Build Spotify Playlist

When to Use

• User asks to create, build, or generate a Spotify playlist
• User describes a mood, genre, artist, or theme they want a playlist for
• User says "make me a playlist", "playlist like X", "songs similar to Y"

Workflow

Step 1: Load Tools

Always load spotify MCP tools first:

ToolSearch "+spotify auth search create playlist add tracks"

Step 2: Authenticate

Always call mcp__spotify__auth-spotify before any other spotify tool. This must happen every session.

Step 3: Generate Track List (Claude as Recommender)

DO NOT use get-recommendations -- it returns 404 (Spotify deprecated it Nov 2024).

Instead, use your own knowledge to generate a list of ~20-25 artist/track pairs based on the user's request. Guidelines:

• If user names an artist, include 3-4 tracks from that artist plus 8-12 similar artists with 1-2 tracks each
• Cycle through artists for variety (don't group all tracks by one artist together)
• Mix well-known tracks with deeper cuts
• Consider the mood/energy arc of the playlist

Step 4: Search for Tracks

Search for each track using mcp__spotify__search-spotify:

• Use "Artist Name Track Title" as the query
• Set type: "track" and limit: 3
• Pick the first result that matches the correct artist -- search results often include unrelated tracks
• Run searches in parallel batches (4-5 at a time) for speed
• If a track isn't found, skip it and move on

Step 5: Create Playlist

Use mcp__spotify__create-playlist with:

• A descriptive name based on the user's request
• A short description mentioning the featured artists
• public: false by default (ask user if they want it public)

Step 6: Add Tracks

Use mcp__spotify__add-tracks-to-playlist:

• Add all found track IDs in one or two calls (max ~50 per call)
• Pass the playlist ID from the create step

Step 7: Present Results

Show the user:

• Playlist name with Spotify URL
• Numbered track listing with artist names
• Note any tracks that couldn't be found

API Endpoint Notes (Critical)

These were patched in ~/Code/mcp-claude-spotify to fix 403 errors:

• create-playlist uses POST /me/playlists (not the deprecated /users/{userId}/playlists)
• add-tracks-to-playlist uses POST /playlists/{id}/items (not the deprecated /playlists/{id}/tracks)

If either returns 403, check that the build/index.js has the correct endpoints.

Example Flow

User: "Make me a playlist of chill acoustic folk"

1. ToolSearch "+spotify auth search create playlist add tracks"
2. auth-spotify
3. Generate list: Iron & Wine - Naked As We Came, Nick Drake - Pink Moon, Fleet Foxes - Mykonos, etc.
4. Search each in parallel batches
5. create-playlist: name="Chill Acoustic Folk", description="Warm acoustic folk -- Iron & Wine, Nick Drake, Fleet Foxes, and more"
6. add-tracks-to-playlist with all found track IDs
7. Present the playlist with link and track listing