# Spotify Playlist Search API
Spotify
Searches Spotify's public playlists by keyword in any language and returns them a page at a time, in Spotify's order. Each has its title, description, cover, owner with their username and picture, the kind of list Spotify says it is, and whether its algorithm made it. The Spotify Playlist API adds the follower count, item count and dates.
GET `/v1/spotify/search_playlists`
## Example
cURL:
```shell
curl 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/spotify/search_playlists?query=workout' \
-H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"
```
TypeScript SDK:
```typescript
import { SocialTap } from "socialtap";
const client = new SocialTap(); // apiKey defaults to process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY
const res = await client.spotify.searchPlaylists.list({ query: "workout" });
console.log(res.data);
console.log(res.credits.charged, res.meta.request_id);
```
Node.js (fetch):
```javascript
const params = new URLSearchParams({
query: "workout",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/spotify/search_playlists?${params}`, {
headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, page, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);
```
Python (requests):
```python
import os
import requests
res = requests.get(
"https://socialtap.dev/v1/spotify/search_playlists",
params={"query": "workout"},
headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"]},
)
body = res.json()
if not res.ok:
raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['code']}: {body['error']['message']}")
data, page, meta = body["data"], body["page"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])
```
Go (net/http):
```go
package main
import (
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
"log"
"net/http"
"net/url"
"os"
)
func main() {
q := url.Values{}
q.Set("query", "workout")
req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/spotify/search_playlists?"+q.Encode(), nil)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
defer res.Body.Close()
var body struct {
Data json.RawMessage `json:"data"`
Page json.RawMessage `json:"page"`
Meta map[string]any `json:"meta"`
Error *struct {
Code string `json:"code"`
Message string `json:"message"`
} `json:"error"`
}
if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&body); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
if body.Error != nil {
log.Fatalf("%s: %s", body.Error.Code, body.Error.Message)
}
fmt.Println(string(body.Data), body.Meta["credits_charged"])
}
```
200 OK:
```json
{
"data": [
{
"approximate_fields": [],
"description": "Bangers Workout music for you. Also try rap, latin, reggaeton, dance, exotica",
"id": "37i9dQZF1EIeNbDmYrgnbS",
"is_collaborative": null,
"metrics": {
"post_count": null
},
"owner": {
"avatar_url": "https://i.scdn.co/image/ab6775700000ee8555c25988a6ac314394d3fbf5",
"display_name": "Spotify",
"id": null,
"is_verified": null,
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify",
"username": "spotify"
},
"platform": "spotify",
"platform_specific": {
"spotify": {
"created_at": null,
"follower_count": null,
"is_algorithmic": null,
"is_collaborative": null,
"is_deleted_by_owner": null,
"is_user_created": null,
"updated_at": null
}
},
"platform_type": "descripto",
"thumbnail_url": "https://seed-mix-image.spotifycdn.com/v6/img/desc/Bangers%20Workout/en/default",
"title": "Bangers Workout Mix",
"type": "playlist",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1EIeNbDmYrgnbS"
},
{
"approximate_fields": [],
"description": null,
"id": "2rKxqZEf3zcoateybTiJDn",
"is_collaborative": null,
"metrics": {
"post_count": null
},
"owner": {
"avatar_url": "https://i.scdn.co/image/ab6775700000ee859e5e623e05ef20c32dc9d8bc",
"display_name": "PureWow",
"id": null,
"is_verified": null,
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/user/purewow",
"username": "purewow"
},
"platform": "spotify",
"platform_specific": {
"spotify": {
"created_at": null,
"follower_count": null,
"is_algorithmic": null,
"is_collaborative": null,
"is_deleted_by_owner": null,
"is_user_created": null,
"updated_at": null
}
},
"platform_type": "playlist",
"thumbnail_url": "https://mosaic.scdn.co/640/ab67616d00001e0282db43e5091301205076d6abab67616d00001e02926f43e7cce571e62720fd46ab67616d00001e02b52264e58d9bb36257770a89ab67616d00001e02f9f27162ab1ed45b8d7a7e98",
