Integrate Real-Time Access to Spotify in SAPUI5 MVC Apps
In this article we show how to use the CData API Server to write SAPUI5 apps that leverage the capabilities of the Spotify API, without writing to a back-end database. The API Server is a lightweight Web application that runs on your server and produces OData feeds of Spotify data. OData is the standard for real-time data access over the Web and has built-in support in SAPUI5 and OpenUI5.
Set Up the API Server
If you have not already done so, download the CData API Server. Once you have installed the API Server, follow the steps below to begin producing secure Spotify OData services:
Connect to Spotify
To work with Spotify data from SAPUI5, we start by creating and configuring a Spotify connection. Follow the steps below to configure the API Server to connect to Spotify data:
- First, navigate to the Connections page.
-
Click Add Connection and then search for and select the Spotify connection.
-
Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Spotify.
Using OAuth Authentication
Spotify uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You will need to create an application in the Spotify Developer Dashboard to obtain your client credentials.
Setting Up Your Spotify Application
- Visit the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
- Log in with your Spotify account and click Create app.
- Provide an app name, description, and set a Redirect URI (e.g.,
http://localhost:33333
for desktop applications). - Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the app settings.
Connection Properties
After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:
- AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
- InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
- OAuthClientId: Set this to your Spotify application's Client ID.
- OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Spotify application's Client Secret.
- Scope: Set this to the required OAuth scopes (space-separated). The default includes all read scopes needed for the tables in this profile.
- CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI configured in your Spotify application (e.g., http://localhost:33333).
Example Connection String
Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;
Available OAuth Scopes
- user-read-private: Read access to user's subscription details and explicit content settings.
- user-read-email: Read access to user's email address.
- user-library-read: Read access to a user's saved tracks, albums, episodes, shows, and audiobooks.
- playlist-read-private: Read access to user's private playlists.
- playlist-read-collaborative: Read access to collaborative playlists the user follows.
- user-follow-read: Read access to the list of artists the current user follows.
- user-read-playback-state: Read access to a user's player state (device, current track, progress).
- user-read-currently-playing: Read access to a user's currently playing content.
- user-read-playback-history: Read access to a user's recently played tracks.
- user-top-read: Read access to a user's top artists and tracks.
- After configuring the connection, click Save & Test to confirm a successful connection.
Configure API Server Users
Next, create a user to access your Spotify data through the API Server. You can add and configure users on the Users page. Follow the steps below to configure and create a user:
- On the Users page, click Add User to open the Add User dialog.
-
Next, set the Role, Username, and Privileges properties and then click Add User.
-
An Authtoken is then generated for the user. You can find the Authtoken and other information for each user on the Users page:
Creating API Endpoints for Spotify
Having created a user, you are ready to create API endpoints for the Spotify tables:
-
First, navigate to the API page and then click
Add Table
.
-
Select the connection you wish to access and click Next.
-
With the connection selected, create endpoints by selecting each table and then clicking Confirm.
Gather the OData Url
Having configured a connection to Spotify data, created a user, and added resources to the API Server, you now have an easily accessible REST API based on the OData protocol for those resources. From the API page in API Server, you can view and copy the API Endpoints for the API:

Create the View
In this article the user views and interacts with Spotify data through an SAPUI5 table control. Table columns will be automatically detected from the metadata retrieved from the API Server's API endpoint. We define the following table in a separate View.view.xml file:
<mvc:View
controllerName="sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Controller"
xmlns="sap.ui.table"
xmlns:mvc="sap.ui.core.mvc"
xmlns:u="sap.ui.unified"
xmlns:c="sap.ui.core"
xmlns:m="sap.m">
<m:Page
showHeader="false"
enableScrolling="false"
class="sapUiContentPadding">
<m:content>
<Table
id="table"
selectionMode="MultiToggle"
visibleRowCount="10"
enableSelectAll="false"
rows="{/Albums}"
threshold="15"
enableBusyIndicator="true"
columns="{
path: 'meta>/dataServices/schema/[${namespace}===\'CData\']/entityType/[${name}===\'Albums\']/property',
factory: '.columnFactory'
}">
<toolbar>
<m:Toolbar>
<m:Title text="Spotify Albums"></m:Title>
</m:Toolbar>
</toolbar>
<noData>
<m:BusyIndicator class="sapUiMediumMargin"/>
</noData>
</Table>
</m:content>
</m:Page>
</mvc:View>
Create the Model and Controller
In SAPUI5, you do not need to write any OData queries; an ODataModel instance handles the application's data access commands. The API Server then translates the queries into Spotify API calls.
