VibeMetrics: Building a Spotify Dashboard
From Music Lover to Developer. Creating a Personal Analytics Dashboard with React and Spotify's API
As a music lover, I've always been curious about how our listening habits show who we are and how we're feeling. With Spotify Wrapped taking over each year, I wanted more than just a yearly snapshot of my music taste. So, I decided to take things into my own hands and build my own Spotify dashboard.
Why I Started
The timing was perfect – with Spotify Wrapped just around the corner, I got curious about creating something that could give me these insights all year long. I wanted to track my music taste, listening time, and get a better sense of my music persona. It felt like the ideal chance to dive into Spotify's Web API and build something I'd actually use.
The Development Process
Getting Started
I kickstarted the project using Lovable to accelerate the initial setup. This decision proved crucial as it helped me skip the boilerplate and focus on what I really wanted to build. For the tech stack, I chose:
React with TypeScript for type safety
Tailwind CSS for styling, and
Spotify Web API for music data
Features
Dashboard Analytics
I started with the core functionality I wanted as a user:
Viewing my top artists and songs
Tracking listening statistics
Breaking down music preferences
Creating a unique listener personality type
Playlist Management
I added features that I found myself wanting while using Spotify:
Both grid and list views for different browsing moods
Quick access to playlist details
Preview functionality for tracks
Easy sharing options
Real-time Updates
Getting real-time updates working was particularly satisfying:
Current playback status
Quick controls for playing/pausing
Recently played tracks
Challenges I Faced
The Minutes Counter Challenge
One of the main challenges I'm still working on is the total music counter. Currently, it only shows a limited version of the total listening time instead of the complete minutes. It's a bug that's on my fix list, but it's taught me a lot about working with API limitations.
Authentication Flow
Implementing Spotify's OAuth flow was a learning experience. I needed to ensure:
Secure token handling
Proper scope permissions
Protection against unauthorized access
What's Next
Community Features
I want to transform this into a social experience where music lovers can:
Share what they're listening to
Compare music tastes
Connect with others who have similar preferences
Recommendation Engine
I'm particularly excited about building a recommendation system that:
Learns from user activity
Suggests new music based on listening patterns
Helps discover similar listeners
Looking Back
Even though there are still some bugs to work out and features to add, building this dashboard has been an awesome learning experience. I've picked up a lot about API integration, real-time data, and, most importantly, creating something I care about.
The code is open source, and I can't wait to see how it evolves with contributions and new ideas from the community. If you're into music and coding, check out the repo and feel free to contribute!
GitHub repo: VibeMetrics
Site: vibemetrics.dev
What I Learned
Working with OAuth and API authentication
Managing real-time data updates
Building user-friendly interfaces for data visualization
Let’s Connect!
💼 LinkedIn: alex-kazos
👨🏻💻 GitHub: alex-kazos