Listen for macOS "now playing" media change events and send notifications when they occur using either a BetterTouchTool trigger or `terminal-notifier`

now-playing-change-notifier.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Description: This script listens for macOS "now playing" media change events
# and sends notifications when they occur using either a BetterTouchTool trigger or terminal-notifier
#
# Requirements:
# - macOS
# - media-control - https://github.com/ungive/media-control
# - jq - https://jqlang.org/download/
# - If using a BetterTouchTool trigger:
#   - BetterTouchTool - https://folivora.ai/
#   - wget - https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/
# - If not using a BetterTouchTool trigger:
#   - terminal-notifier - https://github.com/julienXX/terminal-notifier
#
# Optional:
# - base64 - for decoding artwork data - https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/
# - imgcat - for displaying artwork in the terminal - https://iterm2.com/documentation-images.html
#
# Usage: Run the script in the background to listen for media changes and send notifications.
#
# Author: Scott Carpenter - https://github.com/squatto
# License: MIT License
# Latest Version: https://gist.github.com/squatto/4af0f674829584484ee78956092fc872

########################################################################################################
# settings/variables
########################################################################################################

# use a BetterTouchTool trigger to show the notification when media changes?
# if false, the notification will be sent with the terminal-notifier command
use_btt_trigger=true

## IMPORTANT: If you are using a BetterTouchTool trigger, you MUST enable the webserver in BetterTouchTool
# - In BetterTouchTool, go to Settings > Web Server and enable the webserver
# - Do not enable the HTTPS option, as this script does not support it
# - You can also change the host, port, and shared secret, or use the defaults

## IMPORTANT: If you are using a BetterTouchTool trigger, you MUST set the following variables:

### BetterTouchTool webserver settings
#
# These are set with environment variables, or you can set them here directly by overriding the defaults.
#
# The BTT_WEBSERVER_HOST, BTT_WEBSERVER_PORT, and BTT_WEBSERVER_SHARED_SECRET environment variables
# can be set in your shell environment or in your .bash_profile, .zshrc, etc.
btt_webserver_host=${BTT_WEBSERVER_HOST:-"127.0.0.1"}
btt_webserver_port=${BTT_WEBSERVER_PORT:-12345}
btt_webserver_shared_secret=${BTT_WEBSERVER_SHARED_SECRET:-""}

### UUID for BetterTouchTool trigger to run when media changes
#
# You can find the UUID in BetterTouchTool by right-clicking the trigger and selecting "Copy Selected Item UUID".
#
# The BTT_NOW_PLAYING_TRIGGER_UUID environment variable
# can be set in your shell environment or in your .bash_profile, .zshrc, etc.
btt_trigger_uuid=${BTT_NOW_PLAYING_TRIGGER_UUID:-""}

########################################################################################################
# check requirements
########################################################################################################

if [[ "$(uname)" != "Darwin" ]]; then
  echo "⚠️ ERROR: This script is designed to run on macOS only!"
  exit 1
fi

if [ "$use_btt_trigger" = true ]; then
  if ! [ -d "/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app" ] && ! brew ls --cask bettertouchtool &> /dev/null; then
    echo "⚠️ ERROR: BetterTouchTool is not installed!"
    echo "- Install: brew install bettertouchtool"
    echo "- More info: https://folivora.ai/"
    exit 1
  fi

  if ! [ -x "$(command -v wget)" ]; then
    echo "⚠️ ERROR: wget is not installed!"
    echo "- Install: brew install wget"
    echo "- More info: https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/"
    exit 1
  fi

