SoundCloudExplode

SoundCloudExplode is a library that provides an interface to query metadata of SoundCloud tracks and playlists, as well as to resolve and download streams.

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Install

• 📦 NuGet: dotnet add package SoundCloudExplode (main package)

Usage

SoundCloudExplode exposes its functionality through a single entry point — the SoundCloudClient class. Create an instance of this class and use the provided operations to send requests. Call await soundcloud.InitializeAsync() first to obtain SoundCloud's current public client ID.

Tracks

Retrieving track metadata

To retrieve the metadata associated with a Soundcloud track, call Tracks.GetAsync(...):

using SoundCloudExplode;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();

var track = await soundcloud.Tracks.GetAsync("https://soundcloud.com/purityy79/dororo-op-piano-sheet-in-description");

var title = track.Title;
var duration = track.Duration;

Playlists

Retrieving playlist metadata

You can get the metadata associated with a Soundcloud playlist by calling Playlists.GetAsync(...) method:

using SoundCloudExplode;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();

// Get a playlist basic information
var playlist = await soundcloud.Playlists.GetAsync(
    "https://soundcloud.com/tommy-enjoy/sets/aimer"
);

// Or get playlist and load all related tracks at the same time
var playlist = await soundcloud.Playlists.GetAsync(
    "https://soundcloud.com/tommy-enjoy/sets/aimer",
    true
);

var title = playlist.Title;
var artworkUrl = playlist.ArtworkUrl;
var tracks = playlist.Tracks;
...

Getting tracks included in a playlist

To get the tracks included in a playlist, call Playlists.GetTracksAsync(...):

using SoundCloudExplode;
using SoundCloudExplode.Common;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();
var playlistUrl = "https://soundcloud.com/tommy-enjoy/sets/aimer";

// Get all playlist tracks
var tracks = await soundcloud.Playlists.GetTracksAsync(playlistUrl);

// Get only the first 20 playlist tracks
var tracksSubset = await soundcloud.Playlists.GetTracksAsync(playlistUrl).CollectAsync(20);

// Get only the first 20 playlist tracks (by setting a limit)
var tracksSubset = await soundcloud.Playlists.GetTracksAsync(playlistUrl, limit: 20);

// Setting offset
var tracksSubset = await soundcloud.Playlists.GetTracksAsync(
    playlistUrl,
    offset: 10,
    limit: 5
);

You can also enumerate the tracks iteratively without waiting for the whole list to load:

using SoundCloudExplode;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();
var playlistUrl = "https://soundcloud.com/tommy-enjoy/sets/aimer";

await foreach (var track in soundcloud.Playlists.GetTracksAsync(playlistUrl))
{
    var title = track.Title;
    var duration = track.Duration;
}

If you need precise control over how many requests you send to SoundCloud, use Playlists.GetTrackBatchesAsync(...) which returns tracks wrapped in batches:

using SoundCloudExplode;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();
var playlistUrl = "https://soundcloud.com/tommy-enjoy/sets/aimer";

// Each batch corresponds to one request
await foreach (var batch in soundcloud.Playlists.GetTrackBatchesAsync(playlistUrl))
{
    foreach (var track in batch.Items)
    {
        var title = track.Title;
        var duration = track.Duration;
    }
}

Albums

Note: Use the same method as retrieving playlists to get albums because they are the same.

Searching

You can execute a search query and get its results by calling Search.GetResultsAsync(...). Each result may represent either a track, a playlist, an album, or a user, so you need to apply pattern matching to handle the corresponding cases:

using SoundCloudExplode;
using SoundCloudExplode.Common;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();

await foreach (var result in soundcloud.Search.GetResultsAsync("banda neira"))
{
    // Use pattern matching to handle different results (tracks, playlists, users)
    switch (result)
    {
        case TrackSearchResult track:
            {
                var id = track.Id;
                var title = track.Title;
                var duration = track.Duration;
                break;
            }
        // NOTE: Soundcloud handles playlist and albums the same way.
        case PlaylistSearchResult playlist:
            {
                var id = playlist.Id;
                var title = playlist.Title;
                break;
            }
        case UserSearchResult user:
            {
                var id = user.Id;
                var title = user.Title;
                var userName = user.Username;
                var fullName = user.FullName;
                break;
            }
    }
}

To limit the results to a specific type, use Search.GetTracksAsync(...), Search.GetPlaylistsAsync(...), or Search.GetUsersAsync(...)

using SoundCloudExplode;
using SoundCloudExplode.Common;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();

var tracks = await soundcloud.Search.GetTracksAsync("banda neira");
var playlists = await soundcloud.Search.GetPlaylistsAsync("banda neira");
var users = await soundcloud.Search.GetUsersAsync("banda neira");

Downloading tracks

using System;
using System.IO;
using SoundCloudExplode;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();

var track = await soundcloud.Tracks.GetAsync("https://soundcloud.com/purityy79/dororo-op-piano-sheet-in-description");

var trackName = string.Join("_", track.Title.Split(Path.GetInvalidFileNameChars()));
var extension = track.GetPreferredTranscoding()?.GetFileExtension() ?? ".audio";

await soundcloud.DownloadAsync(track, Path.Combine("Downloads", trackName + extension));

You can request the download url for a particular track by calling Tracks.GetDownloadUrlAsync(...):

using SoundCloudExplode;

var soundcloud = new SoundCloudClient();
await soundcloud.InitializeAsync();

var track = await soundcloud.Tracks.GetAsync("https://soundcloud.com/purityy79/dororo-op-piano-sheet-in-description");

var downloadUrl = await soundcloud.Tracks.GetDownloadUrlAsync(track);

The returned URL can point to progressive audio or an HLS playlist. Pass HLS URLs to a player that supports HLS, or use DownloadAsync to assemble the audio segments into a file. The library preserves the source encoding: AAC in an MP4 container uses .m4a, MP3 uses .mp3, and Opus in Ogg uses .ogg. It does not transcode audio.

DownloadAsync supports complete, unencrypted HLS playlists, including fragmented MP4 initialization segments and adaptive playlists. It reports unsupported encryption, byte ranges, discontinuities, or incomplete/live playlists explicitly. A failed or cancelled download may leave a partial file.

Demo CLI

The demo uses Spectre.Console prompts, metadata tables, status indicators, and download progress. Run it with the .NET 10 SDK:

dotnet run --project SoundCloudExplode.Demo.Cli
dotnet run --project SoundCloudExplode.Demo.Cli -- "https://soundcloud.com/artist/track"

It accepts tracks and playlists, saves files in Downloads using the source format's extension, and exits with q or Ctrl+C. Use --help for usage or --samples to run the API examples.

Development and tests

Package versions are maintained in Directory.Packages.props. Building the solution requires the .NET 10 SDK; the library targets .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 9, and .NET 10.

The default test run uses local HTTP fixtures. Live SoundCloud tests are skipped unless explicitly enabled:

dotnet test

To run live integration tests in PowerShell:

$env:SOUNDCLOUD_INTEGRATION_TESTS = "1"
dotnet test --filter "Category=Integration"
Remove-Item Env:SOUNDCLOUD_INTEGRATION_TESTS

Live tests depend on SoundCloud availability, geographic restrictions, and the continued availability of the sample tracks. CI runs the offline suite with coverage before creating release packages.