API4 JSON

Lets go through come calls and examples that you can do for each JSON method.

Remember that Binary data methods will not return JSON; just the file/data you have requested.

Non-Data Methods

handshake

This is the function that handles verifying a new handshake Takes a timestamp, auth key, and username.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'auth'	string	$passphrase (Timestamp . Password SHA hash) OR (API Key)	NO
'user'	string	$username (Required if login/password authentication)	YES
'timestamp'	integer	UNIXTIME() (Timestamp used in seed of password hash. Required if login/password authentication)	YES
'version'	string	$version (API Version that the application understands)	YES

Example

ping

This can be called without being authenticated, it is useful for determining if what the status of the server is, and what version it is running/compatible with

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'auth'	string	(Session ID) returns version information and extends the session if passed	YES
'version'	string	$version (API Version that the application understands)	YES

Example

goodbye

Destroy a session using the auth parameter.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'auth'	string	(Session ID) destroys the session if it exists	NO

Example

url_to_song

This takes a url and returns the song object in question

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'url'	string	Full Ampache URL from server, translates back into a song JSON	NO

Example

Data Methods

advanced_search

Changes to text searches

• 'is not' has been added shifting values down the list. 0=contains, 1=does not contain, 2=starts with, 3=ends with 4=is, 5=is not, 6=sounds like, 7=does not sound like
• rule_1['name'] is depreciated. Instead of rule_1['name'] use rule_1['title'] (I have put a temp workaround into the search rules to alleviate this change for any existing apps)
• Metadata Search is combined with text and numeric. Meaning that changes to text lists push the numeric fields down.

Using advanced_search

Perform an advanced search given passed rules. This works in a similar way to the web/UI search pages. You can pass multiple rules as well as joins to create in depth search results

Rules must be sent in groups of 3 using an int (starting from 1) to designate which rules are combined. Use operator ('and'|'or') to choose whether to join or separate each rule when searching.

Refer to the Advanced Search page for details about creating searches.

• INPUTS
  • ampache_url = (string)
  • ampache_API = (string)
  • operator = (string) 'and'|'or' (whether to match one rule or all)
  • rules = (array) = [[rule_1, rule_1_operator, rule_1_input], [rule_2, rule_2_operator, rule_2_input], [etc]]
  • type = (string) song, album, artist, playlist, label, user, video
  • random = (integer) 0, 1 (random order of results; default to 0)
  • offset = (integer)
  • limit' = (integer)

SONG

Example

ARTIST

Example

ALBUM

Example

albums

This returns albums based on the provided search filters

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	YES
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	NO
'add'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'add' date newer than the specified date	YES
'update'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'update' time newer than the specified date	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'include'	string	albums, songs (include child objects in the response)	YES

Example

album

This returns a single album based on the UID provided

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Album, returns album JSON	NO
'include'	string	songs (include child objects in the response)	YES

Example

album_songs

This returns the songs of a specified album

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Album, returns song JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

artists

This takes a collection of inputs and returns artist objects.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	YES
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	YES
'add'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'add' date newer than the specified date	YES
'update'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'update' time newer than the specified date	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'include'	string	albums, songs (include child objects in the response)	YES

Example

artist

This returns a single artist based on the UID of said artist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Artist, returns artist JSON	NO
'include'	string	albums, songs (include child objects in the response)	YES

Example

artist_albums

This returns the albums of an artist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Artist, returns Album JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

artist_songs

This returns the songs of the specified artist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Artist, returns Song JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

catalogs

• NEW in 4.2.0

This searches the catalogs and returns... catalogs

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	music, clip, tvshow, movie, personal_video, podcast (Catalog type)	YES

Example

catalog

• NEW in 4.2.0

Return catalog by UID

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Catalog	NO

Example

catalog_action

Kick off a catalog update or clean for the selected catalog

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'task'	string	add_to_catalog, clean_catalog	NO
'catalog'	integer	$catalog_id	NO

Example: clean_catalog

Example: add_to_catalog

Example: error

catalog_file

• NEW in 4.2.0

Perform actions on local catalog files. Single file versions of catalog add, clean, verify and remove (delete) Make sure you remember to urlencode those file names!

