Support media keys in Macos

[rbingham]

It would be nice if spotatui could be controlled using the media keys. That way I wouldn't have to focus the tui to change songs, pause etc.

[LargeModGames]

I've implemented macOS media keys support (play/pause, next, previous) using Apple's MPRemoteCommandCenter API in this commit
Could you test it for me again by building from the main branch?

cargo build --release --no-default-features --features telemetry,streaming,portaudio-backend,audio-viz-cpal,macos-media
# Run the binary
./target/release/spotatui

assuming you have already cloned the repo.

Once it's running and playing music, please test:

1. Keyboard media keys: Play/pause, next track, previous track
2. Control Center: Check if spotatui appears in the Now Playing widget
3. Touch Bar (if applicable): Media controls
4. AirPods/Bluetooth headphones: Play/pause button

Let me know if any of these work or if you see any errors on startup!

[rbingham]

I tried building using the provided command, but it failed to build. I have attached the output.

output.txt

[LargeModGames]

I'll fix this but if we continue this way it will probably take a bit longer.

If anyone with a mac and some time would be willing to help that would be awesome

[LargeModGames]

Made some changes
Can you try again?

git pull
cargo run --release --no-default-features --features telemetry,streaming,portaudio-backend,audio-viz-cpal,macos-media

[LargeModGames]

@rbingham I moved this to the macos-branch if you still want to test it.

git fetch origin
git switch macos || git switch -c macos origin/macos

cargo build --release --no-default-features --features telemetry,streaming,portaudio-backend,audio-viz-cpal,macos-media
./target/release/spotatui

[rbingham]

@LargeModGames Sorry for the delay. I have tested using the macos branch and things seem to be working properly. Thank you again for working on it.

[LargeModGames]

Added in v0.34.5

[mylesagray]

Just commenting here to say I don't see the "Now Playing" feature working unfortunately.

MacOS 26.3, M4 Pro.

Using the latest debug build for logs, I gathered the following - the only error seems to be PortAudio underwrite:

❯ cat /tmp/spotatui_logs/spotatuilog17894
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] spotatui 0.36.3-debug.1 starting up
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] audio backend initialized
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] panic hook configured
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] user config loaded successfully
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] client authentication config loaded
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] authentication token loaded from cache
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer ..."} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] app state initialized
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] launching interactive terminal ui
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][spotatui][INFO] initializing native streaming player
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][librespot_playback::mixer::softmixer][INFO] Mixing with softvol and volume control: Log(60.0)
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][librespot_playback::convert][INFO] Converting with ditherer: tpdf
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][librespot_playback::audio_backend::portaudio][INFO] Using PortAudio sink with format: S16
[2026-02-23][11:22:11][librespot_core::session][INFO] Connecting to AP "ap-gew1.spotify.com:4070"
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][librespot_core::session][INFO] Authenticated as 'redacted' !
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][librespot_core::session][INFO] Country: "GB"
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] native streaming player initialized as 'spotatui'
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] native playback enabled - spotatui is available as a spotify connect device
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] discord rich presence disabled
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] spawning native player event handler
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] spawning spotify network event handler
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] starting terminal ui event loop
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui][INFO] ui thread initialized
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/player/devices", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer ...} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][librespot_core::spclient][INFO] Resolved "gew1-spclient.spotify.com:443" as spclient access point
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/player/devices", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer ..."} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:12][spotatui::app][INFO] navigating to UpdatePrompt
[2026-02-23][11:22:13][librespot_connect::spirc][INFO] active device is <> with session <092157bc531c41cca8f1021a18a92f4b>
[2026-02-23][11:22:13][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/player/devices", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer ..."} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:13][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer ..."} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][librespot_connect::state::context][WARN] couldn't load context info because: context is not available. type: Default
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][librespot_playback::player][INFO] Loading <A Dance with Death> with Spotify URI <spotify:track:4nPccd5X4QL2kXgUtkNNqH>
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][librespot_connect::state::context][WARN] couldn't load context info because: context is not available. type: Default
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][symphonia_format_ogg::demuxer][INFO] starting new physical stream
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][symphonia_format_ogg::demuxer][INFO] selected vorbis mapper for stream with serial=0x0
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][librespot_playback::player][INFO] <A Dance with Death> (622013 ms) loaded
[2026-02-23][11:22:16][librespot_connect::state::context][WARN] couldn't load context info because: context is not available. type: Default
[2026-02-23][11:22:20][spotatui::app][INFO] navigating back
[2026-02-23][11:22:24][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/albums/7rey4d8RBJj7nCKO4vzQbM/tracks", query: Some("limit=19&offset=0"), fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer ..."} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:24][spotatui::app][INFO] navigating to AlbumTracks
[2026-02-23][11:22:26][librespot_connect::spirc][WARN] SpircCommand::Activate will be ignored while already active
[2026-02-23][11:22:27][librespot_playback::player][INFO] Loading <Everything Here Is Black and Blinding> with Spotify URI <spotify:track:0JPxVU1FpdOsGdgCkUkIbp>
[2026-02-23][11:22:27][symphonia_format_ogg::demuxer][INFO] starting new physical stream
[2026-02-23][11:22:27][symphonia_format_ogg::demuxer][INFO] selected vorbis mapper for stream with serial=0x0
[2026-02-23][11:22:28][librespot_playback::player][INFO] <Everything Here Is Black and Blinding> (462400 ms) loaded
[2026-02-23][11:22:28][librespot_playback::audio_backend::portaudio][ERROR] PortAudio write underflow
[2026-02-23][11:22:54][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: POST, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("accounts.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/api/token", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"content-type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"} }
[2026-02-23][11:22:54][rspotify::clients::base][INFO] Token cache write ignored (not configured)

