LinkedIn Skill

Access LinkedIn data through browser automation. This approach is reliable because it uses your actual browser session, avoiding LinkedIn’s aggressive bot detection that blocks API-only traffic.

Setup Requirements

Chrome Profile Setup (One-Time)

1. Create a dedicated Chrome profile for automation:

   • Open Chrome → click your profile icon (top right) → “Add”
   • Name it something memorable (e.g., “Claude” or “Automation”)
   • This keeps automation separate from personal browsing

2. In your automation profile:

   • Log into LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
   • Install the Claude browser extension from https://claude.ai/chrome
   • Keep this Chrome window open when using LinkedIn commands

3. Before using LinkedIn commands:

   • Ensure Chrome is open with your automation profile
   • The Claude browser extension must be connected

Browser Automation Commands

When the user asks for LinkedIn data, use the claude-in-chrome tools to navigate and extract information.

Connecting to Chrome

Always start by checking the browser connection:

1. Call mcp__claude-in-chrome__tabs_context_mcp with createIfEmpty: true
2. If not connected, ask user to open Chrome with their automation profile
3. Create a new tab or use existing one

Reading Feed

When user asks to see their LinkedIn feed:

1. Navigate to https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
2. Use read_page to extract feed content
3. Parse and format the feed items

Example flow:

1. mcp__claude-in-chrome__navigate to https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
2. mcp__claude-in-chrome__read_page with filter: “all” to get post content
3. Extract post authors, content, engagement metrics from the accessibility tree

Viewing Profiles

When user asks about a LinkedIn profile:

1. Navigate to https://www.linkedin.com/in/{username}/
2. Use read_page to extract profile information
3. Parse name, headline, about, experience, etc.

Searching

When user wants to search LinkedIn:

People:    https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/people/?keywords={query}
Jobs:      https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/jobs/?keywords={query}
Companies: https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/companies/?keywords={query}
Posts:     https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/content/?keywords={query}

Reading Messages

When user wants to check messages:

1. Navigate to https://www.linkedin.com/messaging/
2. Use read_page to extract conversation list
3. Click on a conversation to read messages

Data Extraction Patterns

Feed Posts

Look for these patterns in the accessibility tree:

• Post author: Links with profile URLs
• Post content: Text nodes within post containers
• Engagement: Like/comment/share counts
• Timestamps: Relative time indicators

Profile Data

Navigate to profile and extract:

• Name and headline from main header
• About section text
• Experience entries (company, title, duration)
• Education entries
• Skills section

Search Results

Parse result items containing:

• Name/title link
• Subtitle (headline, location)
• Connection degree
• Profile picture

Example Interactions

“Show my LinkedIn feed”

1. Connect to Chrome: tabs_context_mcp
2. Navigate: navigate to linkedin.com/feed/
3. Wait for load: computer action=wait duration=2
4. Read content: read_page with depth=10
5. Parse and summarize top posts

“Look up John Smith on LinkedIn”

1. Connect to Chrome: tabs_context_mcp
2. Navigate: navigate to linkedin.com/search/results/people/?keywords=John%20Smith
3. Read results: read_page filter=interactive
4. Present matching profiles

“What’s my profile looking like?”

1. Connect to Chrome: tabs_context_mcp
2. Navigate: navigate to linkedin.com/in/me/
3. Read profile: read_page
4. Summarize profile stats, recent activity

CLI Fallback (Less Reliable)

The CLI tool is available but LinkedIn often invalidates API sessions:

# Install
cd /Users/derekrein/Code/cyberdrk305/linkedin && npm install && npm run build && npm link

# Commands (may require fresh cookies frequently)
linkedin setup              # Setup instructions
linkedin check              # Verify credentials
linkedin whoami             # Show logged-in user
linkedin feed -n 10         # Get feed posts
linkedin profile <username> # View profile

Manual Cookie Setup

If using the CLI, you’ll need to manually extract cookies:

1. Open Chrome DevTools (F12) on linkedin.com
2. Go to: Application → Cookies → linkedin.com
3. Copy li_at and JSESSIONID values
4. Run: linkedin setup --li-at "VALUE" --jsessionid "VALUE"

Note: LinkedIn aggressively invalidates these sessions after a few API calls.

Troubleshooting

Browser extension not connected

• Ensure Chrome is open with your automation profile
• Click the Claude extension icon to activate it
• Try restarting Chrome

LinkedIn checkpoint/verification page

• LinkedIn may require verification for new browser sessions
• Complete the verification manually, then retry

Session expired

• Log back into LinkedIn in your automation Chrome profile
• Refresh the page and try again