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'file'	string	FULL path to local file	NO
'task'	string	add, clean, verify, remove	NO
'catalog'	integer	$catalog_id	NO

Example

flag

This flags a library item as a favorite

• Setting flag to true (1) will set the flag
• Setting flag to false (0) will remove the flag

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'type'	string	song, album, artist, playlist, podcast, podcast_episode, video, tvshow, tvshow_season	NO
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO
'flag'	boolean	0, 1	NO

Example

followers

This gets a user's followers

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	Username of the user for who to get followers list	NO

Example

following

This get the user list followed by a user

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	(Username of the user for who to get following list	NO

Example

friends_timeline

This get current user friends timeline

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'since'	integer	UNIXTIME()	NO

Example

get_indexes

This takes a collection of inputs and returns ID + name for the object type

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'type'	string	song, album, artist, playlist	NO
'filter'	string		YES
'add'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'add' date newer than the specified date	YES
'update'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'update' time newer than the specified date	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'hide_search'	integer	0, 1 (if true do not include searches/smartlists in the result)	YES

SONGS

Example

ARTIST

Example

ALBUM

Example

PLAYLIST

Example

get_similar

• NEW in 4.2.0

Return similar artist id's or similar song ids compared to the input filter

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'type'	string	song, artist	NO
'filter'	integer	artist id or song id	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

last_shouts

This get the latest posted shouts

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	Username of the user for who to get latest shouts	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

licenses

• NEW in 4.2.0

This returns the licenses based on the specified filter

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	YES
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

license

• NEW in 4.2.0

This returns a single license based on UID

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of license, returns license JSON	NO

Example

license_songs

• NEW in 4.2.0

This returns a list of songs based on the filter ID

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of license, returns song JSON	NO

Example

playlists

This returns playlists based on the specified filter

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	YES
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	YES
'add'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'add' date newer than the specified date	YES
'update'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'update' time newer than the specified date	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'hide_search'	integer	0, 1 (if true do not include searches/smartlists in the result)	YES
'show_dupes'	integer	0, 1 (if true if true ignore 'api_hide_dupe_searches' setting)	YES

Example

playlist

This returns a single playlist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of playlist, returns playlist JSON	NO

Example

playlist_songs

This returns the songs for a playlist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of Playlist, returns song JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

playlist_create

This create a new playlist and return it

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'name'	string	Playlist name	NO
'type'	string	public, private (Playlist type)	YES

Example

playlist_edit

This modifies name and type of a playlist Previously name and type were mandatory while filter wasn't. this has been reversed.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of Playlist	NO
'name'	string	Playlist name	YES
'type'	string	public, private (Playlist type)	YES
'items'	string	comma-separated song_id's (replace existing items with a new object_id)	YES
'tracks'	string	comma-separated playlisttrack numbers matched to items in order	YES

Example

playlist_delete

This deletes a playlist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of Playlist	NO

Example

playlist_add_song

This adds a song to a playlist. setting check=1 will not add duplicates to the playlist

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Playlist	NO
'song'	integer	UID of song to add to playlist	NO
'check'	boolean	0, 1 Whether to check and ignore duplicates (default = 0)	YES

Example

playlist_remove_song

This remove a song from a playlist. Previous versions required 'track' instead of 'song'.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of Playlist	NO
'song'	integer	UID of song to remove from playlist	YES
'track'	integer	Track number to remove from playlist	YES

Example

playlist_generate

Get a list of song JSON, indexes or id's based on some simple search criteria 'recent' will search for tracks played after 'Popular Threshold' days 'forgotten' will search for tracks played before 'Popular Threshold' days 'unplayed' added in 400002 for searching unplayed tracks

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'mode'	string	recent, forgotten, unplayed, random (default = 'random')	YES
'filter'	string	string LIKE matched to song title	YES
'album'	integer	$album_id	YES
'artist'	integer	$artist_id	YES
'flag'	integer	0, 1 (get flagged songs only. default = 0)	YES
'format'	string	song, index, id (default = 'song')	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

SONG

Example

INDEX

Example

ID

Example

podcasts

• NEW in 4.2.0

Get information about podcasts

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'include'	string	episodes (include podcast_episodes in the response)	YES

Example

podcast

• NEW in 4.2.0

Get the podcast from it's id.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of podcast, returns podcast JSON	NO
'include'	string	episodes (include podcast_episodes in the response)	YES

