Connecting LinkedIn Accounts

​

Managing LinkedIn Accounts

​

Create a New User First

As a reminder, to automate LinkedIn actions, you must first create a user in Captain Data using the Create a User endpoint. Example request:

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.captaindata.com/v4/users \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-Key: <your_api_key>' \
  --data '{
  "full_name": "John Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "timezone": "Europe/Paris"
}'

​

Connect LinkedIn Accounts to Users

After adding a User, you will Connect a User’s Integration in order to link the LinkedIn account to the user.

You can connect LinkedIn accounts in two ways:

1. Synchronize cookies: Send LinkedIn authentication cookies (li_at and optionally li_a for Sales Navigator) to connect an account. This is useful when:

   • You already have the cookies from your own Chrome extension
   • You want to handle authentication yourself
   • You need precise control over cookie management

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.captaindata.com/v4/users/{user_uid}/integrations/linkedin \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-Key: <your_api_key>' \
  --data '{
  "account_name": "LinkedIn Account #1",
  "auth_data": {
    "cookies": {
      "li_at": "<li_at_token>",
      "li_a": "<li_a_token>"
    }
  }
}'

2. Connect natively: Provide the LinkedIn email and password to let Captain Data handle the authentication flow. This is recommended when:
   • You want a simpler integration
   • You don’t want to manage cookies
   • You need automatic cookie refresh

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.captaindata.com/v4/users/{user_uid}/integrations/linkedin \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-Key: <api-key>' \
  --data '{
  "auth_data": {
    "basic": {
      "username": "[email protected]",
      "password": "********"
    }
  }
}'

​

Best Practices for LinkedIn Automation

VPN and Timezone/Country Settings

• Ensure the timezone in Captain Data matches your login location on LinkedIn.
• Match your VPN’s country with Captain Data, or disconnect the VPN while logging in.

Managing Chrome Sessions

• Use Captain Data’s Chrome Extension to automatically sync cookies, useful for testing purposes.
• If you’re using multiple LinkedIn accounts on the same browser, you must create separate Chrome profiles:
  • Click your Chrome profile icon > Add a new profile.
  • Name it according to the LinkedIn account (e.g., “Account B”).
  • Log in to Captain Data and LinkedIn within this new session.

​

Refreshing Cookies

Cookies need refreshing if:

• You log out of LinkedIn
• LinkedIn expires or changes cookies
• LinkedIn restricts the account due to excessive activity

Regular activity and following Smart Limits guidelines help prevent restrictions.

​

How to refresh cookies via API

To refresh accounts via API, use the PUT - Update a User’s Integration endpoint by passing the updated li_at and/or li_a cookie values:

Here’s a code example for a Chrome Extension that runs in the background using alarms:

/**
 * Alarm to update cookies every X minutes.
 */
chrome.alarms.onAlarm.addListener(() => {
  // Ensure updateTokensHandle() is defined elsewhere in your code
  return updateTokensHandle();
});

// Set up the alarm when the extension is installed
chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener(async ({ reason }) => {
  const periodDurationMinutes = 120; // Every 2 hours

  // Create an alarm that will trigger every `periodDurationMinutes`
  await chrome.alarms.create("updateToken", {
    periodInMinutes: periodDurationMinutes,
  });

  console.log(
    "Alarm created to update token every " + periodDurationMinutes + " minutes"
  );
});

​

Smart Limits to Prevent Restrictions

​

LinkedIn Licenses Compatibility

Captain Data supports various LinkedIn licenses, each with unique features and limitations. Below is a breakdown of how each license integrates with Captain Data:

Today Captain Data handles LinkedIn Basic, LinkedIn Premium Business, and Sales Navigator Core which are defined as level in the LinkedIn integration.

By following this guide, you can safely automate LinkedIn activities with Captain Data, ensuring stable sessions and avoiding platform restrictions.

For further assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team at [email protected] 🙌