lastfm_monitor

Powerful real-time tracker for Last.fm that brings your music data to life with automated Spotify playback, instant activity alerts and deep scrobble analytics.

🚀 Quick Install

pip install lastfm_monitor

Features

Real-time tracking of songs listened by Last.fm users (including detection of when a user gets online or offline)
Possibility to automatically play songs listened by the tracked user in your local Spotify client
Information about when a user pauses or resumes playback with the option to show a track progress indicator
Information about the duration the user listened to a song and whether the song was skipped and if it was shorter or longer than the track duration
Tracking of Last.fm user's followers and followings with notifications when users are added or removed
Email notifications for various events (user becomes active or inactive, specific or all songs, songs on loop, new entries appearing while user was offline, followers/followings changes, errors)
Webhook notifications through Discord, ntfy and compatible integrations with event-specific controls
Saving all listened songs with timestamps to the CSV file
Last.fm Wrapped tool for generating Spotify Wrapped-style statistics (top artists, tracks, albums) from CSV data
Clickable Last.fm, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, Genius Lyrics, AZLyrics, Tekstowo.pl, Musixmatch and Lyrics.com search URLs printed in the console and included in email notifications (configurable per service)
Displaying basic statistics for the user's playing session (duration, time span, number of listened and skipped songs, songs on loop, paused playback time and number of pauses, songs played count)
Support for detecting offline mode
Support for detecting Spotify's private mode (not 100% accurate)
Status persistence - automatically saves the last activity status and the number and list of followings/followers to JSON files to track changes across restarts
Flexible configuration - support for config files, dotenv files, environment variables and command-line arguments
Possibility to control the running copy of the script via signals
Functional, procedural Python (minimal OOP)

Requirements

Python 3.9 or higher
Libraries: pyLast, requests, python-dateutil, PyOTP, Spotipy, python-dotenv, beautifulsoup4

Tested on:

macOS: Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, Tahoe
Linux: Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye, Bookworm, Trixie), Ubuntu 24/25, Rocky Linux 8.x/9.x, Kali Linux 2024/2025
Windows: 10, 11

It should work on other versions of macOS, Linux, Unix and Windows as well.

Installation

Install from PyPI

pip install lastfm_monitor

Manual Installation

Download the lastfm_monitor.py file to the desired location.

Install dependencies via pip:

pip install pylast requests python-dateutil pyotp spotipy python-dotenv beautifulsoup4

Alternatively, from the downloaded requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Upgrading

To upgrade to the latest version when installed from PyPI:

pip install lastfm_monitor -U

If you installed manually, download the newest lastfm_monitor.py file to replace your existing installation.

Quick Start

Grab your Last.fm API Key and Shared Secret and track the lastfm_username music activities:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -u "your_lastfm_api_key" -w "your_lastfm_api_secret"

Or if you installed manually:

python3 lastfm_monitor.py <lastfm_username> -u "your_lastfm_api_key" -w "your_lastfm_api_secret"

To get the list of all supported command-line arguments / flags:

lastfm_monitor --help

Configuration

Configuration File

Most settings can be configured via command-line arguments.

If you want to have it stored persistently, generate a default config template and save it to a file named lastfm_monitor.conf:

# On macOS, Linux or Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe)
lastfm_monitor --generate-config > lastfm_monitor.conf

# On Windows PowerShell (recommended to avoid encoding issues)
lastfm_monitor --generate-config lastfm_monitor.conf

IMPORTANT: In Windows PowerShell, do not use > for this command. Some PowerShell versions write redirected text as UTF-16, which makes Last.fm Monitor report a "null bytes" error. Pass the filename to --generate-config so Last.fm Monitor writes a UTF-8 file itself.

When you include the filename, Last.fm Monitor writes the template directly as UTF-8. This avoids PowerShell changing the file encoding during redirection.

Edit the lastfm_monitor.conf file and change any desired configuration options (detailed comments are provided for each).

