Yep! The current release actually still uses AppleScript. The next release will use Scripting Bridge to hook into the app's playback state change events. Much more efficient.
I'm not too familiar with this, but macOS does have a "Now Playing" icon in the top menu bar whenever audio is playing. It works for all audio sources (Chrome, Spotify, etc). However, to my knowledge, Apple doesn't expose this API and the tool itself is not configurable.
Hmm, that's odd. Not sure exactly which approval you are referring to, but here is my experience:
The Spotify Web API actually required no approval, because it does not integrate with the user's account.
The current version of my app uses AppleScript, and was approved by the App Store within 24 hours. The next version will use Scripting Bridge, but I don't anticipate that will be an issue.
In the most technical sense, my app is not really an extension to the Spotify app, it is a standalone app that communicates with the Spotify app using Apple Events.
Senior full stack engineer with startup experience. Comfortable working in dynamic, fast-paced environments. Most recently I worked for Neeva, a search engine startup that was acquired by Snowflake.