🎧 NowPlaying.WebSocket

Real-time Windows Now Playing data + Audio Visualizer JSON over WebSocket

NowPlaying.WebSocket is a lightweight Windows application that:

• Streams Now Playing media data
• Streams real-time Audio Visualizer data (real FFT-based frequency analysis, not a fake amplitude sampler)
• Exposes everything via local WebSocket (JSON)
• Works as a standalone desktop media controller

App Main ScreenShots

Settings UI

Flyout UI

🔥 Why this project exists

Most tools can show Now Playing.

Very few provide:

• Real-time Audio Visualizer data
• Clean JSON over WebSocket
• Easy integration for browser apps, overlays, or OBS

This app focuses on all of them together.

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⚡ Core Features

🎵 Real-Time Audio Visualizer (WebSocket)

The main feature.

The app streams live audio analysis data, computed with a real FFT (not a time-domain approximation):

• Volume level (mono + separate Left/Right channel levels)
• Bass / Mid / Treble
• 16-band frequency spectrum array

Perfect for:

• Audio visualizers
• Reactive UI
• OBS browser sources
• Web-based overlays
• Stream tools

📡 Endpoint: ws://localhost:27871

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🎧 Now Playing Data (Live JSON)

Real-time media information:

• Title
• Artist
• Album
• Playback state
• Timeline (position / duration)
• Album art URL

---

🔊 Example: Audio Visualizer

{
  "type": "audioVisualizer",
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "appVersion": "6.8.26",
  "volume": 35,
  "volumeLeft": 33,
  "volumeRight": 37,
  "bass": 59,
  "mid": 43,
  "treble": 40,
  "spectrum": [50, 36, 42, 40, 41, 38, 37, 42, 38, 41, 35, 30, 22, 15, 8, 2],
  "updatedAt": "21:18:20"
}

🎵 Example: Now Playing

{
  "type": "nowPlaying",
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "appVersion": "6.8.26",
  "title": "Come Together - Remastered 2009",
  "artist": "The Beatles",
  "album": "Abbey Road (Remastered)",
  "playback": "Playing",
  "isPlaying": true,
  "positionSec": 74,
  "durationSec": 259,
  "positionText": "1:14",
  "durationText": "4:19",
  "timelineVisible": true,
  "timelineState": "interpolating",
  "timelineReason": "trusted.native.timelineEvent",
  "albumArtUrl": "http://localhost:27871/album-art",
  "updatedAt": "21:18:20"
}

All JSON fields use camelCase. Every message also carries schemaVersion (a protocol version number) and appVersion (the running app's version) — check schemaVersion if you're building an integration that needs to detect an outdated/mismatched client.

🖥️ Desktop App Features

Not just a WebSocket server — a full Windows app.

🎮 Media Controls

• Play / Pause
• Next / Previous
• Mute / Unmute
• Volume control (slider + mouse wheel)

🧩 Smart UI & Tray

• Tray icon with quick access
• Click to open flyout panel
• Lightweight, always accessible

🔄 Built-in Updates

• Checks for new versions automatically
• One-click update from the About panel — downloads, verifies, and installs the new version for you
• Update status is echoed as a small banner when it's relevant

✨ Quality of Life

• Click Title / Artist / Album → copy to clipboard
• Always on top (optional)
• Run at startup
• Start minimized to tray (no visible flash on launch)
• Dark theme
• Hide tray icon

🔊 Audio Capture & Devices

• Automatic loopback capture
• Manual device selection:
  • Speakers
  • Headphones
  • Microphones (WASAPI)

🎚️ Visualizer Interval

Control update speed:

• Lower = smoother animation
• Higher = lower CPU usage

Useful for fine-tuning real-time visualizers.

🖼️ Album Art: http://localhost:27871/album-art

Use directly in:

• <img>
• Canvas apps
• Overlays

🌐 Built for Developers

Designed for:

• Frontend developers
• OBS users
• Stream tool creators
• Dashboard builders

🌐 Examples (Ready-to-Use HTML)

This repository includes ready-to-use HTML examples that connect to the WebSocket server and visualize real-time data.

👉 Just open them in your browser while the app is running.

🎵 Basic Now Playing

• Displays title, artist, album
• Shows playback state
• Timeline & progress bar
• Live JSON stream

📄 File: examples/basic-nowplaying.html

⚡ Advanced Audio Visualizer

• Adaptive bars
• Beat punch effect
• Radial visualizer
• Smoothing & gain control

📄 File: examples/advanced-plus-audio-visualizer.html

💡 Use Cases

• Audio Visualizer (web)
• OBS browser source
• Desktop widgets
• Music dashboards
• Stream overlays
• Web-based music UI

📦 Download

Latest version: Releases

🔐 Privacy

• No personal data collected
• No media content sent externally
• Everything runs locally

Optional: Anonymous usage analytics (can be disabled)

☕ Support

If you find this useful:

⚠️ Notes

This repository contains compiled application only. Source code is not included.

📄 License

Free for personal use. Commercial use requires permission.