  if [ -z "$btt_trigger_uuid" ]; then
    echo "⚠️ ERROR: BetterTouchTool trigger UUID is not set!"
    echo "- Option 1: Set the BTT_NOW_PLAYING_TRIGGER_UUID environment variable to the UUID of your BetterTouchTool trigger."
    echo "- Option 2: Set the btt_trigger_uuid variable in the script to the UUID of your BetterTouchTool trigger."
    echo "- You can find the UUID in BetterTouchTool by right-clicking the trigger and selecting 'Copy Selected Item UUID'."
    exit 1
  fi
else
  if ! [ -x "$(command -v terminal-notifier)" ]; then
    echo "⚠️ ERROR: terminal-notifier is not installed!"
    echo "- Install: brew install terminal-notifier"
    echo "- More info: https://github.com/julienXX/terminal-notifier"
    exit 1
  fi
fi

if ! [ -x "$(command -v jq)" ]; then
  echo "⚠️ ERROR: jq is not installed!"
  echo "- Install: brew install jq"
  echo "- More info: https://jqlang.org/download/"
  exit 1
fi

if ! [ -x "$(command -v media-control)" ]; then
  echo "⚠️ ERROR: media-control is not installed!"
  echo "- brew tap ungive/media-control && brew install media-control"
  echo "- More info: https://github.com/ungive/media-control"
  exit 1
fi

# check if base64 and imgcat are available for displaying artwork
has_base64=$(command -v base64)
has_imgcat=$(command -v imgcat)

########################################################################################################
# watch for media changes
########################################################################################################

if [ -n "$btt_webserver_shared_secret" ]; then
  shared_secret_param="&shared_secret=${btt_webserver_shared_secret}"
else
  shared_secret_param=""
fi

echo "🔊 Listening for media changes..."
echo "Press Ctrl+C to stop."
echo

while read -r line; do
  if jq -e ".diff == false" <<< "$line" > /dev/null; then
    artist=$(jq -r .payload.artist <<< "$line" | awk '{$1=$1;print}')
    title=$(jq -r .payload.title <<< "$line" | awk '{$1=$1;print}')

    if [ -n "$title" ] && [ "$title" != "null" ]; then
      echo "---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
      echo
      echo -e "\033[2m[$(date +'%m/%d/%Y %I:%M:%S%p')]\033[0m 🔊 \033[4m\033[1mNow Playing:\033[0m \033[1m$artist\033[0m – $title"

      if [ "$use_btt_trigger" = true ]; then
        # send the notification using a BetterTouchTool trigger

        # encode the artist and title for URL usage
        encoded_artist=$(echo -n "$artist" | jq -Rr @uri)
        encoded_title=$(echo -n "$title" | jq -Rr @uri)

        # set the "now playing" variables in BetterTouchTool webserver
        wget -qO- "http://${btt_webserver_host}:${btt_webserver_port}/set_string_variable/?variable_name=now_playing_title&to=${encoded_title}${shared_secret_param}" &> /dev/null
        wget -qO- "http://${btt_webserver_host}:${btt_webserver_port}/set_string_variable/?variable_name=now_playing_artist&to=${encoded_artist}${shared_secret_param}" &> /dev/null

        # trigger the BetterTouchTool action
        wget -qO- "http://${btt_webserver_host}:${btt_webserver_port}/execute_assigned_actions_for_trigger/?uuid=${btt_trigger_uuid}${shared_secret_param}" &> /dev/null
      else
        # send the notification using terminal-notifier

        # get the bundle identifier of the currently playing app
        # this is useful for macOS notifications to show the correct app icon
        bundleId=$(jq -r .payload.bundleIdentifier <<< "$line")

        terminal-notifier \
          -group now-playing \
          -title "Now Playing" \
          -subtitle "$artist" \
          -message "$title" \
          -sender "$bundleId"
      fi
    fi
  fi

  # if they have base64 and imgcat, and artwork data is available, display it using imgcat
  if [ -n "$has_base64" ] && [ -n "$has_imgcat" ] && jq -e .payload.artworkData <<< "$line" >/dev/null; then
    echo

    jq -r .payload.artworkData <<< "$line" | base64 -d | imgcat

    echo
  fi
done < <(media-control stream --debounce=1000)

