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Linux Spotify Guide

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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux Spotify Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to Spotify on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including installation, configuration, and troubleshooting.

Table of Contents

  1. Spotify Installation
  2. Spotify Configuration
  3. Audio Quality
  4. Troubleshooting

Spotify Installation

Install Spotify

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install Spotify
sudo pacman -S spotify

# Or from AUR (latest)
yay -S spotify

Debian/Ubuntu:

# Add repository
curl -sS https://download.spotify.com/debian/pubkey_5E3C45D7B312C643.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install spotify-client

Fedora:

# Install from RPM Fusion
sudo dnf install spotify-client

Launch Spotify

Start Spotify:

# Launch Spotify
spotify

# Or from application menu

Spotify Configuration

Account Setup

First launch:

  1. Login or Sign up
  2. Choose plan (Free or Premium)
  3. Start listening

Spotify Settings

Configure Spotify:

  1. Settings (gear icon)
  2. Audio Quality: Set quality
  3. Playback: Configure playback
  4. Social: Social features

Audio Quality

Quality Settings

Configure quality:

  1. Settings → Audio Quality
  2. Very High: 320 kbps (Premium)
  3. High: 160 kbps
  4. Normal: 96 kbps
  5. Low: 24 kbps

Audio Backend

Use different backend:

# Launch with different backend
spotify --audio-backend=pulseaudio

Troubleshooting

Audio Not Working

Check audio:

# Restart PulseAudio
pulseaudio -k
pulseaudio --start

# Check Spotify process
ps aux | grep spotify

Crashes

Clear cache:

# Remove cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/spotify

# Restart Spotify

Summary

This guide covered Spotify installation, configuration, and troubleshooting for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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