A fully-typed TypeScript client for the SoundCloud API. Zero dependencies, native fetch, built-in OAuth 2.1 + PKCE, automatic retry, and an interactive CLI.
fetch, nothing to installsetToken(), auto-refresh on 401sc-clisc.tracks.getTrack(id) not getTrack(token, id)llms.txt and AGENTS.md for AI coding agents| Feature | soundcloud-api-ts | soundcloud.ts | soundcloud-fetch |
|---|---|---|---|
| TypeScript | ✅ Native | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dependencies | 0 | 1 | 3 (lodash, cookie, undici) |
| Bundle size (min+gz) | 4.5 KB | ❌ unbundlable (native binary) | 191 KB |
| Auth method | Official OAuth 2.1 | ⚠️ Scrape client ID from browser | ⚠️ Scrape client ID from browser |
| PKCE support | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auto token refresh | ✅ on 401 | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auto retry (429/5xx) | ✅ exponential backoff | ❌ | ❌ |
| CLI tool | ✅ sc-cli |
❌ | ❌ |
| Pagination helpers | ✅ async iterators | ❌ | ✅ |
| Typed errors | ✅ SoundCloudError |
❌ | ❌ |
| Test coverage | 100% | — | — |
| API docs site | ✅ TypeDoc | ✅ | ❌ |
| LLM/AI-friendly | ✅ llms.txt + AGENTS.md | ❌ | ❌ |
| Maintained | ✅ 2026 | ✅ 2025 | ✅ 2026 |
Why does auth method matter?
soundcloud.tsandsoundcloud-fetchuse SoundCloud's undocumented internalapi-v2and require you to scrape your client ID from browser dev tools. This can break anytime SoundCloud changes their frontend, and may violate the API Terms of Use which state "you must register your app" and "any attempt to circumvent this and obtain a new client ID and Security Code is strictly prohibited."
soundcloud-api-tsuses the official documented API (api.soundcloud.com) with registered app credentials, OAuth 2.1 as specified by SoundCloud, PKCE for public clients, and automatic token refresh.
Coming from soundcloud.ts? See the Migration Guide — most changes are find-and-replace.
npm install soundcloud-api-ts
Explore the SoundCloud API right from your terminal — no code required:
# Install globally
npm install -g soundcloud-api-ts
# Set up credentials (interactive)
sc-cli auth
# Search tracks — colorful formatted table
sc-cli search "lofi beats"
# Get track details
sc-cli track 293
# View user profile
sc-cli user 12345
# Get stream URLs
sc-cli stream 293
# Show playlist with track listing
sc-cli playlist 456
# Resolve a SoundCloud URL
sc-cli resolve https://soundcloud.com/artist/track
# OAuth login for authenticated endpoints
sc-cli login
sc-cli me
sc-cli likes
Every command supports --json for machine-readable output (great for piping to jq or using in scripts). Run sc-cli --help for the full command list.
⚡ sc-cli — Explore the SoundCloud API from your terminal
Commands: auth, login, search, track, user, playlist, stream, resolve, me, likes
Options: --json (raw JSON output), --help (per-command help)
import { SoundCloudClient } from "soundcloud-api-ts";
const sc = new SoundCloudClient({
clientId: "your-client-id",
clientSecret: "your-client-secret",
redirectUri: "https://yourapp.com/callback",
});
// Get a client token and store it
const token = await sc.auth.getClientToken();
sc.setToken(token.access_token);
// Now all calls use the stored token automatically
const results = await sc.search.tracks("electronic");
const me = await sc.me.getMe();
const track = await sc.tracks.getTrack(123456);
const streams = await sc.tracks.getStreams(123456);
import { SoundCloudClient, generateCodeVerifier, generateCodeChallenge } from "soundcloud-api-ts";
const sc = new SoundCloudClient({
clientId: "...",
clientSecret: "...",
redirectUri: "https://yourapp.com/callback",
// Optional: auto-refresh tokens on 401
onTokenRefresh: async (client) => {
const newToken = await client.auth.refreshUserToken(client.refreshToken!);
// Persist newToken to your DB here
return newToken;
},
});
// 1. Generate PKCE pair (for public clients / SPAs)
const verifier = generateCodeVerifier();
const challenge = await generateCodeChallenge(verifier);
// 2. Build authorization URL and redirect the user
const authUrl = sc.auth.getAuthorizationUrl({ state: "random", codeChallenge: challenge });
// → redirect user to authUrl
// 3. Exchange the code for tokens (in your callback handler)
const token = await sc.auth.getUserToken(code, verifier);
sc.setToken(token.access_token, token.refresh_token);
// 4. Use the API — token is used automatically
const me = await sc.me.getMe();
const tracks = await sc.search.tracks("lofi beats");
// 5. Override token per-call if needed
const otherMe = await sc.me.getMe({ token: "other-users-token" });
// 6. Refresh manually if needed
const refreshed = await sc.auth.refreshUserToken(token.refresh_token);
sc.setToken(refreshed.access_token, refreshed.refresh_token);
// 7. Sign out
await sc.auth.signOut(token.access_token);
sc.clearToken();
The SoundCloudClient class organizes all endpoints into namespaces. Token is resolved automatically when setToken() has been called. Override per-call via { token: "..." } options object.