New in v2.3: The configuration file includes options to enable/disable music service URLs (Last.fm, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal) and lyrics service URLs (Genius, AZLyrics, Tekstowo.pl, Musixmatch, Lyrics.com) in console and email outputs.

New in v2.5: The track duration and automatic playback features use the official OAuth app Web API when optional app credentials are configured. The anonymous web-player backend is the new automatic fallback and requires no Spotify credentials.

Last.fm API Key and Shared Secret

Create your Last.fm API key and Shared secret at: https://www.last.fm/api/account/create
- Or get your existing credentials from: https://www.last.fm/api/accounts
Provide the LASTFM_API_KEY and LASTFM_API_SECRET secrets using one of the following methods:
- Recommended: run lastfm_monitor --set-lastfm-credentials and enter both values through hidden prompts
- Pass it at runtime with -u / --lastfm-api-key and -w / --lastfm-secret
- Set it as an environment variable (e.g. export LASTFM_API_KEY=...; export LASTFM_API_SECRET=...)
- Add it to .env file (LASTFM_API_KEY=... and LASTFM_API_SECRET=...) for persistent use
- Fallback: hard-code it in the code or config file

If you store the LASTFM_API_KEY and LASTFM_API_SECRET in a dotenv file you can update their values and send a SIGHUP signal to the process to reload the file with the new secret values without restarting the tool. More info in Storing Secrets and Signal Controls (macOS/Linux/Unix).

The hidden setup command keeps both values out of shell history and process listings:

lastfm_monitor --set-lastfm-credentials

User Privacy Settings

In order to monitor Last.fm user activity, proper privacy settings need to be enabled on the monitored user account.

The user should go to Last.fm Privacy Settings.

The Hide recent listening information setting should be disabled.

Otherwise you will get this error message returned by the pyLast library: 'Login: User required to be logged in'.

Spotify Metadata Backends

The track duration feature and automatic playback feature both need Spotify track metadata:

Duration lookup needs the Spotify track duration
Automatic playback needs the Spotify track ID so the local Spotify client knows which track to play

Spotify app credentials are not mandatory for either feature. The tool can obtain the required metadata from the anonymous web-player backend. If you configure OAuth app credentials, the official Spotify Web API is tried first.

Version 2.5 uses this metadata order:

Official Spotify Web API search through optional OAuth app Client Credentials
Anonymous web-player search and Pathfinder getTrack metadata
Last.fm duration as the final fallback

Optional Spotify OAuth App Setup

Follow these steps if you want the official Spotify Web API to be the primary metadata backend:

Log in to the Spotify Developer Dashboard
Select Create app
Enter an app name and description
For Redirect URI, enter http://127.0.0.1:1234
- The Client Credentials flow does not redirect a user, but Spotify's app form requests a redirect URI
- Use the numeric loopback address exactly as shown because Spotify does not allow localhost
Under the API selection, choose Web API
Accept Spotify's Developer Terms of Service and create the app
Open the app settings
Copy the Client ID
Select View client secret and copy the Client Secret

Spotify currently requires the owner of a Development Mode app to have an active Spotify Premium subscription. See Spotify's February 2026 Development Mode migration guide for the current restrictions.

Provide SP_CLIENT_ID and SP_CLIENT_SECRET using one of these methods:

Recommended: run lastfm_monitor --set-spotify-credentials and enter both values through hidden prompts
Pass them at runtime with -z / --spotify-creds
- Use the SP_CLIENT_ID:SP_CLIENT_SECRET format with a colon between the values
Set them as environment variables, for example export SP_CLIENT_ID=... and export SP_CLIENT_SECRET=...
Add them to a dotenv file as SP_CLIENT_ID=... and SP_CLIENT_SECRET=...
Add them to lastfm_monitor.conf
As a final fallback, hard-code them in lastfm_monitor.py

Command-line example:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -z "your_spotify_app_client_id:your_spotify_app_client_secret"

The -z value may remain visible in shell history or process listings. Prefer the hidden setup command for persistent credentials:

lastfm_monitor --set-spotify-credentials

The tool refreshes OAuth app access tokens automatically. The token cache path is configured through SP_TOKENS_FILE and defaults to .lastfm-monitor-oauth-app.json. Set SP_TOKENS_FILE to an empty string to use memory-only caching.

