,
    }),
  });
 
  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
}
 
getToken().catch(console.error);

Run the script:

node getRefreshToken.js

Response Example:

{
  "access_token": "BQD...",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "refresh_token": "AQD...",
  "scope": "user-read-currently-playing user-top-read"
}

Troubleshooting

Invalid Redirect URI Error

• Double-check that the redirect_uri used in your script exactly matches the one registered in your Spotify Developer Dashboard.

Insufficient Scopes Error

• Make sure the authorization URL includes all necessary scopes (user-read-currently-playing and user-top-read).

Node.js Module Type Warning

• If you receive warnings about module types, add type:module to your package.json if you wish to consistently use ES modules.

Hope it helped, peace out.