"title": "50 Best Workout Songs That Will Have You *Actually* Breaking a Sweat",
"type": "playlist",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rKxqZEf3zcoateybTiJDn"
},
{
"approximate_fields": [],
"description": "LOCK IN LADIES!!! πͺπΌπΈππ§π»ββοΈ Revenge Body So He Regrets It, Hot Girl Walk, Hot Girls Lift Weights, Fitness Girlies, Yoga, Running, Pilates, Treadmill, Cardio, Bad Bitch Workout Playlist, Hot Gym Girls, Hot Girl Workout, BEST GYM SONGS HYPE",
"id": "0OxRbscW9gq3FzENFlUPes",
"is_collaborative": null,
"metrics": {
"post_count": null
},
"owner": {
"avatar_url": "https://i.scdn.co/image/ab6775700000ee850afa00fab7ae8a4c76278e1a",
"display_name": "BAD KITTY π",
"id": null,
"is_verified": null,
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/user/lqz5moj5fvn3k4mrdg9ewu0g1",
"username": "lqz5moj5fvn3k4mrdg9ewu0g1"
},
"platform": "spotify",
"platform_specific": {
"spotify": {
"created_at": null,
"follower_count": null,
"is_algorithmic": null,
"is_collaborative": null,
"is_deleted_by_owner": null,
"is_user_created": null,
"updated_at": null
}
},
"platform_type": "playlist",
"thumbnail_url": "https://image-cdn-fa.spotifycdn.com/image/ab67706c0000da847168a8140b4499c5b1322dbd",
"title": "HOT GIRL GYM PLAYLIST πππ»ββοΈ Girly Gym Pump, Workout Songs 2026, Beast Mode Baddie Gym Music",
"type": "playlist",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0OxRbscW9gq3FzENFlUPes"
}
],
"page": {
"has_more": true,
"next_cursor": "c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR",
"next_cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-26T12:00:00Z",
"end_reason": null
},
"meta": {
"request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
"platform": "spotify",
"source": "api",
"is_cached": false,
"credits_charged": 1,
"latency_ms": 966,
"fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
"input": null,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"client_request_id": null,
"warnings": []
}
}
```
Long arrays and strings are shortened for display; real responses are complete.
> [!NOTE]
>
> **Good to know**
>
> - Results are playlists only: the tracks, artists, albums and podcasts a query matches aren't in the list.
> - Search lists no item count, follower count, dates or collaborative flag, so metrics.post_count and those platform_specific.spotify fields are null: the Spotify Playlist API returns them.
> - platform_type is playlist, or Spotify's own name for it when it has one, such as editorial, descripto, inspiredby-mix, topic-mix, artist-mix-reader and artistsets.
> - title is null on a playlist whose title is empty or only spaces. It is still a real playlist, listed with its ID, link and owner.
> - is_algorithmic is null where Spotify says neither, as on a listener's playlist.
> - Results are in Spotify's order, which depends on the page size, so a smaller limit isn't always the top of a larger one. A walk ends with page.end_reason platform_limit where Spotify stops serving, however many it matched.
> - A page can hold fewer playlists than its limit while next_cursor goes on: repeats from the page before are dropped, and so are playlists Spotify no longer serves or whose owner it no longer names.
> - A page left with nothing is Spotify failing, not the end of the list: a first page then comes from the fallback below and a later one fails with a retryable error. The exception is a page that goes on with only a few such playlists dropped (limit=1 can hit one), which returns empty with a next_cursor.
> - Spotify answers a weak query with its nearest guesses, so an empty page is rare and any result may be a loose match. Its music filters return an empty page here, since no playlist has them, and owner: and user: are read as words, so a search can't be narrowed to one owner.
> - When Spotify's search doesn't answer, the first pages come from a web search engine's index, each playlist read from Spotify, with a partial_data warning, and owner.avatar_url is null. That list holds only what the index has, often a small part of Spotify's, in the engine's order. A next_cursor stays on the list it came from: if Spotify's search stops answering mid-walk, the next page fails with a retryable error instead of switching lists.
> - An empty query, a Spotify URI or a link to a Spotify page returns invalid_input, naming the endpoint that takes it where there is one. For a link to Spotify's search page, send its words instead.
