linkedin-cli

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: linkedin-cli
description: "Use when automating LinkedIn via CLI: fetch profiles, search people/companies, send messages, manage connections, create posts, and Sales Navigator."
risk: safe
source: community
date_added: "2026-02-27"
---

## When to Use

Use this skill when you need to automate LinkedIn tasks such as profile fetching, connection management, or post creation via CLI, especially when integrated into automated workflows.

# LinkedIn Skill

You have access to `linkedin` -- a CLI tool for LinkedIn automation. Use it to fetch profiles, search people and companies, send messages, manage connections, create posts, react, comment, and more.

Each command sends a request to Linked API, which runs a real cloud browser to perform the action on LinkedIn. Operations are **not instant** -- expect 30 seconds to several minutes depending on complexity.

If `linkedin` is not available, install it:

```bash
npm install -g @linkedapi/linkedin-cli
```

## Authentication

If a command fails with exit code 2 (authentication error), ask the user to set up their account:

1. Go to [app.linkedapi.io](https://app.linkedapi.io) and sign up or log in
2. Connect their LinkedIn account
3. Copy the **Linked API Token** and **Identification Token** from the dashboard

Once the user provides the tokens, run:

```bash
linkedin setup --linked-api-token=TOKEN --identification-token=TOKEN
```

## When to Use

Use this skill when you need to **orchestrate LinkedIn actions from scripts or an AI agent** instead of clicking through the web UI:

- Building outreach, research, or recruiting workflows that rely on LinkedIn data and messaging.
- Enriching leads or accounts by fetching people and company profiles in bulk.
- Coordinating multi-step Sales Navigator or workflow runs where JSON output and exit codes are required.

Always respect LinkedIn's terms of service, local regulations, and your organisation's compliance policies when using automation against real accounts.

## Global Flags

Always use `--json` and `-q` for machine-readable output:

```bash
linkedin <command> --json -q
```

| Flag                    | Description                             |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| `--json`                | Structured JSON output                  |
| `--quiet` / `-q`        | Suppress stderr progress messages       |
| `--fields name,url,...` | Select specific fields in output        |
| `--no-color`            | Disable colors                          |
| `--account "Name"`      | Use a specific account for this command |

## Output Format

Success:

```json
{ "success": true, "data": { "name": "John Doe", "headline": "Engineer" } }
```

Error:

```json
{
  "success": false,
  "error": { "type": "personNotFound", "message": "Person not found" }
}
```

Exit code 0 means the API call succeeded -- always check the `success` field for the action outcome. Non-zero exit codes indicate infrastructure errors:

| Exit Code | Meaning                                                                                     |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 0         | Success (check `success` field -- action may have returned an error like "person not found") |
| 1         | General/unexpected error                                                                    |
| 2         | Missing or invalid tokens                                                                   |
| 3         | Subscription/plan required                                                                  |
| 4         | LinkedIn account issue                                                                      |
| 5         | Invalid arguments                                                                           |
| 6         | Rate limited                                                                                |
| 7         | Network error