Notes · the public notebook
Technical notes worth publishing.
This section is for technical notes with a useful argument, a concrete example, or a decision another engineer can inspect. Drafts stay private until they meet that standard.
- Python
Download Spotify cover art in full resolution with Python
Pull the high-res cover for any track — no API key, no account. A one-liner for one, a small loop for a whole folder, and the option to bake it into a preview.
- Python
Export Spotify track data to a CSV in Python (no API key)
Turn a column of Spotify links into a clean spreadsheet — name, artists, preview — with the standard csv module and no OAuth. Or dump the whole record to JSON.
- Python
Search Spotify from Python without an API key
Type a query, get typed results — tracks, artists, albums — straight from the anonymous tier the web player uses. No client ID, no OAuth, no app to register.
- Python
How to handle Spotify API rate limits in Python (or skip them)
The official Spotify Web API returns 429s when you push too hard. Here's how to back off correctly — and how to avoid the limit entirely for public data.
- Python
Get Spotify lyrics in Python (with your own cookie)
Lyrics are the one part that needs a login. Here's how to read time-synced lyrics for any track in Python — authenticating as yourself, with nothing leaving your machine.
- Python
spotify_scraper vs the official Spotify Web API — which should you use?
One needs an app, a client secret, OAuth, and lives inside rate limits. The other reads public pages with no account. An honest comparison, and how to choose.
- Python
Getting Spotify data in Python without the official API
No app registration, no client ID, no OAuth. How to pull tracks, albums, and playlists — and download a 30-second preview or cover art — straight from Spotify's public web player.
- AI
Verification is the layer everyone skips
In the agent era, everyone can fetch a page. Almost nobody checks that the data they pulled out of it is actually true.