## Authorizations
`x-api-key`stringheaderrequired
Your API key. [Authentication](https://socialtap.dev/docs/authentication/index.md)
## Query parameters
| Name | Type | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `query` required | `string`
max 250 chars | What to search for, as in Spotify's search box: a playlist's title, a mood, a genre or an artist, in any language. Spotify's filters for music (artist:, album:, track:, year:, genre:, label:, isrc:, upc:, tag:) match no playlist and answer an empty page, alone or beside other words. | `workout` |
| `lang` optional | `string`
bcp47 | Preferred language: a BCP-47 tag such as en or pt-BR (case-insensitive; _ is read as -). The language of the answer's titles and descriptions, where Spotify holds them in several, as on its own lists (Dance Pop Mix, γγ³γΉγ»γγγMix). A listener's playlist stays as they wrote it. It can reorder the results a little. | `en` |
| `limit` optional | `integer`
min 1
max 100 | Items per page, 1 to the endpoint's page size (its default and maximum; larger values are reduced to it). Omit it: every page costs the same, so a smaller limit means more pages to pay for. | `100` |
| `cursor` optional | `string` | page.next_cursor from the previous response. Send the same other parameters; omit to start from the first page. | β |
Unknown parameters are rejected with a suggestion, never ignored ([Requests](https://socialtap.dev/docs/requests/index.md)). `limit` and `cursor` page through the list: see Pagination.
**Parameters every endpoint accepts**
| Name | Type | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `max_age` optional | `integer`
min 0 | Accept a cached response up to this many seconds old. Cache hits cost 0 credits. Omit to always fetch fresh. The Cache-Control: max-age=N request header is equivalent; max_age wins when both are sent. | β |
| `fields` optional | `string` | Return only these fields of each item: comma-separated paths in the schema's notation (id,text,metrics.view_count,segments\[\].text; a parent path keeps the whole object). Unknown paths are rejected. Applied after the cache, so it changes neither the price nor cache hits; page and meta are always returned whole. | β |
## Response
### 200
`{data, page, meta}`. `data` is an array of up to 100 [playlist](https://socialtap.dev/resources/playlist/index.md) objects, Spotify's own ranking for the query; `page` says how to get the next page; `meta` describes the request ([meta](https://socialtap.dev/docs/reference/index.md#meta)). Fields only Spotify has are under `platform_specific.spotify`.
| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `data[].platform` | `string` | Platform ID (tiktok, youtube, facebook, β¦). |
| `data[].id` | `string` | Platform-native playlist ID (string): TikTok's playlist (mix) or collection ID, YouTube's list ID (PLβ¦), Facebook's video list ID. |
| `data[].url` | `string` (uri) | Canonical playlist URL. |
| `data[].type` | `string` | playlist: a list its owner curates and orders (TikTok playlists, YouTube playlists, Facebook playlists and series); collection: posts an account saved from any creator into a named public folder (TikTok collections). New values may be added; treat unknown values as playlist.
One of `playlist`, `collection` |
| `data[].platform_type` | `string` or `null` | The platform's own label, lowercase (mix, collection, playlist, series, podcast, β¦). |
| `data[].title` | `string` or `null` | Name its owner gave it. |
| `data[].description` | `string` or `null` | Description as plain text; null when it has none or the platform shows none (TikTok). |
| `data[].owner` | `object` | The account that curates it (for a collection, the account that saved the posts, not their authors). Where a platform's curators are not accounts (Apple Music), what it states of them: a name, perhaps a page and a picture, with id and username null, and every field null when it names no one. |
| `data[].owner.id` | `string` or `null` | Platform-native account ID; null when only the handle is known. |
| `data[].owner.username` | `string` or `null` | Handle without the @; null when the account has none. |
| `data[].owner.display_name` | `string` or `null` | Display name shown on the profile. |
| `data[].owner.url` | `string` (uri) or `null` | Canonical profile URL. |
| `data[].owner.avatar_url` | `string` (uri) or `null` | Profile picture URL. Platform CDN URLs can expire within hours. |
| `data[].owner.is_verified` | `boolean` or `null` | Platform verification badge; null where the platform has no badge. |
| `data[].thumbnail_url` | `string` (uri) or `null` | Cover image URL (the owner's chosen cover, else the platform's pick, often the first post's). Platform CDN URLs can expire within hours. |
| `data[].is_collaborative` | `boolean` or `null` | Whether people its owner invites can add to it as well (a collaborative playlist, a group board); null where the platform doesn't say. |
| `data[].metrics` | `object` | Counts at fetch time; null = hidden or not exposed, 0 = zero. |
| `data[].metrics.post_count` | `integer` or `null` | Posts in it as the platform counts them (it may count posts that are no longer public, so a walk of its posts can return fewer). |
| `data[].platform_specific` | `object` | Fields only this platform has, under its ID (platform_specific.\); each null when unknown. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify` | `object` or `null` | A Spotify playlist's own fields. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.follower_count` | `integer` or `null` | Listeners who follow the playlist, exact. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.is_collaborative` | `boolean` or `null` | Whether people its owner invites can add to it. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.is_algorithmic` | `boolean` or `null` | Whether Spotify marks it as assembled by its algorithm rather than by its editors; null where Spotify says neither, as on a listener's playlist or a chart. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.is_user_created` | `boolean` or `null` | True for a listener's playlist, false for one of Spotify's own. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.is_deleted_by_owner` | `boolean` or `null` | Whether its owner deleted it: Spotify goes on serving such a playlist to anyone with its link. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.created_at` | `string` (date-time) or `null` | When it was created, RFC 3339 UTC; null on Spotify's own playlists, which don't state it. |
| `data[].platform_specific.spotify.updated_at` | `string` (date-time) or `null` | When it last changed, RFC 3339 UTC. |
| `data[].approximate_fields` | `string[]` | JSON paths of values rounded by the platform, date-only or parsed from display text. \[\] when all exact. |
| `data[].unknown_fields` | `string[]` | JSON paths of lists whose \[\] means unknown rather than none (a source that cannot see them); null already means unknown for every other field. \[\] when every list is known. |
not_found and private_or_unavailable are item-level: the request was fine, the item can't be returned.
### 400
400 Bad Request: 2 error codes. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `invalid_input` | 400 | No | A parameter is missing or malformed, or the link is not one this endpoint takes. | Fix the parameter named in param as the message says. For a link of the wrong kind, call an endpoint listed in details.endpoints, when there is one. |
| `invalid_cursor` | 400 | No | The cursor is malformed or expired, belongs to another endpoint, or came with other parameters than the request that returned it. | Repeat the original request without cursor to start the list again. |
### 401
401 Unauthorized: 1 error code. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `unauthorized` | 401 | No | The x-api-key header is missing, or its key is unknown or revoked. On the dashboard's routes: the session cookie is missing or expired. | Send a valid API key in the x-api-key header. No key yet? A person gets one at details.signup_url; an AI agent follows details.agent_auth_url. |
### 402
402 Payment Required: 2 error codes. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `insufficient_credits` | 402 | No | The account does not have enough credits for this request. | Have a person buy credits at details.purchase_url (or make them a checkout link with details.checkout), then repeat the request. Do not retry automatically. |
| `spend_limit_reached` | 402 | No | The API key reached its spend limit for this period. The account may still have credits. | Wait until details.resets_at, or raise the key's spend limit (PATCH /v1/api_keys/{id}). Do not retry automatically. |
### 403
403 Forbidden: 2 error codes. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `forbidden` | 403 | No | The API key is valid but may not make this request, and details.reason says why: the account is suspended, the key lacks the route's scope, waits for its owner to confirm it by email, has expired, or was used from an IP outside its allowlist, or a rotated key's previous secret was used for a call that needs the admin scope. A running job stops with it too when its account is suspended or the key that created it is revoked or expires. It is about the key, never the item: a private item is private_or_unavailable, also 403, so branch on the code. | Act on details.reason. suspended: contact [support](mailto:support@socialtap.dev). scope: use a key with details.required_scope. previous_secret: use the new secret. key_pending: have the owner open the emailed link. key_expired or key_revoked: create a new key. ip_not_allowed: call from an allowed IP. |
| `private_or_unavailable` | 403 | No | The item exists but is not public: it is private, age- or region-restricted, or needs a login to view. It shares 403 with forbidden (which is about the key), so branch on the code. | Only public items can be fetched. Do not retry. |
### 404
404 Not Found: 1 error code. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `not_found` | 404 | No | The item does not exist or was deleted. On GET /v1/requests/{id}/response: the response was not kept (details.reason says why). | Check the link or ID. Do not retry. |
### 429
429 Too Many Requests: 1 error code. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rate_limited` | 429 | Yes, later | The account passed its runaway-protection ceiling: a high per-account limit that stops a broken client loop (plans have no rate limit). Requests without an API key (signup, the MCP server's tool listing and find_endpoint) are limited per IP address instead. It also stops an account whose failed requests in the last hour cost far more than its successful ones paid for: failures are free within a limit (the message says so), and successes raise it. | Wait the seconds in the retry-after header, then retry. If your steady traffic needs more, ask [support](mailto:support@socialtap.dev) to raise the ceiling; without an API key, send one. |
### 500
500 Internal Error: 1 error code. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `internal` | 500 | Yes, later | An unexpected error on SocialTap's side. | Retry with backoff. If it keeps happening, contact [support](mailto:support@socialtap.dev) with the request_id. |
### 502
502 Bad Gateway: 1 error code. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `upstream_error` | 502 | Yes, later | The platform failed, or answered with something we could not read. | Retry with backoff. Failed requests are free. |
### 503
503 Unavailable: 2 error codes. Free: errors cost nothing.
| Code | HTTP | Retry | Meaning | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `upstream_blocked` | 503 | Yes, later | The platform refused every attempt, our own retries included. | Retry later with backoff. Failed requests are free. |
| `overloaded` | 503 | Yes, later | SocialTap was at capacity, or paused by its operators, and did not start the request. Nothing was fetched or charged. | Retry after the seconds in the retry-after header. Failed requests are free. |
## Pagination
Items come in pages, **Spotify's own ranking for the query**. To get the next page, send **the same request plus `cursor`** set to `page.next_cursor` from the previous response. Keep every other parameter the same (limit, max_age and fields may change); anything else that differs is rejected. When `page.has_more` is `false` the walk is over, and `page.end_reason` says why: only `end` means you have every item (the others say the platform or a page cap stopped the walk early).
- **Order**: Spotify's own ranking for the query
- **Page size**: Up to 100 playlists (the default; `limit` lowers it)
- **Cursor lifetime**: 24 hours; don't store cursors
- **Price**: Per page, 1 credit
### The `page` object
| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `page.has_more` | `boolean` | True when another page exists; then next_cursor is set. An empty page with has_more true is not the end. |
| `page.next_cursor` | `string` or `null` | Pass as cursor, with the same other parameters, to get the next page; null at the end. |
| `page.next_cursor_expires_at` | `string` (date-time) or `null` | When next_cursor stops working, RFC 3339 UTC; null at the end. Don't store cursors. |
| `page.end_reason` | `string` or `null` | Why there are no more pages; null while has_more is true. end: the list ended, or reached since/until. platform_limit: the platform stops serving further pages although the list goes on. max_pages: SocialTap's cap on pages in one walk. New values may be added. A short or empty page is not the end: only has_more false is.
One of `end`, `platform_limit`, `max_pages` |
### Next page
cURL: next page:
```shell
curl 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/spotify/search_playlists?query=workout&cursor=c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR' \
-H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"
```
- The price is per page: each successful page costs the same, whatever `limit` is and however many items it has. Empty pages are charged too (an empty page with `has_more: true` is not the end).
- A `limit` below 100 doesn't save credits: the next request serves the rest of the same platform page, which is fetched again and charged as a page each time, and items can shift between those requests if the platform changes the list. Omitting `limit` is the cheapest way to walk the list.
- Errors are free, including a rejected cursor.
- Pages served from the cache are free.
- An expired or altered cursor, or one sent with different parameters, fails with [`invalid_cursor`](https://socialtap.dev/docs/errors/index.md#invalid_cursor) (HTTP 400): Repeat the original request without cursor to start the list again.
[Pagination guide](https://socialtap.dev/docs/pagination/index.md)
## Pricing
From **1 credit** per page. Charged per successful page, whatever its number of items. Errors are free. The price depends on the source that produced the result, reported as `meta.source`; sources are tried cheapest first: Platform API β Web search.
| Source | Price per successful page | Per 1,000 pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Any source | 1 credit | $0.75β$1.97 |
**Balance, sources and what you were charged**
Your balance must be at least **1 credit** to start a request; with less, it is refused with [`insufficient_credits`](https://socialtap.dev/docs/errors/index.md#insufficient_credits) (HTTP 402) and costs nothing. Only that minimum is set aside when the request starts.
| meta.source | Source | What it means |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `api` | Platform API | The platform's public, logged-out API. |
| `web_search` | Web search | A public web search engine's index of the platform's pages, where the platform has no logged-out search of its own: each result is what the index shows of the item, which can be days or weeks old. |
`meta.credits_charged` and the `x-credits-charged` header show what you paid. [How credits work](https://socialtap.dev/docs/credits/index.md) Β· [Packs](https://socialtap.dev/pricing/index.md)
Endpoint ID `spotify.search_playlists` Β· operationId `spotify.search_playlists.list` Β· [Product overview](https://socialtap.dev/apis/spotify/search_playlists/index.md)
---
[HTML version](https://socialtap.dev/docs/reference/spotify/search_playlists/) Β· [Docs index for AI agents](https://socialtap.dev/llms.txt) Β· [All docs in one file](https://socialtap.dev/llms-full.txt)