If you store SP_CLIENT_ID and SP_CLIENT_SECRET in a dotenv file, you can update them and send SIGHUP to reload the values without restarting the tool. See Storing Secrets and Signal Controls.

The OAuth backend relies on Spotipy's expiration-aware Client Credentials cache. It does not call a separate Web API endpoint to validate tokens. If credentials are absent, token retrieval fails or OAuth search returns incomplete metadata, the anonymous backend runs automatically.

The tool fetches Spotify server time before generating the required v61 TOTP parameters. It caches the anonymous token until its expiration window and discovers the current persisted-query hashes from the active web-player bundle. An HTTP 401 refreshes the token once. A rejected persisted query refreshes its hash once.

The v61 version and cipher bytes ship as the SPOTIFY_TOTP_VERSION and SPOTIFY_TOTP_SECRET_CIPHER_BYTES config options. If Spotify rotates the secret you can update them from the config file using the spotify_monitor_secret_grabber tool without a code change.

Spotify metadata supplies the track duration, title, artists, album, URI and external URL. Last.fm duration remains the final fallback when Spotify web metadata is unavailable or incomplete.

With -r, a successful duration from either Spotify backend is marked S*. Last.fm fallback duration is marked L*. Without -r, Last.fm remains the duration source while Spotify metadata can still resolve a track ID for -g playback.

SMTP Settings

If you want to use email notifications functionality, configure SMTP settings in the lastfm_monitor.conf file.

Verify your SMTP settings by using --send-test-email flag (the tool will try to send a test email notification):

lastfm_monitor --send-test-email

Webhook Settings

Webhook alerts work independently from email. Discord and ntfy are supported directly. Compatible services can use the Discord request format or the advanced payload and header settings.

First save the private destination through a hidden prompt:

lastfm_monitor --set-webhook-url

The command validates that the destination is a complete HTTPS URL then updates only WEBHOOK_URL in .env. Existing values require confirmation. Use --env-file PATH to select another private settings file.

Set WEBHOOK_ENABLED = True in lastfm_monitor.conf then choose WEBHOOK_PROVIDER = "discord" or WEBHOOK_PROVIDER = "ntfy". Standard Discord and ntfy.sh URLs correct a mismatched configured provider automatically.

Enable the events you want through the WEBHOOK_*_NOTIFICATION settings. Last.fm Monitor supports active, inactive, monitored track, every song, loop, offline entry, follower, following and error alerts. Matching command-line switches are listed under Webhook Notifications.

Test delivery without starting monitoring:

lastfm_monitor --send-test-webhook

For automation or one-run tests, --webhook-url URL overrides the saved destination and enables webhooks. This value may remain visible in shell history or process listings, so --set-webhook-url is recommended for normal setup. --webhook-provider {discord,ntfy} overrides the request format for one run.

Protected ntfy topics can use NTFY_ACCESS_TOKEN from an environment variable or dotenv file. The token is sent with Bearer authentication. A custom Authorization header can also be supplied through WEBHOOK_HEADERS.

WEBHOOK_USERNAME, WEBHOOK_AVATAR_URL, WEBHOOK_TEMPLATE, WEBHOOK_TRANSFORMS and WEBHOOK_HEADERS provide the same Discord-format customization model as Spotify Monitor. Header values and template values support placeholders such as {title}, {description}, {version}, {color}, {timestamp}, {username} and {avatar_url}. NTFY_SHORT = True uses compact activity text on smaller screens without changing Discord or email content.

Last.fm Monitor does not attach artwork to ntfy alerts because it does not retrieve a trusted artwork source. Webhook delivery remains text-only.

