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How does it work?

NowPlaying shows the song you are listening to as a transparent overlay on your stream — in OBS or TikTok Live Studio. It updates automatically every few seconds.

Setting it up takes about 5 minutes and has three steps:

  1. 1Create a free account and connect your music app (Spotify, or another service via Last.fm).
  2. 2Copy your personal widget link and add it to OBS or TikTok Live Studio as a Browser Source.
  3. 3Optionally change the colours and style to match your stream.
No account needed for Spotify only
If you only use Spotify and prefer not to create an account, you can use the Configure page to get a widget link straight away — skip to the "Without an account" section at the bottom of this page.

Step 1 — Connect your music

Create a free account and go to the Platforms page. Choose which music app you use:

  • Spotify — click "Connect Spotify" and log in. That's all. NowPlaying can now see what you're playing directly.
  • YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, or another app — connect via Last.fm. Last.fm is a free service that keeps track of everything you listen to. See "Which app do I use?" below.
  • ListenBrainz — a free, open-source alternative to Last.fm. Connect with just your ListenBrainz username.

Using Last.fm for other music apps

Last.fm works as a bridge: your music app tells Last.fm what you're playing, and NowPlaying reads that from Last.fm. The following apps can all be connected this way:

YouTube Music Apple Music Amazon Music Deezer Tidal SoundCloud Pandora iHeartRadio Bandcamp Plex
Which app do I use? — Last.fm setup
Step 1: Create a free account at last.fm if you don't have one yet.

Step 2: Download the Last.fm Desktop Scrobbler at last.fm/about/trackmymusic. This is a small program that watches your music app and tells Last.fm what you're listening to. If the Desktop Scrobbler does not work on your computer, the Legacy Last.fm Desktop App is also available on that same page.

Step 3: Once the scrobbler is running and your music is playing, come back to the Platforms page here and click "Connect Last.fm".

Tip: Many music apps (like Spotify, YouTube Music and Deezer) also have a built-in "Connect to Last.fm" option in their settings, so you may not need the Desktop Scrobbler at all. Check your music app's settings first.

Get your widget link

After connecting your music, go to Widget Tokens and click "Create new token". This gives you a personal widget link — copy it, you'll need it in the next step.

What is a widget link?
Your widget link is a unique, private URL that OBS uses to fetch your currently playing track. Think of it as a key — keep it to yourself. You can create multiple links (for example, one for OBS and one for TikTok Live) and revoke them any time.

Step 2 — Add to OBS / TikTok Live

A "Browser Source" is a built-in feature in OBS and TikTok Live Studio that lets you show any webpage as a transparent overlay on your stream. NowPlaying uses this to display your music.

  1. 1In OBS or TikTok Live Studio: click the + button under Sources and choose Browser.
  2. 2Paste your widget link in the URL field.
  3. 3Set the width to 400 and height to 120 pixels (this is the recommended size).
  4. 4Make sure "Shutdown source when not visible" is turned OFF — otherwise the widget stops updating when you switch scenes.
Widget not showing?
Check that: (1) music is actually playing right now, (2) the widget link is pasted correctly — no extra spaces, (3) your platform is still connected on the Platforms page, and (4) the Browser Source is set to visible in OBS.

Step 3 — Change the look

Want to match the widget to your stream layout? Open the Style Builder — it is a live preview editor where you can see every change straight away.

  • Choose a preset — Blue, Green, Lightblue, Red, or the animated RGB rainbow effect.
  • Adjust colours (text, accent, background), border (thickness, colour, rounded corners), size and animation speed.
  • Save the style to your widget (with an account) — the overlay in OBS updates automatically within a few seconds.
  • Or copy the generated CSS and paste it into the "Custom CSS" box in your OBS browser source — this also works without an account.

Without an account (advanced — Spotify only)

If you only use Spotify and do not want to create an account, you can use the Configure page. You will need to create your own free Spotify developer app. This is a bit more technical, but nothing is stored on our servers.

  1. 1Go to developer.spotify.com/dashboard, sign in with your Spotify account and click "Create app". Give it any name and description.
  2. 2Open the Configure page here. Copy the "Redirect URI" shown on that page and paste it into your Spotify app settings (under "Redirect URIs").
  3. 3Copy the Client ID and Client Secret from your Spotify app and paste them into the Configure page.
  4. 4Click Authorise, then copy your widget URL. Add it to OBS as a Browser Source.
Easier alternative
Creating a free account takes 30 seconds and lets you connect Spotify in one click — no developer app needed. You also get multiple widget links, saved styles and the history overlay.

Your public page

Your public page is a free profile page you can share with anyone — for example in your Linktree, Discord bio or stream description. It can show what you are listening to right now, your recently played tracks, your social links and your online / live status.

Your page lives at a URL like nowplaying.example.com/u/your-name. You choose your own name.

  1. 1Sign in and open the Public user page page.
  2. 2Choose a handle (your name in the URL). You can change this later.
  3. 3Toggle on the things you want to show: live now-playing, listening history, your social links, your live/online status.
  4. 4Turn the page on with the switch at the top and copy your link to share it.
Your privacy is in your hands
The public page is off by default. Everything on it is opt-in — turn each section on or off individually. If you turn the page off, the link stops working instantly.

Game Activity

Game Activity shows the game you are playing as a stream overlay — it reads your activity status from Discord automatically. There is also a "Game History" overlay that shows your recently played games.

