The Unofficial Spotify App for Linux is Back from the Dead

Spotify Premium subscribers on Linux will be pleased to hear that they (once again) have an alternative to the official Linux client.

I’m pleased to report that development on Spot has resumed, after more than a year of no updates.

If you’re unfamiliar with it, Spot is unofficial Spotify client for Linux built in Rust and GTK, and using the open-source librespot library (which means the app can only work with Spotify Premium accounts, sadly).

“Why use an unofficial Spotify client? Isn’t the official Spotify client for Linux good enough?”

Hmm, kinda.

Features-wise the official Spotify app for Linux is on-par with the official apps for other systems. However, the Linux app is infrequently updated, and because it’s built using web-technologies it is mildly more demanding on system resources than it ought to be.

Spot in comparison is fast, lightweight, looks great on GNOME desktops, works on ARM systems, and adapts its UI gracefully as the window gets smaller (meaning those on Linux mobile devices can use it without issue too).

Back in development

Development on Spot stalled for much of last year (blame the usual causes, i.e. real life) but the original developer is once-again back at the helm refreshed, and has a crew of new developers involved.

The first release in over a year is live on GitHub, composed primarily of bug fixes and minor tweaks, such as proper dark mode support, track preloading for gapless playback, and a batch of boring but necessary dependency updates.

I imagine the update will roll-out to existing Flathub users in the coming weeks, so if you have a Spotify Premium account do go give Spot a spin!

• Get Spot on Flathub.

The post The Unofficial Spotify App for Linux is Back from the Dead is from OMG! Linux and reproduction without permission is, like, a nope.

Source: OMG! Linux