Storing Secrets

It is recommended to store secrets like LASTFM_API_KEY, LASTFM_API_SECRET, SP_CLIENT_ID, SP_CLIENT_SECRET, SMTP_PASSWORD, WEBHOOK_URL or NTFY_ACCESS_TOKEN as either an environment variable or in a dotenv file.

The safest interactive entry methods write only the selected values to .env through hidden prompts:

lastfm_monitor --set-lastfm-credentials
lastfm_monitor --set-spotify-credentials
lastfm_monitor --set-webhook-url

Each command accepts --env-file PATH. Existing values require confirmation and the update is atomic. --env-file none is rejected because these commands must save their values.

Set the needed environment variables using export on Linux/Unix/macOS/WSL systems:

export LASTFM_API_KEY="your_lastfm_api_key"
export LASTFM_API_SECRET="your_lastfm_api_secret"
export SP_CLIENT_ID="your_spotify_app_client_id"
export SP_CLIENT_SECRET="your_spotify_app_client_secret"
export SMTP_PASSWORD="your_smtp_password"
export WEBHOOK_URL="your_private_webhook_url"
export NTFY_ACCESS_TOKEN="your_ntfy_access_token"

On Windows Command Prompt use set instead of export and on Windows PowerShell use $env.

Alternatively store them persistently in a dotenv file (recommended):

LASTFM_API_KEY="your_lastfm_api_key"
LASTFM_API_SECRET="your_lastfm_api_secret"
SP_CLIENT_ID="your_spotify_app_client_id"
SP_CLIENT_SECRET="your_spotify_app_client_secret"
SMTP_PASSWORD="your_smtp_password"
WEBHOOK_URL="your_private_webhook_url"
NTFY_ACCESS_TOKEN="your_ntfy_access_token"

By default the tool will auto-search for dotenv file named .env in current directory and then upward from it.

You can specify a custom file with DOTENV_FILE or --env-file flag:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --env-file /path/.env-lastfm_monitor

You can also disable .env auto-search with DOTENV_FILE = "none" or --env-file none:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --env-file none

As a fallback, you can also store secrets in the configuration file or source code.

Usage

Monitoring Mode

To monitor specific user activity, just type Last.fm username as a command-line argument (lastfm_username in the example below):

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username>

If you have not set LASTFM_API_KEY and LASTFM_API_SECRET secrets, you can use -u and -w flags:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -u "your_lastfm_api_key" -w "your_lastfm_api_secret"

To provide optional Spotify OAuth app credentials for one run, use -z / --spotify-creds:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -z "your_spotify_app_client_id:your_spotify_app_client_secret"

By default, the tool looks for a configuration file named lastfm_monitor.conf in:

current directory
home directory (~)
script directory

If you generated a configuration file as described in Configuration, but saved it under a different name or in a different directory, you can specify its location using the --config-file flag:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --config-file /path/lastfm_monitor_new.conf

To enable tracking of followers and/or followings changes:

set TRACK_FOLLOWERS and/or TRACK_FOLLOWINGS to True
or use the --track-followers and/or --track-followings flags

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --track-followers --track-followings

The tool runs until interrupted (Ctrl+C). Use tmux or screen for persistence.

You can monitor multiple Last.fm users by running multiple copies of the script.

The tool automatically saves its output to lastfm_monitor_<username>.log file. It can be changed in the settings via LF_LOGFILE configuration option or disabled completely via DISABLE_LOGGING / -d flag.

Set ASCII_LOG_SEPARATORS to "Auto" (default) to use ASCII separator-only lines on Windows, "On" to use them on every operating system or "Off" to preserve Unicode separators in logs everywhere. Terminal separators stay Unicode. Log files and all other logged text remain UTF-8.

The tool also saves the last activity information (artist, track, timestamp) to lastfm_<username>_last_activity.json file and the number and list of followings and followers to lastfm_<username>_followings.json and lastfm_<username>_followers.json files (if tracking is enabled), so this data can be reused if the tool is restarted.

