Agent skill

axiom-now-playing-musickit

MusicKit Now Playing integration patterns. Use when playing Apple Music content with ApplicationMusicPlayer and understanding automatic vs manual Now Playing info updates.

Stars 163
Forks 31

Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/data/axiom-now-playing-musickit

SKILL.md

MusicKit Integration (Apple Music)

Time cost: 5-10 minutes

Key Insight

MusicKit's ApplicationMusicPlayer automatically publishes to MPNowPlayingInfoCenter. You don't need to manually update Now Playing info when playing Apple Music content.

What's Automatic

When using ApplicationMusicPlayer:

  • Track title, artist, album
  • Artwork (Apple's album art)
  • Duration and elapsed time
  • Playback rate (playing/paused state)

The system handles all MPNowPlayingInfoCenter updates for you.

What's NOT Automatic

  • Custom metadata (chapter markers, custom artist notes)
  • Remote command customization beyond standard controls
  • Mixing MusicKit content with your own content

GOOD Code (MusicKit Content)

swift
import MusicKit

@MainActor
class MusicKitPlayer {
    private let player = ApplicationMusicPlayer.shared

    func play(song: Song) async throws {
        // ✅ Just play - MPNowPlayingInfoCenter updates automatically
        player.queue = [song]
        try await player.play()

        // ❌ DO NOT manually set nowPlayingInfo here
        // MPNowPlayingInfoCenter.default().nowPlayingInfo = [...] // WRONG!
    }
}

Hybrid Apps (Own Content + Apple Music)

If your app plays both Apple Music and your own content:

swift
import MusicKit

@MainActor
class HybridPlayer {
    private let musicKitPlayer = ApplicationMusicPlayer.shared
    private var avPlayer: AVPlayer?
    private var currentSource: ContentSource = .none

    enum ContentSource {
        case none
        case appleMusic      // MusicKit handles Now Playing
        case ownContent  // We handle Now Playing
    }

    func playAppleMusicSong(_ song: Song) async throws {
        // Switch to MusicKit
        avPlayer?.pause()
        currentSource = .appleMusic

        musicKitPlayer.queue = [song]
        try await musicKitPlayer.play()
        // ✅ MusicKit handles Now Playing automatically
    }

    func playOwnContent(_ url: URL) {
        // Switch to AVPlayer
        musicKitPlayer.pause()
        currentSource = .ownContent

        avPlayer = AVPlayer(url: url)
        avPlayer?.play()

        // ✅ Manually update Now Playing (Patterns 1-4)
        updateNowPlayingForOwnContent()
    }

    private func updateNowPlayingForOwnContent() {
        var nowPlayingInfo = [String: Any]()
        nowPlayingInfo[MPMediaItemPropertyTitle] = "My Track"
        // ... rest of manual setup from Patterns 1-4
        MPNowPlayingInfoCenter.default().nowPlayingInfo = nowPlayingInfo
    }
}

Common Mistake

swift
// ❌ WRONG - Overwrites MusicKit's automatic Now Playing data
func playAppleMusicSong(_ song: Song) async throws {
    try await ApplicationMusicPlayer.shared.play()

    // ❌ This clears MusicKit's Now Playing info!
    var nowPlayingInfo = [String: Any]()
    nowPlayingInfo[MPMediaItemPropertyTitle] = song.title
    MPNowPlayingInfoCenter.default().nowPlayingInfo = nowPlayingInfo
}

// ✅ CORRECT - Let MusicKit handle it
func playAppleMusicSong(_ song: Song) async throws {
    try await ApplicationMusicPlayer.shared.play()
    // That's it! MusicKit publishes Now Playing automatically.
}

When to Use Manual Updates with MusicKit

Only override MPNowPlayingInfoCenter if:

  • You're mixing in additional metadata (e.g., podcast chapter markers)
  • You're displaying custom content alongside Apple Music
  • You have a specific reason to replace MusicKit's automatic behavior

Default: Let MusicKit manage Now Playing automatically.

Resources

Skills: axiom-now-playing, axiom-now-playing-carplay

Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.

Didn't find tool you were looking for?

Be as detailed as possible for better results