Launching today
KeyTunes for Spotify
Control Spotify with hotkeys, without tabbing out
11 followers
Control Spotify with hotkeys, without tabbing out
11 followers
KeyTunes is a lightweight Windows tray app for controlling Spotify without switching windows. Unlike tools that scrape window titles or require Spotify Premium + OAuth, KeyTunes hooks directly into Windows' native Audio Session (WASAPI) and Media Transport Controls — the same system your keyboard's media keys use. That means: works on Free accounts, survives Spotify updates, and zero telemetry
Hey everyone! 👋
I built KeyTunes because I was tired of tabbing out of games/IDE's just to skip a song. Most Spotify control tools either scrape window titles (breaks on every update) or require linking your account through Spotify's Premium-only Web API.
KeyTunes skips both: it talks directly to Windows' own audio and media session APIs, So it works on Free accounts, doesn't touch Spotify's internals, and has zero telemetry (nothing to break, nothing to phone home).
What you get:
• Global hotkeys that work in full-screen games, your IDE, anywhere
• A tiny mini player with full-res album art
• Runs quietly in the tray, auto-updates from GitHub Releases
• Fully open source
A quick note on Antivirus (Transparency): Because KeyTunes uses passive global hotkeys (listening without blocking), it relies on a standard Windows low-level keyboard hook. As a result, Windows Defender might flag the unsigned .exe as a false positive (often citing a keylogger heuristic). The app is entirely open-source, completely local, and you can review all the code (specifically src/hotkeys.js) to see exactly how it works. I am currently in the process of submitting the compiled executable to Microsoft's Security portal to get it permanently whitelisted.
Would genuinely love feedback — especially from anyone who's fought with Toastify-style tools before. What's missing? What would make this a daily-driver for you?
One thing I'd love to see is the ability to customize which keys control playback, maybe with a simple settings panel. The default media keys are great, but being able to bind something like Ctrl+Alt+P for play/pause would be perfect for laptops where the media keys are a hassle to reach.
@travelwork Hey Egbert, thanks for checking it out, this feature is actually already built in.
Once KeyTunes is running, just right-click the KeyTunes icon in your system tray (near the clock) and click 'Open Hotkey Settings'. You can bind Ctrl+Alt+P or whatever combinations work best for your laptop.
Let me know if you have any issues setting it up!