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How to connect to Bandcamp over the Subsonic API

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TL;DR: Generate a Subsonic username and password in your Bandcamp Fan Settings, enter them in Crates, and your purchases and playlists are imported and ready to stream.

What you get

  • Your Bandcamp purchases imported under Online Libraries > Bandcamp
  • Your Bandcamp playlists under Bandcamp Playlists
  • Direct streaming from Bandcamp at around 250 kbps, instead of the web widget
  • Optional daily sync, so new purchases arrive on their own

Steps

  1. In Crates, open Settings > Accounts > Bandcamp and click Connect to Bandcamp. You can also right-click your Bandcamp crate, or use Import from Bandcamp.
  2. Choose Bandcamp Subsonic, then Connect to Bandcamp.
  3. Open Bandcamp Fan Settings and generate your Subsonic credentials.
  4. Enter the username and password in Crates. Leave Import my collection ticked to start importing straight away, and Sync collection and playlists daily ticked to keep it up to date.
  5. Click Connect and Import. Progress appears in Background Tasks.

Where your credentials are kept

Your Subsonic credentials are stored on your own computer — in macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager. They are never sent to Crates servers. Crates talks to Bandcamp directly from your machine.

Updating and disconnecting

Use Update collection to pull in new purchases at any time, from the Bandcamp crate right-click menu or from Settings > Accounts. Disconnect removes the stored credentials; your imported tracks stay in your library.

Current limitations

  • Bandcamp Subsonic is in beta.
  • Metadata is limited — labels and exact release dates may be missing. The Crates browser extension brings richer metadata, and the two work together.
  • Wishlist and downloads are not yet supported by Bandcamp.

Getting the best audio quality

Streaming from Bandcamp is high quality, but your own downloaded files are better still. Download your purchases, enable Settings > General > ‘Match tunes’, and import them. Crates links each file to the matching Bandcamp track and plays the best quality available.

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