The spotify integration does not allow setting the play mode. This means that selecting a playlist to play at the click of a button starts at the same track every time the button is pressed. This quicly becomes unwanted and renders the whole option to play a playlist from flick useless.
There are ways around this problem, but they all seem like detours when this option could be embedded in the Spotify integration in flick. The Spotyfi Web API opens up for adding this feature right off the back.
I came up with 3 ways of overcomming this problem. All have their cons though.
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Go through Alexa routines using virtual buttons form https://www.patreon.com/VirtualButtons. In the Alexa app you can start a playlist in shuffle mode and you can trigger that routine through a virtual button. The problem here is that these buttons are not free and you need a device (tablet or phone) to run the Alexa app.
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Shufling a Spotfy playlist using a spotify app every day. There are apps that can do this in Spotify but this will either mess up your playlist or force you to have a dedicated playlist for shufling use. Plus you have to set an interval for when the playlist gets shuffled.
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Using HTTP-headers. Flic can send an HTTP-header that tells Spotify Web API to set play mode to shuffle. This header goes to this endpoint: https://api.spotify.com/v1/me/player/shuffle and has to contain a Authentication Token.
The problem with this is that the Authentication Token has a limited lifespan and has to be refreshed. In Flick, we have to hardcode the token in the HTTP-request and so we can't request it with one HTTP-request and use that to set shuffle in the next. The flick implementation of HTTP-requests needs a way to store the returned value in one request and pass that to the next request for this to work.
Ideally the shuffle feature should be incorporated in the Spotify integration in Flick. Anyone from Flick Ill gladly see you comment on this. Can we get this feature or am I missing something?
