LinkedIn API - SocialAPI

The LinkedIn API in SocialAPI connects a LinkedIn member profile (linkedin) and, with beta access, a company Page (linkedin_page). A member connection publishes text, image, video, multi-image, and link posts as the person. A Page connection publishes as the Page and adds comments, mentions, and analytics. SocialAPI’s own LinkedIn app connects both the profile and the Page, so you register nothing: see Platform apps.

At a glance

Field	Value
Platform slug	`linkedin`
Auth	OAuth 2.0 with LinkedIn Sign In (OpenID Connect)
Platform API	LinkedIn Posts API
Status	Available

Capabilities

An unsupported call returns 501 resource.not_supported.

Feature	Status	Condition
Publish text, image, video, multi-image, link posts	Yes	See LinkedIn publishing
Schedule a post	Yes	`scheduled_at` on the post
First comment on a post	No	`first_comment` is ignored
Update a published post	No	`PATCH /v1/posts/{pid}` returns `409 post.state_invalid` for a published post. Delete the post and publish a new one
Delete a published post	Yes
List posts	Partial	Returns the posts you published through SocialAPI, not a live read from LinkedIn
Comments	Beta	Page connection (`linkedin_page`, beta access): list, reply, like, and delete. Profile connection (`connection_type: "profile"`, beta access): reply, like, and delete only, because LinkedIn does not allow reading comments on a member’s posts: listing returns `501 resource.not_supported`. The default member connection returns `501 resource.not_supported` for every comment call. Hide and private reply are not supported
Analytics	Beta	`GET /v1/platforms/linkedin/insights` on a Page connection or on a profile connection: see Insights. The default member connection has none. Live post metrics return `501 resource.not_supported`
DMs	No	`501 resource.not_supported`
Mentions	Beta	Page connection only (beta access): `GET /v1/accounts/{id}/mentions` returns posts and comments that mention the Page from the last 60 days, and `POST /v1/accounts/{id}/mentions/reply` answers them as the Page. Member and profile connections return `501 resource.not_supported`
Reviews	No	LinkedIn has no reviews. `GET /v1/inbox/reviews/{account_id}` returns `422 account.platform_unsupported`
Automations	No	`422 automation.platform_unsupported`
Webhook events	Partial	`account.connected` and the `post.*` events

The cross-platform matrix is on Platforms.

Connect an account

Connect with POST /v1/accounts/connect and "platform": "linkedin". The shared flow, request fields, and result are in Connect accounts, and the redirect parameters are in Redirect parameters.

curl -X POST https://api.social-api.ai/v1/accounts/connect \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "platform": "linkedin",
    "redirect_uri": "https://app.example.com/oauth/callback",
    "state": "session_abc123"
  }'

Response (HTTP 202):

{
  "auth_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/authorization?response_type=code&client_id=77abc123&state=4a8f2c1e9b3d7f06a5c2e8b4d1f3a7e2",
  "state": "4a8f2c1e9b3d7f06a5c2e8b4d1f3a7e2",
  "message": "Open this link to connect your linkedin account. Once you've authorized, the account will be connected automatically."
}

LinkedIn-specific rules:

Member connection. The connected account is the person who signed in. Posts publish to that person’s feed.
Profile connection (beta). Send "metadata": {"connection_type": "profile"} to connect the member for posting, replying to comments, and analytics as that person. This option is in beta and available to accounts with beta access. GET /v1/accounts returns connection_type: "profile" on these accounts and omits the field on every other account. See Insights.
Company Page connection (beta). Connect with "platform": "linkedin_page" to act as a company Page you administer. This option is in beta and available to accounts with beta access. The account publishes as the Page and supports comments, mentions, and insights.
Token lifetime. LinkedIn access tokens last 60 days and cannot be refreshed. When one expires, the first call that fails returns 401 platform.linkedin.auth and the account is marked token_expired. Every later call that acts on the account returns 403 account.reconnection_required until you reconnect it. See Reconnect an account.
Disconnect. LinkedIn offers apps no way to end an authorization. Disconnecting an account removes it from SocialAPI, and the person removes SocialAPI’s app in their LinkedIn settings.

Insights (beta)

GET /v1/platforms/linkedin/insights?account_id={id} returns the follower count and per-post counts for a company Page or for a profile connected with connection_type profile. kind tells them apart: member for a profile, organization for a Page. On a Page, posts covers the Page’s 50 most recent posts.

On a profile, posts covers the 5 most recent posts published to the profile through SocialAPI. It is an empty array until you publish one, and follower_count is returned either way.
Each profile post returns impressions, unique_views, likes, comments, and shares. clicks and engagement_rate are always 0 for a profile.
A count LinkedIn cannot return for a post is 0.
The route requires the analytics.read permission.

Webhook events

Event	When it fires
`account.connected`	The account was connected
`account.updated`	The account lost permissions you did not remove yourself (`change` is `permissions_reduced`)
`post.published`, `post.partial`, `post.failed`	A post to this account finished: see Delivery

Every event is described in Webhook events.

Limits

Limit	Value
Post text	3,000 characters
Multi-image post	2 to 20 images
Posts	25 per hour and 50 per 24 hours for each account: see Posting velocity caps
LinkedIn’s own rate limit	`429 platform.linkedin.rate_limit`. Credit rules: see when a credit comes back

Scopes

SocialAPI’s LinkedIn app requests these scopes at connect. You apply for no app review. Each scope belongs to the account permissions in the last column, and the consent screen asks for the scopes of the permissions you selected.

Scope	Used for	Permissions
`openid`, `profile`	Identify the member: name, picture, and ID	Every account
`w_member_social`	Publish posts as the member	`posts.write`

A profile connected with connection_type: "profile" (beta) requests these scopes instead:

Scope	Used for	Permissions
`r_basicprofile`	Identify the member: name, picture, and ID	Every account
`w_member_social`	Publish posts as the member	`posts.write`
`w_member_social_feed`	Reply to comments on the member’s posts	`comments.write`
`r_member_postAnalytics`, `r_member_profileAnalytics`	Post counts and the follower count	`analytics.read`

A company Page connection (linkedin_page, beta) requests these scopes:

Scope	Used for	Permissions
`r_basicprofile`, `rw_organization_admin`	Identify the member and list the Pages they administer	Every account
`r_organization_social`	Read the Page’s posts	`posts.read`
`w_organization_social`	Publish posts as the Page	`posts.write`
`r_organization_social_feed`	Read comments on the Page’s posts	`comments.read`
`w_organization_social_feed`	Reply to, like, and delete comments	`comments.write`
`r_organization_followers`	Follower count and post statistics	`analytics.read`

LinkedIn publishing: fields, media rules, text formatting, and quirks for publishing
Connect accounts: the shared connect flow
Platforms: the capability matrix
Errors: every error code

​At a glance

​Capabilities

​Connect an account

​Insights (beta)

​Webhook events

​Limits

​Scopes

​Related