[LargeModGames]

@mylesagray I made some changes that would hopefully fix this, could you test it for me? its in this commit 2f17364

[mylesagray]

Unfortunately still not media key functionality, or "Now Playing" showing up in the OS, though the logs now point to the interface being registered.

❯ cat /tmp/spotatui_logs/spotatuilog83144
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][spotatui][INFO] spotatui 0.36.3-debug.1 starting up
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][spotatui][INFO] audio backend initialized
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][spotatui][INFO] panic hook configured
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][spotatui][INFO] user config loaded successfully
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][spotatui][INFO] client authentication config loaded
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][spotatui][INFO] authentication token loaded from cache
[2026-02-23][17:16:26][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: POST, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("accounts.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/api/token", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"content-type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"} }
[2026-02-23][17:16:31][spotatui][INFO] cached authentication token is invalid, re-authentication required
[2026-02-23][17:16:31][spotatui][INFO] starting spotify authentication flow on port 8888
[2026-02-23][17:16:31][rspotify::auth_code_pkce][INFO] Building auth URL
[2026-02-23][17:16:31][rspotify::auth_code_pkce][INFO] Generating PKCE codes
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][spotatui][INFO] authorization code received, requesting access token
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][rspotify::auth_code_pkce][INFO] Requesting PKCE Auth Code token
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: POST, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("accounts.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/api/token", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"content-type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"} }
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][rspotify::clients::base][INFO] Token cache write ignored (not configured)
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][spotatui][INFO] token cached to /Users/<snip>/.config/spotatui/.spotify_token_cache_f4d359f5.json
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][spotatui][INFO] successfully authenticated with spotify
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][spotatui][INFO] Using fallback client ID f4d359f5bfdd4804a4b18205a605c4e8
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][spotatui][INFO] app state initialized
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][spotatui][INFO] launching interactive terminal ui
[2026-02-23][17:16:39][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:16:44][spotatui][INFO] initializing native streaming player
[2026-02-23][17:16:44][spotatui::infra::player::streaming][INFO] Using cached streaming credentials
[2026-02-23][17:16:44][librespot_playback::mixer::softmixer][INFO] Mixing with softvol and volume control: Log(60.0)
[2026-02-23][17:16:44][spotatui::infra::player::streaming][INFO] Initializing Spirc with device_id=ababf7f0-37ba-4802-852e-9dd5147ed8d9
[2026-02-23][17:16:44][librespot_playback::convert][INFO] Converting with ditherer: tpdf
[2026-02-23][17:16:44][librespot_playback::audio_backend::portaudio][INFO] Using PortAudio sink with format: S16
[2026-02-23][17:16:52][librespot_core::session][INFO] Connecting to AP "ap-gew1.spotify.com:4070"
[2026-02-23][17:16:55][librespot_core::session][INFO] Authenticated as '<snip>' !