  1. 1Sign in with Discord (or link your Discord account from your account settings).
  2. 2Open the Game Activity page and click the Join button to join the community Discord server. This is required so the bot can see your game activity.
  3. 3Choose a style for the overlay, then click Activate.
  4. 4Copy the Game Activity URL and add it to OBS or TikTok Live Studio as a Browser Source (same steps as the music widget).
  5. 5Optional: also add the Game History URL to show your recently played games as a second overlay.
Nothing showing?
Check that: (1) Discord is open and running, (2) a game is currently detected by Discord (check your Discord activity status), (3) you have joined the community server — the bot cannot see you without this.

Spotify account settings

Good news: you do not need Spotify Premium or any paid setting for the widget. NowPlaying only reads what you are already playing. A few account settings can still stop it from seeing your music, though — here is what to check.

  • Free or Premium — both work. The widget only needs to read your current track, so a free Spotify account is fine. Premium is not required.
  • Turn off "Private session". A private session hides what you are listening to, so the widget shows nothing. In Spotify, open your profile menu (top-right) and make sure "Private session" is switched off. It also turns itself off automatically after a while.
  • Play on a device that reports to Spotify. The Spotify desktop app and phone app always report your track. Some smart TVs, game consoles and cast devices do not — if you play only there, the widget can stay empty. For the most reliable result, play from the desktop or mobile app.
  • A paused track still shows — a closed app does not. If you pause, the widget keeps showing the track. But if you fully close Spotify, or nothing has played for a while, Spotify reports nothing and the widget goes blank.
  • Missing permission? Reconnect. If you linked Spotify a long time ago, your login may be missing the newer "currently playing" permission. Open the Platforms page and click Reconnect on the Spotify card — this re-grants the permission and keeps your widget links working.
See the exact reason (F12)
Open your widget link in a normal browser tab and press F12 → Console. NowPlaying prints a plain-language reason there every time it cannot show a track — for example a private session, or that you need to reconnect.

Still stuck after reconnecting, and the console says access was denied? The Spotify app used by this site may still need to grant your account access — contact the site owner or support.

Troubleshooting

The widget is blank / nothing shows up
  1. Is music actually playing right now in your app? The widget only shows something when a track is active.
  2. Is your platform still connected? Go to the Platforms page and check.
  3. Is the widget link correct? Open the link in a browser — if you see a page (even an empty one), the link works.
  4. Is the Browser Source visible in OBS? Check the eye icon next to the source.
  5. Try right-clicking the browser source in OBS and choosing "Refresh".
The background is not transparent

In OBS, right-click your browser source → Properties. Scroll down and make sure "Custom CSS" contains at least:

body { background: transparent !important; }

This is added automatically by OBS, but may be missing if you pasted custom CSS that overrides it.

The widget shows the wrong song or is stuck on an old track

The widget refreshes every few seconds. If it seems stuck:

  1. Right-click the browser source in OBS → Refresh.
  2. If you use Last.fm, check that your scrobbler is running and that your music app is actually scrobbling (you can check your Last.fm profile to see recent tracks).
  3. If you recently reconnected your music platform, it can take up to a minute for the first update to appear.
Last.fm is connected but nothing shows up
  1. Make sure your scrobbler is running (Last.fm Desktop Scrobbler or Legacy App).
  2. Play a song and wait 30 seconds. Then check your Last.fm profile page — does the track appear there? If not, the scrobbler is not sending data to Last.fm yet.
  3. In your music app settings, check that the Last.fm integration or scrobbling is turned on.
  4. Only tracks that are marked as "now playing" in Last.fm show up — a track that is just in your history will not.
Spotify is connected but nothing shows up
  1. Make sure a track is actually playing in Spotify right now (a paused track still shows, a fully closed app does not).
  2. Check that "Private session" is switched off in your Spotify profile menu.
  3. Play from the Spotify desktop or phone app — some TVs, consoles and cast devices do not report your track.
  4. On the Platforms page, click Reconnect on the Spotify card to refresh permissions. See the "Spotify account settings" section above for details.
The widget link gives a 404 error

Your widget link (token) may have been revoked. Go to the Widget Tokens page, check that your token is still listed and active. If it is gone, create a new one and update the URL in OBS.

FAQ

Is NowPlaying free?

Yes, completely free. No hidden costs, no premium plan.

Do I need an account?

No. If you only use Spotify, you can use the Configure page to get a widget URL without creating an account. But creating a free account is much easier — one click to connect Spotify, and you can manage multiple widget links.

Which music apps are supported?

Spotify connects directly. For all other apps (YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal and many more) you connect via Last.fm — a free service that keeps track of what you listen to. See the "Connect your music" section above for details.

Does it work with OBS?

Yes. You add it as a "Browser Source" in OBS — that is a built-in OBS feature that lets you show a webpage as an overlay on your stream. Full steps are in the "Add to OBS / TikTok Live" section above.

Does it work with TikTok Live?

Yes, TikTok Live Studio has the same Browser Source feature as OBS. The setup steps are identical — just open TikTok Live Studio instead of OBS.

What data do you store?

Only what is needed to show your now playing info: your widget settings and (if you use the history feature) recently played tracks. See our Privacy Policy for the full details. If you use the Configure flow without an account, nothing is stored on our servers at all.

How do I change the look of the widget?

Open the Style Builder — it is a live visual editor where you can pick colours, adjust borders and animations, and see the result straight away. You can save the style to your widget token (with an account) or copy the CSS and paste it into OBS manually.

My widget is blank. What do I do?

First check that music is actually playing in the app right now. Then check the Troubleshooting section on this page for a step-by-step checklist.

The widget shows the wrong song / is stuck.

The widget updates every few seconds. If it is stuck, try refreshing the browser source in OBS (right-click → Refresh). If the wrong song keeps showing, make sure you are connected to the right music platform on the Platforms page.