########################################################################################################
# Recommended BetterTouchTool Trigger Setup
#
# If you want to use a BetterTouchTool trigger, follow the instructions below to set it up.
#
# Once you have created the trigger in BetterTouchTool, copy the UUID of the trigger
# and set it in the btt_trigger_uuid variable above.
# You can copy the UUID in BetterTouchTool by right-clicking the trigger and selecting "Copy Selected Item UUID".
########################################################################################################

## PREFERRED METHOD: Copy and paste the following JSON directly into BetterTouchTool to create the trigger automatically
: '
[
  {
    "BTTActionCategory" : 0,
    "BTTTriggerType" : 643,
    "BTTTriggerTypeDescriptionReadOnly" : "Named Trigger: Show Now Playing HUD",
    "BTTTriggerClass" : "BTTTriggerTypeOtherTriggers",
    "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 366,
    "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Empty Placeholder",
    "BTTTriggerName" : "Show Now Playing HUD",
    "BTTAdditionalActions" : [
      {
        "BTTActionCategory" : 0,
        "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
        "BTTTriggerClass" : "BTTTriggerTypeOtherTriggers",
        "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 254,
        "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Show HUD Overlay",
        "BTTHUDActionConfiguration" : "{\"BTTActionHUDBlur\":true,\"BTTActionHUDBackground\":null,\"BTTIconConfigImageHeight\":100,\"BTTActionHUDPosition\":4,\"BTTActionHUDDetail\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDDuration\":5,\"BTTActionHUDPadding\":5,\"BTTActionHUDDisplayToUse\":0,\"BTTIconConfigImageWidth\":100,\"BTTActionHUDSlideDirection\":2,\"BTTActionHUDHideWhenOtherHUDAppears\":true,\"BTTActionHUDAttributedTitle\":\"{\\\\rtf1\\\\ansi\\\\ansicpg1252\\\\cocoartf2822\\n\\\\cocoatextscaling0\\\\cocoaplatform0{\\\\fonttbl\\\\f0\\\\fnil\\\\fcharset0 SFPro-Bold;\\\\f1\\\\fnil\\\\fcharset0 SFPro-Regular;}\\n{\\\\colortbl;\\\\red255\\\\green255\\\\blue255;\\\\red255\\\\green255\\\\blue255;}\\n{\\\\*\\\\expandedcolortbl;;\\\\csgray\\\\c100000;}\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\f0\\\\b\\\\fs40 \\\\cf2 \\\\uc0\\\\u55357 \\\\u56586  \\\\{now_playing_artist\\\\}\\\\\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\f1\\\\b0\\\\fs36 \\\\cf2 \\\\{now_playing_title\\\\}}\",\"BTTActionHUDWidth\":650,\"BTTActionHUDBorderWidth\":0,\"BTTActionHUDTitle\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDHeight\":110}"
      }
    ]
  }
]
'

## ALTERNATIVE METHOD: Follow the instructions below to create the trigger manually in BetterTouchTool
#
# Create a new trigger in BetterTouchTool with the following settings:
# * Trigger Section: "Automations & Named & Other Triggers"
# * Trigger Type: "Reusable Named Trigger"
# * Trigger Name: "Show Now Playing HUD"
# * Action: "Show HUD Overlay" with settings:
#   - Message Contents: Format however you would like, making sure to include the following variables:
#     {now_playing_artist}
#     {now_playing_title}
#     - Message Font Size: 20
#     - Message Font Color: White or #FFFFFF (255,255,255 RGB)
#     - Example: "🔊 {now_playing_artist} - {now_playing_title}"
#   - HUD Overlay Duration: 5 seconds
#   - Enable "Hide immediately after another HUD is being presented." option
#   - Display On: Show On All Screens
#   - Animation: Slide Down
#   - Position: Bottom Right
#   - HUD Width: 650
#   - HUD Height: 110
#   - Padding: 5
#   - Background Color: Black/White preset
#   - Enable Option: "Mimic macOS default HUD background style"