Example

podcast_create

• NEW in 4.2.0

Create a podcast that can be used by anyone to stream media. Takes the url and catalog parameters.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'url'	string	rss url for podcast	NO
'catalog'	string	podcast catalog	NO

Example

podcast_edit

• NEW in 4.2.0

Update the description and/or expiration date for an existing podcast. Takes the podcast id to update with optional description and expires parameters.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Alpha-numeric search term	NO
'feed'	string	feed rss xml url	YES
'title'	string	title string	YES
'website'	string	source website url	YES
'description'	string		YES
'generator'	string		YES
'copyright'	string		YES

Example

podcast_delete

• NEW in 4.2.0

Delete an existing podcast.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of podcast to delete	NO

Example

podcast_episodes

• NEW in 4.2.0

This returns the episodes for a podcast

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of podcast	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

podcast_episode

• NEW in 4.2.0

Get the podcast_episode from it's id.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	podcast_episode ID number	NO

Example

podcast_episode_delete

• NEW in 4.2.0

Delete an existing podcast_episode.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of podcast_episode to delete	NO

Example

rate

This rates a library item

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'type'	string	song, album, artist, playlist, podcast, podcast_episode, video, tvshow, tvshow_season	NO
'id'	integer	library item id	NO
'rating'	integer	rating between 0-5	NO

Example

record_play

Take a song_id and update the object_count and user_activity table with a play. This allows other sources to record play history to ampache

NOTE Ampache 4.3.0

• 'user' has been made optional
• 'user' can be the user id (e.g 20) or the username (e.g generic_user)
• 'date' has also been added as an optional parameter

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO
'user'	integer/string	$user_id OR $username	YES
'client'	string	$agent	YES
'date'	string	UNIXTIME()	YES

Example

scrobble

Search for a song using text info and then record a play if found. This allows other sources to record play history to ampache

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'song'	string	$song_name	NO
'artist'	string	$artist_name	NO
'album'	string	$album_name	NO
'songmbid'	string	$song_mbid	YES
'artistmbid'	string	$artist_mbid	YES
'albummbid'	string	$album_mbid	YES
'date'	integer	UNIXTIME()	YES
'client'	string	$agent	YES

Example

search_songs

This searches the songs and returns... songs

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for Song Title, Artist Name, Album Name, Genre Name returns song JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

shares

• NEW in 4.2.0

This searches the shares and returns... shares

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for Share Title	YES
'exact'	integer	0, 1 boolean to match the exact filter string	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

share

• (MINIMUM_API_VERSION=420000)

Return shares by UID

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Share, returns song JSON NO	NO

Example

share_create

• (MINIMUM_API_VERSION=420000

Create a public url that can be used by anyone to stream media. Takes the file id with optional description and expires parameters.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	UID of object you are sharing	NO
'type'	string	object_type	NO
'description'	string	description (will be filled for you if empty)	YES
'expires'	integer	days to keep active	YES

Example

share_edit

• (MINIMUM_API_VERSION=420000

Update the description and/or expiration date for an existing share. Takes the share id to update with optional description and expires parameters.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Alpha-numeric search term	NO
'stream'	boolean	0, 1	YES
'download'	boolean	0, 1	YES
'expires'	integer	number of whole days before expiry	YES
'description'	string	update description	YES

Example

share_delete

• (MINIMUM_API_VERSION=420000

Delete an existing share.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Share to delete	NO

Example

songs

Returns songs based on the specified filter

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	NO
'add'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'add' date newer than the specified date	YES
'update'	set_filter	ISO 8601 Date Format (2020-09-16) Find objects with an 'update' time newer than the specified date	YES
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

song

returns a single song

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of Song, returns song JSON	NO

Example

stats

Get some items based on some simple search types and filters. This method has partial backwards compatibility with older api versions but should be updated to follow the current input values. (Changed in 400001 filter added)

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'type'	string	song, album, artist	NO
'filter'	string	newest, highest, frequent, recent, forgotten, flagged, random	NO
'user_id'	integer		YES
'username'	string		YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