const sc = new SoundCloudClient({ clientId, clientSecret, redirectUri });
// Token management
sc.setToken(accessToken, refreshToken?)
sc.clearToken()
sc.accessToken // getter
sc.refreshToken // getter
// Auth
sc.auth.getAuthorizationUrl({ state?, codeChallenge? })
sc.auth.getClientToken()
sc.auth.getUserToken(code, codeVerifier?)
sc.auth.refreshUserToken(refreshToken)
sc.auth.signOut(accessToken)
// Me (authenticated user) — primary params first, options last
sc.me.getMe(options?)
sc.me.getActivities(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getActivitiesOwn(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getActivitiesTracks(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getLikesTracks(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getLikesPlaylists(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getFollowings(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getFollowingsTracks(limit?, options?)
sc.me.follow(userUrn, options?)
sc.me.unfollow(userUrn, options?)
sc.me.getFollowers(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getPlaylists(limit?, options?)
sc.me.getTracks(limit?, options?)
// Users
sc.users.getUser(userId, options?)
sc.users.getFollowers(userId, limit?, options?)
sc.users.getFollowings(userId, limit?, options?)
sc.users.getTracks(userId, limit?, options?)
sc.users.getPlaylists(userId, limit?, options?)
sc.users.getLikesTracks(userId, limit?, cursor?, options?)
sc.users.getLikesPlaylists(userId, limit?, options?)
sc.users.getWebProfiles(userId, options?)
// Tracks
sc.tracks.getTrack(trackId, options?)
sc.tracks.getStreams(trackId, options?)
sc.tracks.getComments(trackId, limit?, options?)
sc.tracks.createComment(trackId, body, timestamp?, options?)
sc.tracks.getLikes(trackId, limit?, options?)
sc.tracks.getReposts(trackId, limit?, options?)
sc.tracks.getRelated(trackId, limit?, options?)
sc.tracks.update(trackId, params, options?)
sc.tracks.delete(trackId, options?)
// Playlists
sc.playlists.getPlaylist(playlistId, options?)
sc.playlists.getTracks(playlistId, limit?, offset?, options?)
sc.playlists.getReposts(playlistId, limit?, options?)
sc.playlists.create(params, options?)
sc.playlists.update(playlistId, params, options?)
sc.playlists.delete(playlistId, options?)
// Likes
sc.likes.likeTrack(trackId, options?)
sc.likes.unlikeTrack(trackId, options?)
sc.likes.likePlaylist(playlistId, options?)
sc.likes.unlikePlaylist(playlistId, options?)
// Reposts
sc.reposts.repostTrack(trackId, options?)
sc.reposts.unrepostTrack(trackId, options?)
sc.reposts.repostPlaylist(playlistId, options?)
sc.reposts.unrepostPlaylist(playlistId, options?)
// Search
sc.search.tracks(query, pageNumber?, options?)
sc.search.users(query, pageNumber?, options?)
sc.search.playlists(query, pageNumber?, options?)
// Resolve
sc.resolve.resolveUrl(url, options?)
Where options is { token?: string } — only needed to override the stored token.
