Daily Podcasts for Spotify

A Python script that creates and maintains a Spotify playlist with the latest episodes from your favorite daily podcasts. Run it each morning and your playlist is ready to go.

Why?

Spotify doesn't auto-queue podcast episodes. If you listen to multiple daily shows (news briefings, etc.), you have to manually find and queue each one every morning. This script does it for you.

Two ways to run it

• Python script (this page) — simplest option: runs on your machine, tokens cached locally, automate with cron or a LaunchAgent.
• Cloudflare Worker (worker/) — self-hosted and fully automated: updates every morning on Cloudflare's free tier without your computer being on, and includes a web UI for connecting Spotify and managing your podcast list.

Features

• Creates a private "Daily Podcasts" playlist
• Clears old episodes and adds today's latest
• Supports multiple podcasts
• Custom playlist cover image
• Caches auth tokens (only authorize once)

Setup

1. Create a Spotify Developer App

1. Go to developer.spotify.com/dashboard
2. Click Create App
3. Fill in:
   • App name: Daily Podcasts
   • App description: Daily podcast playlist updater
   • Redirect URI: http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback
4. Click Save
5. Go to Settings and copy your Client ID and Client Secret

2. Configure the Script

Edit queue_podcasts.py and add your credentials:

SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID = "your_client_id_here"
SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET = "your_client_secret_here"

Add your podcasts to the PODCASTS list:

PODCASTS = [
    {
        "name": "FT News Briefing",
        "show_id": "1410RabA4XOqO6IV8p0gYF"
    },
    {
        "name": "Up First from NPR",
        "show_id": "2mTUnDkuKUkhiueKcVWoP0"
    }
]

3. Install Dependencies

pip install requests

4. Run

python queue_podcasts.py

The first run opens a browser for Spotify authorization. After that, tokens are cached and it runs without interaction.

Finding a Podcast's Show ID

1. Open the podcast in Spotify
2. Click ⋯ → Share → Copy link to show
3. The show ID is in the URL between /show/ and ?:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2mTUnDkuKUkhiueKcVWoP0?si=...
                               └─────────────────────┘
                                     show_id

Options

# Default: today's episodes, replaces playlist contents
python queue_podcasts.py

# Include episodes from the last 2 days
python queue_podcasts.py --days 2

# Add new episodes without removing old ones
python queue_podcasts.py --keep-old

# Always keep each show's most recent episode, even if it's older
# than the time window (so shows without a new episode stay queued)
python queue_podcasts.py --keep-latest

# Use a custom playlist name
python queue_podcasts.py --playlist "Morning News"

# Combine options
python queue_podcasts.py --days 2 --keep-old --playlist "Weekly Pods"

Custom Playlist Cover

Set a custom cover image by editing the config:

PLAYLIST_COVER_IMAGE = "/path/to/cover.jpg"

Requirements:

• JPEG format
• Square dimensions (300x300 or 640x640 recommended)
• Under 256KB

Automation

macOS/Linux: Run daily with cron

crontab -e

Add:

0 6 * * * cd /path/to/daily-podcasts && python3 queue_podcasts.py >> ~/podcasts.log 2>&1

macOS: Run at login with LaunchAgent

Create ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dailypodcasts.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.dailypodcasts</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/bin/python3</string>
        <string>/path/to/queue_podcasts.py</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Hour</key>
        <integer>6</integer>
        <key>Minute</key>
        <integer>0</integer>
    </dict>
</dict>
</plist>

Load it:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dailypodcasts.plist

Troubleshooting

"Invalid redirect URI"

Make sure your Spotify app's Redirect URI is exactly:

http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback

Click Add after entering it, then Save.

"Authorization failed" or token issues

Clear cached tokens and re-authorize:

rm ~/.spotify_podcast_token.json
python queue_podcasts.py

Need to add a new scope (e.g., after updating the script)

Same fix — clear tokens and re-authorize:

rm ~/.spotify_podcast_token.json
python queue_podcasts.py

Playlist was deleted

The script will recreate it on the next run. To reset the cached playlist ID:

rm ~/.spotify_podcast_playlist.json
python queue_podcasts.py

License

MIT