Spotify Canvas Checker
Drop the MP4 or JPG you are about to upload and see whether it meets Spotify's published Canvas spec — 3–8 seconds, vertical 9:16, 720–1080 px, no audio track — with the reason for every fail. Checked in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
How to upload it
- Open Spotify for Artists — the desktop web app or the mobile app — and go to Music.
- Open the track (Canvas is set per track) and choose Add Canvas, then pick your MP4 or JPG.
- You need an Admin or Editor role on that artist's team, and the artist must be the first main artist on the track — a featured artist cannot add a Canvas.
- If the desktop web upload errors or hangs on a file that passes here, try the Spotify for Artists mobile app — artists regularly report the same file going through there.
- Give it time — a new Canvas does not always appear in the Spotify app immediately.
We can't post to Spotify for you — there is no public Canvas API. This page checks the file; the upload is yours to do in Spotify for Artists.
What Spotify actually publishes
Spotify's own Canvas guidelines are short. The whole published file spec is:
That is it. The resolution line is the one ambiguity: read literally, “720px – 1080px tall” would bless a 608×1080 file, while every Canvas that works is 720p or 1080p vertical — 720×1280 up to 1080×1920. This checker reads it that way: width 720–1080 px, height 1280–1920 px. There is no published codec, bitrate, frame-rate or file-size rule, and no line about audio, so everything in the list below beyond those four rows comes from what artists report and from how transcoders behave — this checker labels it WARN or explains it instead of pretending it is spec. Spotify also has a separate content policy plus taste rules (avoid rapid cuts and intense flashing; don't stamp the artist or song name on it), and no file checker can predict that part.
Why uploads get rejected
- An audio track in the file. Canvas is silent by definition, and a muted audio track is still an audio track. Export with audio disabled, not turned down — the classic cause on files that otherwise look perfect.
- Sitting on the 8.0 s edge. Exporters that count frames land at 8.00–8.03 s (240 frames at 29.97 fps is 8.008 s). Trim to 7.9 s or less and the file has headroom.
- Not 9:16 in pixels. A square or 4:5 export, or a phone clip that is only vertical because of a rotation flag in the header. Spotify wants the pixels themselves vertical: 1080×1920 or 720×1280.
- Wrong container. MOV from Final Cut or QuickTime, MKV, or a GIF. Only MP4 (video) and JPG (still) are accepted.
- WebM wearing an .mp4 name. Firefox and several screen recorders save WebM; renaming the file to .mp4 does not change the bytes, and the upload fails without saying why. This checker reads the bytes, not the name.
- Taller than 1080p. A 4K export (2160×3840) is 9:16 and gorgeous and above the maximum. Downscale to 1080×1920.
Headed for other platforms too? The music visualizer creates 9:16 MP4 clips for Reels, TikTok and Shorts from a track, in the browser.
More free tools
FAQ
What are the Spotify Canvas requirements?
Spotify publishes four rules: the file is an MP4 video or a JPG still, a video runs 3 to 8 seconds, the frame is vertical 9:16, and the resolution is “between 720px – 1080px tall” — which in practice means 720p to 1080p vertical, 720×1280 up to 1080×1920. Spotify publishes no codec, bitrate, frame-rate or file-size rule.
Why was my Spotify Canvas rejected?
The usual causes are an audio track inside the video (Canvas must be silent — a muted track still counts), a duration sitting on the 8.0-second edge, pixels that are not 9:16 (square, 4:5, or a landscape clip with a rotation flag), a MOV or WebM container instead of MP4 — including WebM renamed to .mp4 — and exports taller than 1080p such as 4K. Drop the file on this page and each cause shows as a FAIL row with the fix.
Does a Spotify Canvas need sound?
No. Canvas plays silently over the track, and a file that carries its own audio track is a known rejection cause. Export with audio disabled so the MP4 contains exactly one video track and no audio track at all — muting the audio is not the same thing.
Does this tool upload my file or post it to Spotify?
Neither. The file is read inside your browser — the MP4 boxes and JPG headers are parsed on your device and nothing is sent to a server. There is no public Canvas API, so no tool can post a Canvas for you; you upload it yourself in Spotify for Artists.
Is there a file-size limit for a Spotify Canvas?
Spotify publishes no size limit. Third-party guides say keep it under roughly 8–15 MB, and a 3–8 second 1080×1920 H.264 export normally lands well under that. This checker warns above 15 MB; if you are over, lower the bitrate rather than the resolution.