[2026-02-23][17:16:55][librespot_core::session][INFO] Country: "GB"
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui::infra::player::streaming][INFO] Streaming connection established!
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] native streaming player initialized as 'spotatui'
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] native playback enabled - spotatui is available as a spotify connect device
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] macos now playing interface registered - media keys enabled
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] discord rich presence disabled
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] spawning native player event handler
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] spawning spotify network event handler
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] starting terminal ui event loop
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][spotatui][INFO] ui thread initialized
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/player/devices", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/player/devices", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:16:59][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/player/devices", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:17:06][spotatui::core::app][INFO] navigating to UpdatePrompt
[2026-02-23][17:17:06][librespot_core::spclient][INFO] Resolved "gew1-spclient.spotify.com:443" as spclient access point
[2026-02-23][17:17:07][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/playlists", query: Some("offset=0&limit=50"), fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:17:07][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/playlists", query: Some("limit=50&offset=50"), fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:17:10][librespot_connect::spirc][INFO] active device is <> with session <55ded06b38ff407e984c51af65080878>
[2026-02-23][17:17:10][rspotify_http::reqwest][INFO] Making request RequestBuilder { method: GET, url: Url { scheme: "https", cannot_be_a_base: false, username: "", password: None, host: Some(Domain("api.spotify.com")), port: None, path: "/v1/me/", query: None, fragment: None }, headers: {"authorization": "Bearer "} }
[2026-02-23][17:17:13][librespot_connect::state::context][WARN] couldn't load context info because: context is not available. type: Default
[2026-02-23][17:17:14][librespot_playback::player][INFO] Loading <Blood Will Have Blood> with Spotify URI <spotify:track:5BKUoAZadc322KnT65ODEL>
[2026-02-23][17:17:14][librespot_connect::spirc][WARN] SpircCommand::Activate will be ignored while already active
[2026-02-23][17:17:14][symphonia_format_ogg::demuxer][INFO] starting new physical stream
[2026-02-23][17:17:14][symphonia_format_ogg::demuxer][INFO] selected vorbis mapper for stream with serial=0x0
[2026-02-23][17:17:14][librespot_connect::state::context][WARN] couldn't load context info because: context is not available. type: Default
[2026-02-23][17:17:14][librespot_playback::player][INFO] <Blood Will Have Blood> (1631040 ms) loaded
[2026-02-23][17:17:29][spotatui::core::app][INFO] navigating back
[2026-02-23][17:17:34][spotatui::core::app][INFO] toggling playback: playing
[2026-02-23][17:17:35][librespot_playback::player][ERROR] Player::play called from invalid state: Playing { track_id: SpotifyUri("spotify:track:5BKUoAZadc322KnT65ODEL"), play_request_id: 0 }
[2026-02-23][17:17:56][spotatui::core::app][INFO] toggling playback: paused
[2026-02-23][17:17:58][spotatui::core::app][INFO] toggling playback: playing
[2026-02-23][17:17:58][librespot_playback::player][ERROR] Player::play called from invalid state: Playing { track_id: SpotifyUri("spotify:track:5BKUoAZadc322KnT65ODEL"), play_request_id: 0 }

[Vi1i]

Same issue, I may take a look later today myself.