Listing Mode

There is another mode of the tool that prints the recently listened tracks for the user (-l flag).

You can also add the -n flag to specify how many tracks should be displayed, by default it shows the last 30 tracks:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -l  -n 10

If you want to not only display, but also save the list of recently listened track to a CSV file, use the -l flag with -b indicating the CSV file. As before, you can add the -n flag to specify how many tracks should be displayed/saved:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -l -n 10 -b lastfm_tracks_username.csv

Email Notifications

To enable email notifications when a user becomes active:

set ACTIVE_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the -a flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -a

To be informed when a user gets inactive:

set INACTIVE_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the -i flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -i

Inactivity emails include recent songs from the session with skipped and continued track status. Configure the number of recent songs to include via the INACTIVE_EMAIL_RECENT_SONGS_COUNT configuration option.

To be notified when new entries appear when the user is offline:

set OFFLINE_ENTRIES_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the -f flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -f

To get email notifications when a monitored track or album plays:

set TRACK_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the -t flag

For that feature you also need to create a file with a list of songs you want to track (one track or album per line). Specify the file using the MONITOR_LIST_FILE or -s flag:

Example file lastfm_tracks_username:

we fell in love in october
Like a Stone
Half Believing
Something Changed
I Will Be There

You can comment out specific lines with # if needed.

Then run the tool with -t and -s flags:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -t -s lastfm_tracks_username

To enable email notifications for every song listened by the user:

set SONG_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the -j flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -j

To be notified when a user listens to the same song on loop:

set SONG_ON_LOOP_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the -x flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -x

To disable sending an email on errors (enabled by default):

set ERROR_NOTIFICATION to False
or use the -e flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -e

To be notified when a user's followers change:

set FOLLOWERS_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the --notify-followers flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --track-followers --notify-followers

To be notified when a user's followings (friends) change:

set FOLLOWINGS_NOTIFICATION to True
or use the --notify-followings flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --track-followings --notify-followings

Notifications for changed followers and/or followings are only sent if tracking functionality is enabled (--track-followers and/or --track-followings flags).

You can also decide to use Last.fm or Spotify URL in "Last played:" / "Track:" field in HTML email notifications (see USE_LASTFM_URL_IN_LAST_PLAYED config option).

Make sure you defined your SMTP settings earlier (see SMTP settings).

Example email:

Webhook Notifications

Webhook event choices mirror email controls while remaining independent. Enable the master switch in the config file or for one run:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --webhook

Choose events with config settings or matching command-line flags:

Event	Config setting	Command-line flag
User becomes active	`WEBHOOK_ACTIVE_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-active`
User becomes inactive	`WEBHOOK_INACTIVE_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-inactive`
Monitored track or album plays	`WEBHOOK_TRACK_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-track`
Every song change	`WEBHOOK_SONG_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-song-changes`
Song plays on loop	`WEBHOOK_SONG_ON_LOOP_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-loop`
Offline scrobbles arrive	`WEBHOOK_OFFLINE_ENTRIES_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-offline-entries`
Followers change	`WEBHOOK_FOLLOWERS_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-followers`
Followings change	`WEBHOOK_FOLLOWINGS_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-followings`
Monitoring error occurs	`WEBHOOK_ERROR_NOTIFICATION`	`--webhook-errors`

An event flag also enables the master switch for that run. Use --no-webhook to disable configured webhook delivery. Use --no-webhook-error-notify to disable only error webhooks.

Examples:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --webhook-active --webhook-inactive
lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --webhook-song-changes --webhook-loop
lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> --track-followers --webhook-followers

Email and webhook delivery attempts remain independent. When loop, monitored-track and every-song choices overlap, Last.fm Monitor sends no more than one alert per channel for that song change.

See Webhook Settings for Discord, ntfy, private URL setup, test delivery and advanced request customization.