Every endpoint is also available as a standalone function (token is always required):
import {
getClientToken, getUserToken, getAuthorizationUrl,
generateCodeVerifier, generateCodeChallenge,
getMe, searchTracks,
} from "soundcloud-api-ts";
const token = await getClientToken("clientId", "clientSecret");
const me = await getMe(token.access_token);
const tracks = await searchTracks(token.access_token, "lo-fi");
// Build auth URL
const authUrl = getAuthorizationUrl("clientId", "https://yourapp.com/callback", { state: "xyz" });
All response types match the SoundCloud API spec:
import type {
SoundCloudUser,
SoundCloudMe,
SoundCloudTrack,
SoundCloudPlaylist,
SoundCloudComment,
SoundCloudToken,
SoundCloudStreams,
SoundCloudWebProfile,
SoundCloudActivity,
SoundCloudActivitiesResponse,
SoundCloudPaginatedResponse,
TokenOption,
} from "soundcloud-api-ts/types";
For public clients (SPAs, mobile apps), use PKCE:
import { generateCodeVerifier, generateCodeChallenge } from "soundcloud-api-ts";
const verifier = generateCodeVerifier();
const challenge = await generateCodeChallenge(verifier);
// Pass challenge when building auth URL
const url = sc.auth.getAuthorizationUrl({ codeChallenge: challenge });
// Pass verifier when exchanging the code
const token = await sc.auth.getUserToken(code, verifier);
Paginated endpoints return SoundCloudPaginatedResponse<T>:
interface SoundCloudPaginatedResponse<T> {
collection: T[];
next_href: string; // URL for next page
}
The client provides three helpers that automatically follow next_href across pages:
// Stream pages — yields T[] for each page
for await (const page of sc.paginate(() => sc.users.getTracks(userId))) {
console.log(`Got ${page.length} tracks`);
}
// Stream individual items — yields one T at a time
for await (const track of sc.paginateItems(() => sc.search.tracks("lofi"))) {
console.log(track.title);
}
// Collect all into a flat array (with optional limit)
const allTracks = await sc.fetchAll(() => sc.users.getTracks(userId));
const first100 = await sc.fetchAll(() => sc.search.tracks("lofi"), { maxItems: 100 });
The standalone functions are also exported for advanced use:
import { paginate, paginateItems, fetchAll, scFetchUrl } from "soundcloud-api-ts";
import { getSoundCloudWidgetUrl } from "soundcloud-api-ts";
// Generate a SoundCloud embed widget URL
const widgetUrl = getSoundCloudWidgetUrl(trackId);
All API errors throw a SoundCloudError with structured properties:
import { SoundCloudError } from "soundcloud-api-ts";
try {
await sc.tracks.getTrack(999);
} catch (err) {
if (err instanceof SoundCloudError) {
console.log(err.status); // 404
console.log(err.statusText); // "Not Found"
console.log(err.message); // "404 - Not Found" (from SC's response)
console.log(err.errorCode); // "invalid_client" (on auth errors)
console.log(err.errors); // ["404 - Not Found"] (individual error messages)
console.log(err.docsLink); // "https://developers.soundcloud.com/docs/api/explorer/open-api"
console.log(err.body); // full parsed response body
// Convenience getters
if (err.isNotFound) { /* handle 404 */ }
if (err.isRateLimited) { /* handle 429 */ }
if (err.isUnauthorized) { /* handle 401 */ }
if (err.isForbidden) { /* handle 403 */ }
if (err.isServerError) { /* handle 5xx */ }
}
}
Error messages are parsed directly from SoundCloud's API response format, giving you the most useful message available.
The client automatically retries on 429 Too Many Requests and 5xx Server Errors with exponential backoff:
const sc = new SoundCloudClient({
clientId: "...",
clientSecret: "...",
maxRetries: 3, // default: 3
retryBaseDelay: 1000, // default: 1000ms
onDebug: (msg) => console.log(msg), // optional retry logging
});
Retry-After header when presentonTokenRefresh (if configured) instead of retrybaseDelay × 2^attempt with jitterThis package is built on SoundCloud's official documented API (api.soundcloud.com) and follows the API Terms of Use:
api-v2)Important: SoundCloud's API Terms prohibit using User Content (audio, tracks, metadata) to train or develop AI/ML models. The "LLM-friendly" features of this package (
llms.txt,AGENTS.md) are for helping AI coding agents use the package itself — not for feeding SoundCloud content to AI systems. Please review the full terms before building your application.
This package is designed to be easily used by AI coding agents:
llms.txt — Complete method reference in plain text, optimized for LLM consumptionAGENTS.md — Setup guide, common patterns, and gotchas for AI agents@example on every export — works great with GitHub Copilot, Cursor, etc.Full API documentation is available at twin-paws.github.io/soundcloud-api-ts — auto-generated from source with TypeDoc.
fetch)See CHANGELOG.md for release history.
Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
MIT © Twin Paws