--- name: apple-music version: 0.6.0 description: Apple Music integration via AppleScript (macOS) or MusicKit API ---

Apple Music Integration

Guide for integrating with Apple Music. Covers AppleScript (macOS), MusicKit API (cross-platform), and the critical library-first requirement.

When to Use

Invoke when users ask to:

• Manage playlists (create, add/remove tracks, list)
• Control playback (play, pause, skip, volume)
• Search catalog or library
• Add songs to library
• Access listening history or recommendations

Critical Rule: Library-First Workflow

You CANNOT add catalog songs directly to playlists.

Songs must be in the user's library first:

• ❌ Catalog ID → Playlist (fails)
• ✅ Catalog ID → Library → Playlist (works)

Why: Playlists use library IDs (i.abc123), not catalog IDs (1234567890).

This applies to both AppleScript and API approaches.

Platform Comparison

| Feature | AppleScript (macOS) | MusicKit API | |---------|:-------------------:|:------------:| | Setup required | None | Dev account + tokens | | Playlist management | Full | API-created only | | Playback control | Full | None | | Catalog search | No | Yes | | Library access | Instant | With tokens | | Cross-platform | No | Yes |

---

AppleScript (macOS)

Zero setup. Works immediately with the Music app.

Run via Bash:

osascript -e 'tell application "Music" to playpause'
osascript -e 'tell application "Music" to return name of current track'

Multi-line scripts:

osascript <<'EOF'
tell application "Music"
    set t to current track
    return {name of t, artist of t}
end tell
EOF

Available Operations

| Category | Operations | |----------|------------| | Playback | play, pause, stop, resume, next track, previous track, fast forward, rewind | | Player State | player position, player state, sound volume, mute, shuffle enabled/mode, song repeat | | Current Track | name, artist, album, duration, time, rating, loved, disliked, genre, year, track number | | Library | search, list tracks, get track properties, set ratings | | Playlists | list, create, delete, rename, add tracks, remove tracks, get tracks | | AirPlay | list devices, select device, current device |

Track Properties (Read)

tell application "Music"
    set t to current track
    -- Basic info
    name of t           -- "Hey Jude"
    artist of t         -- "The Beatles"
    album of t          -- "1 (Remastered)"
    album artist of t   -- "The Beatles"
    composer of t       -- "Lennon-McCartney"
    genre of t          -- "Rock"
    year of t           -- 1968

    -- Timing
    duration of t       -- 431.0 (seconds)
    time of t           -- "7:11" (formatted)
    start of t          -- start time in seconds
    finish of t         -- end time in seconds

    -- Track info
    track number of t   -- 21
    track count of t    -- 27
    disc number of t    -- 1
    disc count of t     -- 1

    -- Ratings
    rating of t         -- 0-100 (20 per star)
    loved of t          -- true/false
    disliked of t       -- true/false

    -- Playback
    played count of t   -- 42
    played date of t    -- date last played
    skipped count of t  -- 3
    skipped date of t   -- date last skipped

    -- IDs
    persistent ID of t  -- "ABC123DEF456"
    database ID of t    -- 12345
end tell

Track Properties (Writable)

tell application "Music"
    set t to current track
    set rating of t to 80          -- 4 stars
    set loved of t to true
    set disliked of t to false
    set name of t to "New Name"    -- rename track
    set genre of t to "Alternative"
    set year of t to 1995
end tell

Player State Properties

tell application "Music"
    player state          -- stopped, playing, paused, fast forwarding, rewinding
    player position       -- current position in seconds (read/write)
    sound volume          -- 0-100 (read/write)
    mute                  -- true/false (read/write)
    shuffle enabled       -- true/false (read/write)
    shuffle mode          -- songs, albums, groupings
    song repeat           -- off, one, all (read/write)
    current track         -- track object
    current playlist      -- playlist object
    current stream URL    -- URL if streaming
end tell

Playback Commands

tell application "Music"
    -- Play controls
    play                          -- play current selection
    pause
    stop
    resume
    playpause                     -- toggle play/pause
    next track
    previous track
    fast forward
    rewind

    -- Play specific content
    play (first track of library playlist 1 whose name contains "Hey Jude")
    play user playlist "Road Trip"

    -- Settings
    set player position to 60     -- seek to 1:00
    set sound volume to 50        -- 0-100
    set mute to true
    set shuffle enabled to true
    set song repeat to all        -- off, one, all
end tell

Library Queries

tell application "Music"
    -- All library tracks
    every track of library playlist 1

    -- Search by name
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose name contains "Beatles"

    -- Search by artist
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose artist contains "Beatles"

    -- Search by album
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose album contains "Abbey Road"

    -- Combined search
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose name contains "Hey" and artist contains "Beatles"

    -- By genre
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose genre is "Rock"

    -- By year
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose year is 1969

    -- By rating
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose rating > 60  -- 3+ stars

    -- Loved tracks
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose loved is true

    -- Recently played (sort by played date)
    tracks of library playlist 1 whose played date > (current date) - 7 * days
end tell

Playlist Operations

tell application "Music"
    -- List all playlists
    name of every user playlist

    -- Get playlist
    user playlist "Road Trip"
    first user playlist whose name contains "Road"

    -- Create playlist
    make new user playlist with properties {name:"New Playlist", description:"My playlist"}

    -- Delete playlist
    delete user playlist "Old Playlist"

    -- Rename playlist
    set name of user playlist "Old Name" to "New Name"

    -- Get playlist tracks
    every track of user playlist "Road Trip"
    name of every track of user playlist "Road Trip"

    -- Add track to playlist (must be library track)
    set targetPlaylist to user playlist "Road Trip"
    set targetTrack to first track of library playlist 1 whose name contains "Hey Jude"
    duplicate targetTrack to targetPlaylist

    -- Remove track from playlist
    delete (first track of user playlist "Road Trip" whose name contains "Hey Jude")

    -- Playlist properties
    duration of user playlist "Road Trip"   -- total duration
    time of user playlist "Road Trip"       -- formatted duration
    count of tracks of user playlist "Road Trip"
end tell

AirPlay

tell application "Music"
    -- List AirPlay devices
    name of every AirPlay device

    -- Get current device
    current AirPlay devices

    -- Set output device
    set current AirPlay devices to {AirPlay device "Living Room"}

    -- Multiple devices
    set current AirPlay devices to {AirPlay device "Living Room", AirPlay device "Kitchen"}

    -- Device properties
    set d to AirPlay device "Living Room"
    name of d
    kind of d           -- computer, AirPort Express, Apple TV, AirPlay device, Bluetooth device
    active of d         -- true if playing
    available of d      -- true if reachable
    selected of d       -- true if in current devices
    sound volume of d   -- 0-100
end tell

String Escaping

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