This repository contains the source code for the official Better Lyrics API - primarily serving as the backend for Better Lyrics.
Note
A few endpoints are defined as environment variables in the .env file. This is deliberate to prevent abuse of the API and to ensure that the API is used responsibly. If you would like to use a similar API for your own project, consider using something like spotify-lyrics-api. This repository is intended to address privacy concerns and to provide a more transparent API for users.
To install and run the Lyrics API Go, follow these steps:
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/boidushya/better-lyrics-api.git - Navigate to the project directory:
cd better-lyrics-api - Install the dependencies:
go mod tidy - Copy the
.env.examplefile to.envand update the environment variables as needed:cp .env.example .env - Start the server:
go run main.go
Once the server is running, you can access the API endpoints to retrieve lyrics for songs.
GET /getLyrics?a={artist}&s={song}: Retrieves the lyrics for the specified artist and song.
This project uses Railway's persistent volumes to maintain the cache database across deployments.
Setup Steps:
-
Create a new project on Railway and connect your GitHub repository
-
Create a Volume (CRITICAL):
- Go to your service in Railway dashboard
- Click Settings → Volumes tab
- Click + New Volume
- Mount Path:
/data - Click Add
-
Set Environment Variables:
- Go to Variables tab
- Add:
CACHE_DB_PATH=/data/cache.db - Configure all other required variables from
.env.example
-
Deploy!
Verification: After deployment, check your logs for:
[Cache] Loaded X entries from disk to memory
If you see Loaded 0 entries on subsequent deploys (after caching data), the volume isn't persisting.
Troubleshooting:
- Ensure the volume mount path is exactly
/data - Verify
CACHE_DB_PATH=/data/cache.dbis set in Railway variables - The volume must be created BEFORE deploying with the updated env var
Contributions are welcome! If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please open an issue or submit a pull request.
This project is licensed under the GPL v3 License. As long as you attribute me or Better Lyrics as the original creator and you comply with the rest of the license terms, you can use this project for personal or commercial purposes.