Technical notes about software systems, automation, open-source maintenance, and practical engineering decisions.https://aliakhtari.com/en-ushttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/download-spotify-cover-art-python/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/download-spotify-cover-art-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.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/export-spotify-data-csv-python/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/export-spotify-data-csv-python/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.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/search-spotify-without-api-python/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/search-spotify-without-api-python/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.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-api-rate-limits-python/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-api-rate-limits-python/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.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-lyrics-python/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-lyrics-python/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.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-scraper-vs-spotify-api/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-scraper-vs-spotify-api/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.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-data-in-python-without-the-api/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/spotify-data-in-python-without-the-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.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://aliakhtari.com/notes/verification-is-the-layer-everyone-skips/https://aliakhtari.com/notes/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.Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT