Search and track-loading broken, slow startup, while audio playback works (ncspot & spotify-player)

[DonMatiX]

Describe the bug
ncspot suffers from multiple performance and functional regressions:

1. Extremely slow initial loading time (which did not happen two weeks ago).
2. Songs under "Tracks" fail to appear, or only appear intermittently.
3. When searching using the search menu (F2), the search appears to initiate, but no results are ever loaded or displayed.
4. Curiously, if you trigger playback on any audio or track, it actually plays fine, but the core interface functionality (searching, proper tracks rendering) is broken.
5. I also tested spotify-player, and it exhibited the exact same issues. However, I tested psst as an alternative, and it works perfectly without any of these problems.
   Additional Context

• This is a sudden regression; everything worked perfectly until recently.
• I was originally using version 1.3.4.
• I have tried reinstalling it multiple times via pacman, but it did not fix the issue.
• I also tried using cargo to install/test the absolute latest version to see if it was resolved upstream, but that didn't work either.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install ncspot (tested with version 1.3.4 via pacman and the latest version via cargo).
2. Launch ncspot in the terminal and observe the unusually long startup delay.
3. Navigate to the "Tracks" section and notice that songs are missing or won't load.
4. Press F2, enter a search query, and execute it.
5. Watch the search stay stuck in a loading state without returning any results.

Expected behavior
Fast application startup, consistent and reliable display of tracks, and search queries returning matching results instantly, just like it used to do.

Screenshots

System (please complete the following information):

• OS: Arch Linux
• Terminal: kitty

[mrwensveen]

It looks like the spotify API responds with a 429 (Too Many Requests):
[2026-09-08][00:40:39] [ureq::unit] [DEBUG] response 429 to GET https://api.spotify.com/v1/search?q=Wax+Tailor&type=album&limit=50&market=from_token&offset=0

According to the docs an app can apply for "Extended quota mode". Another option would be to implement rate limiting.

I'm not a Rust dev, but I can try to take a look at the second option.

[mrwensveen]

Interesting. Rate limiting is implemented here, but the match on line 124 and 125 doesn't seem to be matching.

I do get [2026-09-08][00:59:03] [ncspot::spotify_api] [DEBUG] http error: StatusCode(Response[status: 429, status_text: Too Many Requests, url: https://api.spotify.com/v1/search?q=Wax&type=track&market=from_token&limit=50&offset=0]), which corresponds to line 123, but no output after that. This means it falls through to line 144: _ => None, I think?

[jrmullins]

Seems like all ncspot instances share a client id and spotify rate limits it

https://github.com/hrkfdn/ncspot/blob/main/src/authentication.rs#L13-L14

[askldjd]

Confirmed @jrmullins' findings.

I changed the NCSPOT_CLIENT_ID to my own client ID (created with https://developer.spotify.com) and it worked. I also had to mess with the Redirect URI and OAuth Scope. Newer spotify client has no support for callback port randomization. Some OAuth scope has also been deprecated.

This is a bit messy. I am happy to put up my branch if anyone cares.

[mrwensveen]

It's not uncommon for apps to share a client id, if Spotify is okay with that (devs can apply for this). Having users creating their own is a hassle for normal users, but it works.
I'll see if I can fix the rate limiting back-off code.

[hrkfdn]

Problem is a bunch of clients just copied the ncspot client ID without asking (which is tied to my personal Spotify account). In the dashboard I can see that users have tripled. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify is pulling the plug on this.. 😞

[mrwensveen]

Problem is a bunch of clients just copied the ncspot client ID without asking (which is tied to my personal Spotify account). In the dashboard I can see that users have tripled. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify is pulling the plug on this.. 😞

That sucks. Maybe the documentation should point out @askldjd's suggestion. For example, RClone has this documentation for Google Drive: https://rclone.org/drive/#making-your-own-client-id

[hrkfdn]

Problem is a bunch of clients just copied the ncspot client ID without asking (which is tied to my personal Spotify account). In the dashboard I can see that users have tripled. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify is pulling the plug on this.. 😞

That sucks. Maybe the documentation should point out @askldjd's suggestion. For example, RClone has this documentation for Google Drive: https://rclone.org/drive/#making-your-own-client-id

Sounds like a good idea

[JakobVokac]

It's not uncommon for apps to share a client id, if Spotify is okay with that (devs can apply for this). Having users creating their own is a hassle for normal users, but it works. I'll see if I can fix the rate limiting back-off code.

Apologies, if I'm asking dumb questions here.. I experienced the same issue, but I installed ncspot via Flathub and went through the authentication links you setup and authenticated my account. Does that just tie it to your Client ID anyway?

[vortex36]

I've been noticing the same issues the last few days. Would appreciate a guide or some instructions on how to follow @askldjd's solution and use my own client ID.

[mrwensveen]

It's not uncommon for apps to share a client id, if Spotify is okay with that (devs can apply for this). Having users creating their own is a hassle for normal users, but it works. I'll see if I can fix the rate limiting back-off code.

Apologies, if I'm asking dumb questions here.. I experienced the same issue, but I installed ncspot via Flathub and went through the authentication links you setup and authenticated my account. Does that just tie it to your Client ID anyway?

This is not a dumb question at all. The Client ID identifies the application that uses Spotify's API (or whatever cloud service the application is using). The authentication links give you a set of credentials that identify you so Spotify can determine what you have access to. It depends on the cloud service how to use these pieces of information. Spotify seems to tie rate limiting to the application (at least).

I've been noticing the same issues the last few days. Would appreciate a guide or some instructions on how to follow @askldjd's solution and use my own client ID.

Currently, you'd need to patch and build ncspot yourself using @askldjd's fork. Maybe they can create a PR? @askldjd is the client_id configurable in your code? I can write up a HOWTO on getting your own client id.