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# FAQ

## Connection Issues​

### Webscrobbler/Listenbrainz Endpoint doesn't connect​

These sources are ingress-based which means that multi-scrobbler waits for the Webscrobbler extension or app using Listenbrainz Endpoint to contact multi-scrobbler, as opposed to multi-scrobbler contacting them.

multi-scrobbler will log information about any server that connects to it for these services. In the logs it looks something like this:

    [2025-07-10 12:32:21.417 -0400] INFO   : [App] [API] [Ingress] [WebScrobbler] [Ingress] [WebScrobbler] Received request from a new remote address: ::ffff:127.0.0.1 (192.168.0.100) (UA: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:139.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/139.0)
    [2025-07-10 12:32:21.418 -0400] INFO   : [App] [API] [Ingress] [WebScrobbler] [Ingress] [WebScrobbler] ::ffff:127.0.0.1 (192.168.0.100) (UA: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:139.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/139.0) Received data for API URL slug '(none)' for the first time.

It also logs if a server tries to connect to a URL that it does not recognize:

    2023-02-22T11:16:12-05:00 debug  : [App             ] Server received POST request from ::ffff:192.168.0.100 (UA: PlexMediaServer/1.24.5.5173-8dcc73a59) to unknown route: /plkex

So, if you do not see either of these in your logs then the Source is not able to connect to your multi-scrobbler instance at all.

This is not something multi-scrobbler can fix and means you have an issue in your network.

#### Troubleshooting​

Check or try all these steps before submitting an issue:

##### Turn on Debug Logging​

First, turn on debug logging for multi-scrobbler by setting the environmental variable `DEBUG_MODE=true`. Then, check the output for any additional information.

##### Check Host name and URL​

The URLs examples in the configuration documentation assume you are running Webscrobbler/LFM Endpoint on the same server as multi-scrobbler. If these are not the same machine then you need to determine the IP address or domain name that multi-scrobbler is reachable at and use that instead of `localhost` when configuring these sources. This is likely the same host name that you would use to access the web interface for multi-scrobbler.

EX `http://localhost:9078/api/webscrobbler` -> `http://192.168.0.140:9078/api/webscrobbler`

##### Check Firewall and Port Forwarding​

If the machine multi-scrobbler is running on has a firewall ensure that port 9078 is open. Or if it is in another network entirely make sure your router is forwarding this port and it is open to the correct machine.

##### Check Source Service Logs​

###### Webscrobbler​

See Debugging the extension to get logs which should have information about failed requests.

### Spotify/Deezer/LastFM won't authenticate​

Ensure any client id or secrets are correct in your configuration.

The callback/redirect URL for these services must be:

- the same address you would use to access the multi-scrobbler web interface
  - the web-interface must be accessible from the browser you are completing authentication from.

If multi-scrobbler is not running on the same machine your browser is on then the default/example addresses (`http://localhost...`) will not work. You must determine the address you can reach the web interface at (such as `http://192.168.0.140:9078`) then use that in place of `localhost` in the callback URLs.

EX `http://localhost:9078/lastfm/callback` -> `http://192.168.0.220:9078/lastfm/callback`

### I get errors with `ECONNRESET` `ETIMEDOUT` `ENOTFOUND` `EAI_AGAIN`​

These are errors indicating a network issue is occuring between you and the Source/Client.

- `ECONNRESET` means the upstream service unexpectedly closed the connection
- `ETIMEDOUT` means the upstream service did not respond to a request MS
- `ENOTFOUND` means that MS could not find a DNS record for the domain of the upstream service
- `EAI_AGAIN` means that a DNS server did not respond to MS's request to lookup the record for a domain

`ECONNRESET` and timeout issues can occur when you have a poor connection or if the upstream service is overloaded or is generally not behaving well. This is a common occurrence for Listenbrainz/Musicbrainz related requests.

Please check the Upstream Services Status Page to independently verify if the service is misbehaving. If the service is up and has good uptime then the issue may be in your network.

`ENOTFOUND` and `EAI_AGAIN` and generally caused by DNS caching (stale records) or misbehaving DNS servers. Though this can happen at the upstream service's end, it is usually an issue in your network. If you run a Pihole, AdGaurd, or other DNS solution try flushing the cache for the mishaving domain and check that your DNS application is working correctly.

### Youtube Music fails after some time​

If you see errors in multi-scrobbler for YTM that contain 401 or 403 like

    Error: Could not send the specified request to browse. Status code: 401

then YTM has invalidated your authentication.

First, ensure you are NOT using YoutubeTV authentication. If you completed authentication by entering a "User Code" you are using YoutubeTV which has stopped working. You should reauthenticate using Cookies or Custom OAuth.

#### When using OAuth Client Authentication​

Refresh your authentication by using the (Re)authenticate link from MS's web dashboard.

#### When using Cookies Authentication​

The library MS uses relies on scraping the YTM site by using cookies from your actual browser to pretend it is a browser. It does its best to keep these up to date but since this is not an official way to access the service YTM may invalidate your access to the authenticated session at any time. How this is triggered is unknown and not something multi-scrobbler can control. You can help limit the chance of your session being invalidated by getting the cookie from an Incognito/Private Session and then immediately closing the browser afterwards.

To re-authenticate MS follow the YTM instructions to retrieve a new set of cookies for multi-scrobbler and then restart MS to potentially resolve the problem.

