LinkedIn Accounts & Licences

This guide explains how to handle LinkedIn cookies, manage user accounts, and understand the different LinkedIn licenses supported on Captain Data.

Handling LinkedIn Accounts

Adding a New User

To automate LinkedIn actions, you must first add a user on Captain Data using the API Endpoint POST Create or Update User. Example Request Body:

{
  "email": "johndoe@test.co",
  "full_name": "John Doe",
  "country": "FR"
}

The country field provisions a proxy IP matching that country. This country must match the location where you log into your LinkedIn account to avoid restrictions.

You can use any ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code except the following:

"MG","RE","CI", "NA", "CV", "MU", "HN", "UY", "XK", "GN", "UA", "BB", "PF", "QA", "KY", "LY", "LB", "VE", "UG", "CH", "PK"

These country codes are restricted to ensure compliance with platform requirements and maintain secure automation.

If using a VPN, ensure the VPN’s country matches the one in Captain Data, or disconnect the VPN when logging in.

Linking LinkedIn Accounts to Users

After adding a user, you will connect an integration account in order to link the LinkedIn account to the user using the API Endpoint POST - Add or Update an Integration Account. The core of the LinkedIn integration are the cookies, which allow us to perform the desired actions on LinkedIn. Here’s an example account payload, using the previously created user_uid:

{
  "account": {
    "name": "Name of the account",
    "cookies": {
      "li_at": "YOUR_SESSION_COOKIE",
      "li_a": "If the account is a Sales Navigator one"
    },
    "user_uid": "xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx"
  }
}

For LinkedIn Sales Navigator, include both the li_a and li_at cookies for a more stable and faster connection.

If you wan to create a Shared LinkedIn Account, add the following to your request:

{
  "shared_account": true
}

Reminder: A Shared Account allows external users to connect their accounts via a Captain Data shared link, which grants them access to sync their credentials.

Best Practices for LinkedIn Automation

VPN and Country Settings

Ensure the country 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.
For multiple LinkedIn accounts, you must create separate Chrome sessions:
- 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.

Updating cookies for Account A while logged into Account B can lead to mismatches and errors.

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

In order to refresh accounts via API you need to use the POST - Add or Update an Integration Account by passing li_a and/or li_at cookie values.

If you build your own Chrome Extension, you should refresh cookies every 2 hours or so.

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"
  );
});

Complete source code is available on GitHub.

Smart Limits to Prevent Account Restrictions

Captain Data developed a unique Smart Limits feature to protect your users’ LinkedIn accounts. Learn more in this article LinkedIn Rate Limits.

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:

License	Captain Data Level	Captain Data Compatibility	InMails/Month	Invitations with Note	CRM Integration
LinkedIn Basic	Classic	Yes	0	5/month	No
LinkedIn Premium Career	Classic	No	5	N/A	No
LinkedIn Premium Business	Classic	Yes	15	400	No
Sales Navigator Core	Sales Navigator	Yes	50	400	No
LinkedIn Sales Solutions	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Today Captain Data handles LinkedIn Basic, LinkedIn Premium Business, and Sales Navigator Core which are defined as levels in the LinkedIn integration. When connecting a LinkedIn account (via cookies or native login), you may encounter various errors. Below is a guide to the most common error cases, their meanings, and how to resolve them.