SONG

Example

ARTIST

Example

ALBUM

Example

tags

This returns the tags (Genres) based on the specified filter

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	YES
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

tag

This returns a single tag based on UID

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of tag, returns tag JSON	NO

Example

tag_artists

This returns the artists associated with the tag in question as defined by the UID

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of tag, returns artist JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

tag_albums

This returns the albums associated with the tag in question

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of tag, returns album JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

tag_songs

returns the songs for this tag

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of tag, returns song JSON	NO
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

timeline

This gets a user's timeline

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	Username of the user for whom to get the timeline	NO
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES
'since'	integer	UNIXTIME()	YES

Example

toggle_follow

This follow/unfollow a user

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	Username of the user to follow/unfollow	NO

Example

update_art

Updates a single album, artist, song running the gather_art process Doesn't overwrite existing art by default.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO
'type'	string	song, podcast	NO
'overwrite'	boolean	0, 1	YES

Example

update_artist_info

Update artist information and fetch similar artists from last.fm Make sure lastfm_API_key is set in your configuration file

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$artist_id	NO

Example

update_from_tags

Update a single album, artist, song from the tag data

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'type'	string	song, artist, album	NO
'id'	integer	$artist_id, $album_id, $song_id	NO

Example

update_podcast

Sync and download new podcast episodes

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO

Example

user

This gets a user's public information

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	Username of the user for who to get details	NO

Example

user_create

Create a new user. (Requires the username, password and email.)

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	$username	NO
'password'	string	hash('sha256', $password)	NO
'email'	string	e.g. user@gmail.com	NO
'fullname'	string		YES
'disable'	boolean	0, 1	YES

Example

user_update

Update an existing user.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string	$username	NO
'password'	string	hash('sha256', $password)	YES
'email'	string	e.g. user@gmail.com	YES
'fullname'	string		YES
'website'	string		YES
'state'	string		YES
'city'	string		YES
'disable'	boolean	0, 1	YES
'maxbitrate'	string		YES

Example

user_delete

Delete an existing user.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'username'	string		NO

Example

videos

This returns video objects!

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	string	Value is Alpha Match for returned results, may be more than one letter/number	NO
'exact'	boolean	if true filter is exact rather then fuzzy	YES
'offset'	integer	Return results starting from this index position	YES
'limit'	integer	Maximum number of results to return	YES

Example

video

This returns a single video

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'filter'	integer	UID of video, returns video JSON	NO

Example

Binary Data Methods

stream

Streams a given media file. Takes the file id in parameter with optional max bit rate, file format, time offset, size and estimate content length option.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO
'type'	string	song, podcast	NO
'bitrate'	integer	max bitrate for transcoding in bytes (e.g 192000=192Kb)	YES
'format'	string	mp3, ogg, raw, etc (raw returns the original format)	YES
'offset'	integer	time offset in seconds	YES
'length'	boolean	0, 1	YES

download

Downloads a given media file. set format=raw to download the full file

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO
'type'	string	song, podcast	NO
'format'	string	mp3, ogg, raw, etc (raw returns the original format)	YES

get_art

Get an art image.

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'id'	integer	$object_id	NO
'type'	string	song, artist, album, playlist, search, podcast	NO

Control Methods

localplay

This is for controlling localplay

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'command'	string	next, prev, stop, play, pause, add, volume_up, volume_down, volume_mute, delete_all, skip, status	NO
'oid'	integer	$object_id	YES
'type'	string	song, video, podcast_episode, channel, broadcast, democratic, live_stream	YES
'clear'	boolean	0, 1 (Clear the current playlist before adding)	YES

• return object

"localplay": { "command": {} }

• throws object

"error": ""

Example

Example (status)

democratic

This is for controlling democratic play

• ACTION
  • method
    • vote
      • oid (Unique ID of the element you want to vote on)
      • type (Type of object, only song is currently accepted so this is optional)
    • devote
      • oid (Unique ID of the element you want to vote on)
      • type (Type of object, only song is currently accepted so this is optional)
    • playlist (Returns an array of song items with an additional <vote>[VOTE COUNT]</vote> element)
    • play (Returns the URL for playing democratic play)

Input	Type	Description	Optional
'oid'	integer		NO
'method'	string		NO
'action'	string		NO

• return object|array

"url": ""|"method": "","result": false|"song": []

• throws object

"error": ""

Example Example Example