CSV Export

If you want to save all listened songs to a CSV file, set CSV_FILE or use -b flag:

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -b lastfm_tracks_username.csv

The file will be automatically created if it does not exist.

Last.fm Wrapped Tool

The lastfm_wrapped.py script generates Spotify Wrapped-style statistics from CSV files created by lastfm_monitor.py.

It analyzes your listening data and provides insights including top artists, tracks and albums for a specified time period.

Basic Usage:

By default, it generates statistics for the current year (January 1 to November 15, similar to Spotify Wrapped):

python3 tools/lastfm_wrapped.py lastfm_tracks_username.csv

Custom Date Range:

You can specify a custom date range using --from and --to flags:

python3 tools/lastfm_wrapped.py lastfm_tracks_username.csv --from 2024-01-01 --to 2024-12-31

Top N Items:

By default, it shows the top 5 items in each category, just like Spotify Wrapped. You can change this with the --top-n flag:

python3 tools/lastfm_wrapped.py lastfm_tracks_username.csv --top-n 10

Example Output:

The tool displays:

Total scrobbles for the period
Top artists (by play count)
Top tracks (by play count)
Top albums (by play count)

Automatic Playback of Listened Tracks in the Spotify Client

If you want the tool to automatically play the tracks listened to by the user in your local Spotify client:

set TRACK_SONGS to True
or use the -g flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -g

Your Spotify client needs to be installed and running for this feature to work.

Automatic playback needs a Spotify track ID for every scrobble. The tool resolves that ID through the Spotify metadata backends. It tries the official OAuth app Web API when credentials are configured, then uses the anonymous web-player backend. OAuth app credentials are optional.

The local playback action itself uses the configured platform method such as AppleScript on macOS or D-Bus on Linux. It does not use Spotify Web API playback control.

The tool fully supports automatic playback on Linux and macOS. This means it will automatically play the changed track. It will also automatically pause and resume playback following the tracked user's actions. Additionally, it can pause or play an indicated track once the user becomes inactive (see the SP_USER_GOT_OFFLINE_TRACK_ID configuration option).

For Windows, it works in a semi-automatic way: if you have the Spotify client running and you are not listening to any song, then the first track will play automatically. However, subsequent tracks will be located in the client, but you will need to press the play button manually.

You can change the playback method per platform using the corresponding configuration option.

For macOS set SPOTIFY_MACOS_PLAYING_METHOD to one of the following values:

"apple-script" (recommended, default)
"trigger-url"

For Linux set SPOTIFY_LINUX_PLAYING_METHOD to one of the following values:

"dbus-send" (most common one, default)
"qdbus" (try if dbus-send does not work)
"trigger-url"

For Windows set SPOTIFY_WINDOWS_PLAYING_METHOD to one of the following values:

"start-uri" (recommended, default)
"spotify-cmd"
"trigger-url"

The recommended defaults should work for most people.

Progress Indicator

If you want to see a real-time progress indicator showing the exact minute and second of the track the user is currently listening to:

set PROGRESS_INDICATOR to True
or use the -p flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -p

For this functionality to work correctly, it is suggested to set the active check interval (LASTFM_ACTIVE_CHECK_INTERVAL / -k flag) to a low value (such as 2-5 seconds).

Getting Track Duration from Spotify

If you want the tool to fetch the track duration from Spotify instead of Last.fm, which very often reports the wrong duration (or none at all):

set USE_TRACK_DURATION_FROM_SPOTIFY to True
or use the -r flag

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -r

Track duration is resolved through the Spotify metadata backends. The official OAuth app Web API is tried first when credentials are configured. The anonymous web-player backend runs next. Last.fm duration is used only if both Spotify backends fail or return incomplete metadata.

You will be able to tell if the track duration comes from Spotify as it has an S* suffix at the end (e.g. 3 minutes 42 seconds S*), while those coming from Last.fm have an L* (e.g. 2 minutes 13 seconds L*).