Common Error Cases

Scenario	Message	Status	Error
Invalid credentials	Username or password invalid.	400	`INVALID_CREDENTIALS` _{Check your LinkedIn username and password. See authentication endpoint}
Google login not supported	Username or password invalid.	400	`INVALID_CREDENTIALS` _{Google login is not supported. Use “Forgot password” on LinkedIn to set a password and use that for login.}
Checkpoint code invalid	Code invalid.	400	`INVALID_CODE` _{The checkpoint (2FA/SMS/email) code is incorrect. Try again. See checkpoint endpoint}
Failed IP attribution	Could not login the account.	500	`LOGIN_ACCOUNT_500_ERROR` _{Retry logging in. This is a LinkedIn-side issue.}
IP allocation error	IP allocation error. Please retry again in 5 minutes or contact support.	400	`IP_ATTRIBUTION_ERROR_400` _{Wait 5 minutes and try again, or contact support.}
IP allocation conflict	IP allocation error. Please retry again in 5 minutes or contact support.	409	`IP_ATTRIBUTION_CONFLICT_409` _{Wait 5 minutes and try again, or contact support.}
IP rate limit exceeded	Rate limit exceeded IP attribution, please try again in five (5) minutes or contact the support.	429	`IP_ATTRIBUTION_RATE_LIMIT_429` _{Wait 5 minutes and try again, or contact support.}
No IP available in timezone	No IP available in this timezone. Update your timezone to a neighbouring one or contact support.	400	`IP_TIMEZONE_NOT_SUPPORTED_400` _{Change your timezone in Captain Data or contact support.}
Captcha challenge	Error while resolving the challenge, the Captcha challenge seem to be pending. Re-send username and password to overcome this.	500	`CAPTCHA_CHALLENGE_ERROR` _{Retry the authentication with your credentials.}
Unsupported challenge	Unsupported challenge identified, please contact the support and provide it with the user_uid so we can address it.	500	`UNSUPPORTED_CHALLENGE` _{Contact support with your user_uid.}
Simple challenge failed	Error while solving challenge, retry in 5 minutes, if it persists contact support.	500	`LOGIN_SIMPLE_CHALLENGE` _{Wait and retry, or contact support.}
In-app challenge pending	Waiting for user to validate in_app_challenge	500	`IN_APP_CHALLENGE_PENDING` _{Complete the challenge in your LinkedIn app.}
In-app challenge expired	In_app_challenge expired. Please retry the whole process by sending credentials again on /authenticate	500	`IN_APP_CHALLENGE_EXPIRED` _{Start the login process again.}
2FA expired	2FA expired. Please retry the whole process by sending credentials again on /authenticate	500	`2FA_VALIDATION_EXPIRED` _{Start the login process again.}
Checkpoint missing data	Error while solving the challenge, retry the whole process by sending credentials to /authenticate again	500	`CHECKPOINT_MISSING_DATA` _{Start the login process again.}
User management not permitted	User management via the API is not permitted for the current workspace, activate the option on settings	403	`CREATE-ONE-ACCOUNT-403-FORBIDDEN` _{Enable user management in your workspace settings.}
Account with same LinkedIn ID already exists	An account with the same Linkedin ID already exists.	409	`CREATE_OR_UPDATE_ACCOUNT_409_CONFLICT` _{Use a different LinkedIn account or user.}
Account already exists on user	An account already exist on this user	409	`CREATE_OR_UPDATE_ACCOUNT_409_CONFLICT` _{This will be merged in the future.}
Account link change	Please note that your account is different from the one that has already been synchronized.	409	`CREATE_OR_UPDATE_ACCOUNT_409_CONFLICT` _{Use the same LinkedIn account as previously connected.}
Other errors	Error while synchronizing your account, please retry again or contact the support.	500	- _{Retry or contact support.}

Notes & Recommendations

Google Login: If your LinkedIn account uses Google login, you must set a password on LinkedIn (via “Forgot password”) to use native login.
IP/Location Issues: Many errors are related to IP allocation or location mismatches. Make sure your timezone and country settings in Captain Data match your actual login location.
Challenge/2FA: If you receive a challenge (SMS, email, in-app), complete it promptly. If it expires, restart the login process.
Contact Support: For persistent or unclear errors, contact support and provide your identity_uid for faster resolution.

For more details, see the LinkedIn authentication and checkpoint API documentation. 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 support@captaindata.com 🙌

Getting Started

Essentials

Ecosystem

LinkedIn Accounts & Licences

Handling LinkedIn Accounts

Adding a New User

Linking LinkedIn Accounts to Users

Best Practices for LinkedIn Automation

Refreshing Cookies

How to refresh cookies via API

Smart Limits to Prevent Account Restrictions

LinkedIn Licenses Compatibility

Common Error Cases

Notes & Recommendations

​Handling LinkedIn Accounts

​Adding a New User

​Linking LinkedIn Accounts to Users

​Best Practices for LinkedIn Automation

​Refreshing Cookies

​How to refresh cookies via API

​Smart Limits to Prevent Account Restrictions

​LinkedIn Licenses Compatibility

​Troubleshooting LinkedIn Login Errors

​Common Error Cases

​Notes & Recommendations

Handling LinkedIn Accounts

Adding a New User

Linking LinkedIn Accounts to Users

Best Practices for LinkedIn Automation

Refreshing Cookies

How to refresh cookies via API

Smart Limits to Prevent Account Restrictions

LinkedIn Licenses Compatibility

Troubleshooting LinkedIn Login Errors

Common Error Cases

Notes & Recommendations