The controller processes user input and represents information to the user through a view. Define the controller in a new file, Controller.controller.js. Instantiate the model in the onInit function -- you will need to replace the placeholder values for the URL to the API Server, a user allowed to access the OData endpoint of the API Server, and the authtoken for the user.
sap.ui.define([
"sap/ui/core/mvc/Controller",
"sap/ui/model/odata/v2/ODataModel",
"sap/ui/model/json/JSONModel",
"sap/ui/table/Column",
"sap/m/Text",
], function(Controller, ODataModel, JSONModel, Column, Text ) {
"use strict";
return Controller.extend("sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Controller", {
onInit : function () {
var oView = this.getView();
var oDataModel = new ODataModel("http://myserver/api.rsc/",{user: "MyUser", password: "MyAuthToken"});
oDataModel.getMetaModel().loaded().then(function(){
oView.setModel(oDataModel.getMetaModel(), "meta");
});
oView.setModel(oDataModel);
var oTable = oView.byId("table");
var oBinding = oTable.getBinding("rows");
var oBusyIndicator = oTable.getNoData();
oBinding.attachDataRequested(function(){
oTable.setNoData(oBusyIndicator);
});
oBinding.attachDataReceived(function(){
oTable.setNoData(null); //use default again ("no data" in case no data is available)
});
},
onExit : function () {
},
columnFactory : function(sId, oContext) {
var oModel = this.getView().getModel();
var sName = oContext.getProperty("name");
var sType = oContext.getProperty("type");
var iLen = oContext.getProperty("maxLength");
iLen = iLen ? parseInt(iLen, 10) : 10;
return new Column(sId, {
sortProperty: sName,
filterProperty: sName,
width: (iLen > 9 ? (iLen > 50 ? 15 : 10) : 5) + "rem",
label: new sap.m.Label({text: "{/#Albums/" + sName + "/@name}"}),
hAlign: sType && sType.indexOf("Decimal") >= 0 ? "End" : "Begin",
template: new Text({text: {path: sName}})
});
}
});
});
Describe Application Logic
Create a component that contains the resources of your application. Define the following in Component.js:
sap.ui.define([
'sap/ui/core/UIComponent'
], function(UIComponent) {
"use strict";
return UIComponent.extend("sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Component", {
metadata : {
rootView : "sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.View",
dependencies : {
libs : [
"sap.ui.table",
"sap.ui.unified",
"sap.m"
]
},
config : {
sample : {
stretch : true,
files : [
"View.view.xml",
"Controller.controller.js"
]
}
}
}
});
});
Bootstrap OpenUI5 and Launch
To complete the MVC application, simply add the bootstrap and initialization code. Add these directly to index.html:
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge">
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Spotify Albums</title>
<script id="sap-ui-bootstrap"
src="https://openui5.hana.ondemand.com/resources/sap-ui-core.js"
data-sap-ui-libs="sap.m"
data-sap-ui-theme="sap_bluecrystal"
data-sap-ui-xx-bindingSyntax="complex"
data-sap-ui-preload="async"
data-sap-ui-compatVersion="edge"
data-sap-ui-resourceroots='{"sap.ui.table.sample.OData2": "./", "sap.ui.demo.mock": "mockdata"}'>
</script>
<!-- application launch configuration -->
<script>
sap.ui.getCore().attachInit(function() {
new sap.m.App ({
pages: [
new sap.m.Page({
title: "Spotify Albums",
enableScrolling : false,
content: [ new sap.ui.core.ComponentContainer({
height : "100%", name : "sap.ui.table.sample.OData2"
})]
})
]
}).placeAt("content");
});
</script>
</head>
<!-- UI Content -->
<body class="sapUiBody" id="content" role="application">
</body>
</html>
The resulting SAPUI5 table control reflects any changes to a table in the remote Spotify data. You can now browse and search current Spotify data.