Now Playing & Album Art

See what is now playing on Windows right on your Stream Deck: the album art, song title and artist on a key, with play / pause, next track, previous track and skip keys next to it. Made for streamers, gamers and anyone who works with music on: change the song without leaving your game or your work. It follows Spotify, YouTube in your browser, the Media Player and other apps that show in the Windows media controls. Put four keys in a square for one big album cover, turn the Stream Deck + dial to move through the song, and show the song title and cover in your OBS stream overlay.

When two apps play, one Switch Player key picks which one the keys show and control, or give a key one app of its own.

Features

Now Playing: the cover with the title, artist and a time bar, a text look, or the cover only. Press it to play / pause, or set it to next, previous or nothing

Big cover: four Now Playing keys in a square show one large album cover, each key its quarter

Play / Pause, Next Track, Previous Track: with the cover behind the symbol or a dark look. Grey when the app does not allow that step

Skip Back / Forward: 5, 10, 15, 30 or 60 seconds per press, and the key shows where the song is

Switch Player: music app, browser or video player; every key set to follow moves with it. Or set a key to one app so it always shows that app

Stream Deck + dial: the cover, title, artist and time on the touch screen. Turn to move through the song (or skip songs), push to play / pause, touch for the next song, long touch to switch player

For streaming: the song as text (your own pattern, such as "{artist} - {title}"), plus title, artist and cover files that follow the song, ready for OBS Text and Image sources

English and Japanese

FAQ

How do I show the song playing in Spotify on my Stream Deck? Add the Now Playing key. It shows the album art, title and artist of the song playing in Spotify, and a press plays or pauses it.

Can I control YouTube in my browser with Stream Deck? Yes, when the browser shows in the Windows media controls (the box that appears next to the volume when you press a media key). Play / pause, next and seeking work as far as the web site allows.

How do I show the current song in OBS? Turn on "Write the song to text files" in any key's settings. Add a Text source with "Read from file" for nowplaying.txt, and an Image source for cover.jpg. They change with the song.

Can the Stream Deck + dial skip through a song? Yes. Turn the Media Dial to move back or forward, or set it to skip songs instead.

What if two apps play at once? Press Switch Player to choose which app the keys show and control, or give a key one app of its own.

Do I need to install anything else? No other app. The plugin uses Windows PowerShell, which comes with Windows.

Privacy

Runs on your PC, with no account and no telemetry. The song files for streaming are written only when you turn them on, to Documents\Now Playing or a folder you choose.

Requirements

Windows 10 version 1809 or later, or Windows 11

Windows PowerShell (part of Windows; nothing to install)

Stream Deck app 6.9 or later. Stream Deck + for the dial

Limitations

Windows only. Shows apps that share their song with the Windows media controls; a player that does not (some older desktop players) cannot be shown or controlled

When one app plays two things at the same time, the keys show and control the first one

Some web sites and live streams do not allow skipping or moving in the song; those keys turn grey

The cover and the time come from the app. When an app or web site sends no cover, the key shows a plain colored background with a music note; when it sends no time, there is no time bar

No volume control

Something not working, or an idea? Email contact@gramshift.com any time, in English or Japanese. Every message is read.

First release. See what is now playing on Windows on your Stream Deck, with the album art, title and artist, and control it: Now Playing, Play / Pause, Next Track, Previous Track and Skip Back / Forward keys, Switch Player for when two apps play, and a Media Dial for Stream Deck +. Put four Now Playing keys in a square for one big cover. Follows Spotify, YouTube in your browser and other apps in the Windows media controls. Optional song and cover files for OBS. English and Japanese.