How to use SQLAlchemy ORM to access Spotify Data in Python

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems effectively. With the CData API Driver for Python and the SQLAlchemy toolkit, you can build Spotify-connected Python applications and scripts. This article shows how to use SQLAlchemy to connect to Spotify data to query Spotify data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData Python Connector offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Spotify data in Python. When you issue complex SQL queries from Spotify, the CData Connector pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Spotify and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to Spotify Data

Connecting to Spotify data looks just like connecting to any relational data source. Create a connection string using the required connection properties. For this article, you will pass the connection string as a parameter to the create_engine function.

Using OAuth Authentication

Spotify uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You will need to create an application in the Spotify Developer Dashboard to obtain your client credentials.

Setting Up Your Spotify Application

1. Visit the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
2. Log in with your Spotify account and click Create app.
3. Provide an app name, description, and set a Redirect URI (e.g.,

   http://localhost:33333

   for desktop applications).
4. Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the app settings.

Connection Properties

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
• InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to your Spotify application's Client ID.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Spotify application's Client Secret.
• Scope: Set this to the required OAuth scopes (space-separated). The default includes all read scopes needed for the tables in this profile.
• CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI configured in your Spotify application (e.g., http://localhost:33333).

Example Connection String

Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;

Available OAuth Scopes

• user-read-private: Read access to user's subscription details and explicit content settings.
• user-read-email: Read access to user's email address.
• user-library-read: Read access to a user's saved tracks, albums, episodes, shows, and audiobooks.
• playlist-read-private: Read access to user's private playlists.
• playlist-read-collaborative: Read access to collaborative playlists the user follows.
• user-follow-read: Read access to the list of artists the current user follows.
• user-read-playback-state: Read access to a user's player state (device, current track, progress).
• user-read-currently-playing: Read access to a user's currently playing content.
• user-read-playback-history: Read access to a user's recently played tracks.
• user-top-read: Read access to a user's top artists and tracks.

Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing Spotify through Python objects.

Install Required Modules

Use the pip utility to install the SQLAlchemy toolkit and SQLAlchemy ORM package:

pip install sqlalchemy
pip install sqlalchemy.orm

Be sure to import the appropriate modules:

from sqlalchemy import create_engine, String, Column
from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker

Model Spotify Data in Python

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with Spotify data.

NOTE: Users should URL encode the any connection string properties that include special characters. For more information, refer to the SQL Alchemy documentation.

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip&AuthScheme=OAuth&InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH&OAuthClientId=your_client_id&OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret&CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333")

Declare a Mapping Class for Spotify Data

After establishing the connection, declare a mapping class for the table you wish to model in the ORM (in this article, we will model the Albums table). Use the sqlalchemy.ext.declarative.declarative_base function and create a new class with some or all of the fields (columns) defined.

base = declarative_base()
class Albums(base):
	__tablename__ = "Albums"
	 = Column(String,primary_key=True)
	 = Column(String)
	...

Query Spotify Data

With the mapping class prepared, you can use a session object to query the data source. After binding the Engine to the session, provide the mapping class to the session query method.

Using the query Method

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip&AuthScheme=OAuth&InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH&OAuthClientId=your_client_id&OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret&CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(Albums).filter_by(Id="4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy"):
	print(": ", instance.)
	print(": ", instance.)
	print("---------")

Alternatively, you can use the execute method with the appropriate table object. The code below works with an active session.

Using the execute Method

Albums_table = Albums.metadata.tables["Albums"]
for instance in session.execute(Albums_table.select().where(Albums_table.c.Id == "4aawyAB9vmqN3uQ7FjRGTy")):
	print(": ", instance.)
	print(": ", instance.)
	print("---------")

For examples of more complex querying, including JOINs, aggregations, limits, and more, refer to the Help documentation for the extension.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for Python to start building Python apps and scripts with connectivity to Spotify data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.