> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clickwheel.fm/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scrobble to Last.fm

> Submit your iPod's listen history to Last.fm.

clickwheel reads play counts off the iPod and submits them to Last.fm. It's
opt-in, nothing leaves your Mac until you add credentials, and it needs no extra
package.

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get API credentials">
    Create an API account at
    [last.fm/api/account/create](https://www.last.fm/api/account/create). Any
    application name works ("clickwheel" is conventional). You'll get an **API
    key** and a **shared secret**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure">
    ```yaml title="~/.clickwheel/config.yaml" theme={null}
    lastfm_api_key: your_api_key
    lastfm_username: your_lastfm_username
    ```

    Keep the secret in `~/.clickwheel/.env` (mode `600`), out of YAML:

    ```bash title="~/.clickwheel/.env" theme={null}
    LASTFM_API_SECRET=your_shared_secret
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Authorize once">
    ```bash theme={null}
    clickwheel scrobble --auth
    ```

    A browser opens to Last.fm. Click **Allow**. clickwheel writes a session key
    into your config; future runs use it without prompting.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Submit listens

```bash theme={null}
clickwheel scrobble
```

clickwheel pulls recent plays from the iPod and submits them, caching what's
already been sent so you never double-scrobble. The iPod must be plugged in for
clickwheel to read its play cache.

<Note>
  Scrobble **before** a big re-sync, so play history isn't lost when tracks
  change on the device.
</Note>

The same `lastfm_api_key` also powers genre lookups in
[`clickwheel fix`](/guides/fix-metadata) (read-only, no session key needed). If
you only want genre tagging and never plan to scrobble, stop after the API key
is in place and skip `--auth`.

## From Claude

You can also drive this from Claude. Set up the
[MCP server](/concepts/mcp-server), then the
[scrobble tools](/reference/mcp-tools/lastfm) are yours.