## Configuration Issues​

### Config could not be parsed​

If you see something like this in your logs:

    2023-02-19T10:05:42-06:00 warn   : [App] App config file exists but could not be parsed!
    2023-02-19T10:05:42-06:00 error  : [App] Exited with uncaught error
    2023-02-19T10:05:42-06:00 error  : [App] Error: config.json could not be parsed

It means the JSON in your configuration file is not valid. Copy and paste your configuration into a site like JSONLint to find out where errors you have and fix them.

## Scrobbling Issues​

### How do I prevent duplicate scrobbles?​

Multi-scrobbler has a robust duplicate scrobble detection system that should handle this for you in the majority of usecases. If you have a simple setup without any circular dependencies then you are already protected against duplicates.

If your scenario is more complex or you have a service(s) acting as both a Client and Source you should refer to the Duplicate Scrobble Guidance page to determine if you can avoid a configuration that may result in duplicate scrobbles.

### Last.fm does not scrobble tracks with multiple artists correctly​

This is a limitation of the Last.fm API where the artist field is only one string and Last.fm does not recognize (play well) with "combined" artists.

Multi-scrobbler works the same was the official Spotify-Last.fm integration works -- it only scrobbles the first artist on a multi-artist track.

### Google Cast track information is missing/incorrect or MS player has weird times​

The Google Cast integration relies on a few common fields in the data it receives from your casting device. Every platform that can cast (Spotify, Pandora, etc...) should use these fields the same but there are slight differences between their implementations that may confuse multi-scrobbler. Specific platforms may also return more information in non-common fields that are undocumented.

To diagnose these issues you must enable payload logging for your google cast Source, run MS, and then include logs with this output from that run. Without the raw data logged from your cast device it will be nearly impossible to resolve your issue.

### Google Cast device does not track media​

It is likely the app playing on the cast device is incorrectly reporting the media type as not music.

MS logs will tell you what type the media is reported as with lines like:

    My Artist - Example Track has 'unknown' media type and allowUnknownMedia=false, will not track

Refer to Allow Unknown Media Type section to fix this

    My Artist - Example Track has 'movie' media type so will not track

Refer to Force Media Tracking section to fix this

### VLC is not scrobbling fields correctly​

Before reporting an issue turn on metadata logging in the MS VLC configuration, see the VLC documentation.

### Youtube Music misses or duplicates scrobbles​

How MS detects YTM history

In order for multi-scrobbler to accurately determine if a song has been scrobbled it needs a source of truth. For YTM this is a "history" list scraped from the YTM website. Unfortunately, the data in this list can be (often) inconsistent which makes it hard for multi-scrobbler to "trust" that it is correct and determine when/if new scrobbles occur. This inconsistency is not something multi-scrobbler can control -- it is a side-effect of having to use an unofficial method to access YTM (scraping).

To compensate for this multi-scrobbler resets when it considers this list the "source of truth" based on if the list changes in an inconsistent way between consecutive checks. New scrobbles can only be detected when this list is "OK" as a source of truth for N+1 checks. Therefore, any new tracks that appear when the list is inconsistent will be ignored.

Duplicate scrobbles can also occur if the change between two checks is technically consistent. For instance, if you listen to a track twice in some period, separated by other music, YTM will sometimes "remove" the track from the earlier time (further down in your history) and "re-add" it at the top of the history.

#### Reporting YTM scrobble issues​

If you experience scrobble detection issues you can help improve MS's YTM heureistic by providing thorough feedback as an issue. Please do the following to provide the most useful report:

##### Turn on Change Detection​

In your YTM configuration (`ytmusic.json`) add `logDiff` under `options` like this:

    {
        "type": "ytmusic",
        "name": "MyYTM",
        "data": { ... },
        "options": {
            "logDiff": true
        }
    }

or set either ENVs:

- `YTM_LOG_DIFF=true`
- `DEBUG_MODE=true`

This will cause MS to log YTM history changes similar to this:

    [Ytmusic - MyYTM] Changes from last seen list:
    1. (tuhe1CpHRxY) KNOWER - I’m The President --- undefined => Moved -  Originally at 6
    2. (Mtg8V6Xa2nc) Vulfpeck - Romanian Drinking Song --- Schvitz => Moved -  Originally at 1
    3. (rxbCaiyYSXM) Nightmares On Wax - You Wish --- In A Space Outta Sound => Moved -  Originally at 2
    4. (tMt_YXr90AM) Gorillaz - O Green World --- undefined => Moved -  Originally at 3
    ...

Which are essential to troubleshooting this behavior.

##### Turn on File Logging​

Optionally, if your logs are busy due to many other sources, you can log only YTM logs to a file. Turn this on with the `logToFile` config option:

    {
        "type": "ytmusic",
        "name": "MyYTM",
        "data": { ... },
        "options": {
            "logDiff": true,
            "logToFile": true
        }
    }

This will cause MS to write YTM logs to a file in your `logs` folder named `ytmusic-MyYTM.log` (based on your source name).

##### Provide Detail and Context​

Provide a detailed account of how you were using YTM when the issue occurred, including things like:

- the platform listening on (desktop, mobile, 3rd party client, etc...)
- any changes in platform

  - > I switched from desktop to listening on my phone...

- how you were listening to music

  - > I was playing an album start to finish

  - > I listened to two songs in a row, then browsed for a new song in library by artist, then went back to a song in the queue...

Explain the expected behavior (it should have scrobbled songs x, y, then z) and what actually happened (it scrobbled songs x, then y, then x again, then z)

Provide ALL logs from the time when the issue occurred including logs from BEFORE (ideally 2-3 minutes of logs) and AFTER the issue.