You can disable showing the track duration marks (L* S*) via the -q flag.

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -r -q

Duration marks are not displayed if the functionality to retrieve track duration from Spotify is disabled.

Private Mode Detection in Spotify

The tool includes functionality to detect when private mode is potentially used in Spotify and even estimates the duration of its usage. It is enabled by default and is not configurable.

It is not 100% accurate. I have observed that when private mode is used, especially for extended periods, it often results in many duplicate entries being created in a Last.fm account after private mode is disabled. This leads to different tracks having the same start timestamp.

I suspect this is related to a bug in Spotify and mainly occurs when the user has Spotify on multiple devices.

However, keep in mind that this is not 100% accurate. I have observed duplicate entries even without private mode, but in such cases, the number of duplicate entries is limited. Therefore, do not treat it as something completely certain, but it is a pretty good indicator that private mode was used.

Check Intervals

If you want to customize music polling intervals, use -k and -c flags (or corresponding configuration options):

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -k 2 -c 10

LASTFM_ACTIVE_CHECK_INTERVAL, -k: check interval when the user is online, i.e. currently playing (seconds)
LASTFM_CHECK_INTERVAL, -c: check interval when the user is considered offline, i.e. not playing music (seconds)

If you want to change the time required to mark the user as inactive (the timer starts once the user stops playing the music), use -o flag (or LASTFM_INACTIVITY_CHECK configuration option):

lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username> -o 120

Followers/followings tracking functionality uses a separate check interval which you can set via FRIENDS_CHECK_INTERVAL configuration option or --friends-check-interval flag. This is independent from the music polling intervals.

To avoid false notifications caused by transient API glitches, changes are only confirmed after a number of consecutive checks (default: 3). You can configure this via FRIENDS_CHANGE_COUNTER option or --friends-change-counter flag. This setting also controls the threshold for suppressing repeated error messages.

You can also configure the retry timeout used when confirming transient changes or errors via FRIENDS_RETRY_INTERVAL configuration option or --friends-retry-interval flag.

Signal Controls (macOS/Linux/Unix)

The tool has several signal handlers implemented which allow to change behavior of the tool without a need to restart it with new configuration options / flags.

List of supported signals:

Signal	Description
USR1	Toggle email notifications when user gets active/inactive or new offline entries show up (-a, -i, -f)
USR2	Toggle email notifications for every song (-j)
URG	Toggle showing of progress indicator (-p)
CONT	Toggle email notifications for tracked songs (-t)
PIPE	Toggle email notifications when user plays song on loop (-x)
TRAP	Increase the inactivity check timer (by 30 seconds) (-o)
ABRT	Decrease the inactivity check timer (by 30 seconds) (-o)
HUP	Reload secrets from .env file

Send signals with kill or pkill, e.g.:

pkill -USR1 -f "lastfm_monitor <lastfm_username>"

As Windows supports limited number of signals, this functionality is available only on Linux/Unix/macOS.

Coloring Log Output with GRC

You can use GRC to color logs.

Add to your GRC config (~/.grc/grc.conf):

# monitoring log file
.*_monitor_.*\.log
conf.monitor_logs

Now copy the conf.monitor_logs to your ~/.grc/ and log files should be nicely colored when using grc tool.

Example:

grc tail -F -n 100 lastfm_monitor_<username>.log

Change Log

See RELEASE_NOTES.md for details.

License

Licensed under GPLv3. See LICENSE.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github		.github
assets		assets
grc		grc
tests		tests
tools		tools
.gitignore		.gitignore
.gitleaks.toml		.gitleaks.toml
LICENSE		LICENSE
MANIFEST.in		MANIFEST.in
README.md		README.md
RELEASE_NOTES.md		RELEASE_NOTES.md
lastfm_monitor.py		lastfm_monitor.py
pyproject.toml		pyproject.toml
requirements.txt		requirements.txt

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