Authentication¶

All Spotify for Creators APIs share the same authentication chain:

sp_dc cookie
       │
       └─▶ spotifyconnector._authenticate()
                  │
                  └─▶ Bearer token  (used in Authorization header for all requests)

Step 1 — Obtain the `sp_dc` Cookie¶

This cookie is the root credential for the entire S4C session.

sp_key is no longer needed (Oct 2026)

sp_key no longer appears in the browser's cookie list for creators.spotify.com, and authentication ignores it entirely — an empty string or an arbitrary value both authenticate successfully (verified 2026-10-17). spotifyconnector still requires the sp_key argument, so pass an empty string.

Security warning

sp_dc grants full access to your Spotify account — music, payments, and all features. Never share it with anyone and store it in a .env file that is excluded from version control via .gitignore.

How to obtain them¶

Open Chrome and navigate to https://creators.spotify.com.
Log in with your Spotify account.
Open DevTools (F12 or Cmd+Option+I).
Go to Application → Cookies → https://creators.spotify.com.
Copy the Value column for sp_dc.

Step 2 — Find Your Show ID¶

You can read your Show ID directly from the Spotify for Creators URL:

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/【SHOW_ID_IS_HERE】/episodes

Step 3 — Obtain a Bearer Token¶

Use the unofficial spotifyconnector Python library to exchange your cookie for a short-lived Bearer token.

Install¶

pip install spotifyconnector==0.8.2

Usage¶

from spotifyconnector import SpotifyConnector

connector = SpotifyConnector(
    base_url="https://generic.wg.spotify.com/podcasters/v0",
    client_id="05a1371ee5194c27860b3ff3ff3979d2",  # S4C public OAuth client_id
    podcast_id="YOUR_SHOW_ID",
    sp_dc="YOUR_SP_DC_COOKIE_VALUE",
    sp_key="",  # required arg, but ignored — sp_dc alone authenticates
)
connector._authenticate()   # internal method
bearer = connector._bearer  # internal property — short-lived JWT

Note

_authenticate() and _bearer are internal (private) attributes of the library. Their names may change in future versions of spotifyconnector. The client_id value (05a1371ee5194c27860b3ff3ff3979d2) is the public OAuth client ID embedded in the S4C web app and is the same for all users.

Using the Bearer Token¶

Once you have the Bearer token, include it in every API request:

GET requests¶

headers_get = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {bearer}",
    "Accept": "application/json",
}

POST / PUT requests¶

headers_post = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {bearer}",
    "Accept": "application/json",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Origin": "https://creators.spotify.com",
    "Referer": "https://creators.spotify.com/",
}

Warning

The Origin and Referer headers are required for POST requests. Omitting them can cause the server to reject the request.

.env Template¶

SP_DC=your_sp_dc_value_here
SHOW_ID=your_show_id_here

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()
sp_dc = os.environ["SP_DC"]
show_id = os.environ["SHOW_ID"]