Scrape LinkedIn search results and extract professional profile data — Excel & CSV export with 15+ fields.
Quick Start • Features • Configuration • FAQ • Contributing
LinkedIn Data Scraper is a free, open-source LinkedIn profile extraction tool built with Python and Playwright. Most LinkedIn scrapers break constantly because they parse HTML that LinkedIn changes every week. This scraper intercepts LinkedIn's internal Voyager API to get structured JSON data directly — the same data LinkedIn's own frontend uses. When the API doesn't capture something, it falls back to DOM parsing.
The result: reliable data extraction that survives LinkedIn UI updates, with 15+ fields per profile including emails, phone numbers, experience, education, and skills.
- Recruiters building candidate pipelines from LinkedIn searches
- Sales Teams extracting lead data for CRM import
- Market Researchers analyzing talent pools by industry and location
- HR Departments benchmarking compensation and title distribution
- Growth Hackers building B2B prospect lists at scale
- Developers learning Playwright stealth and API interception
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| People Search | Search by keywords, name, job title, company, location, country, industry |
| Profile Extraction | Full name, headline, company, location, about, experience, education, skills, connections |
| Contact Info | Email, phone, website — when publicly visible on the profile |
| Excel Export | Color-coded headers, clickable links, auto-filters, frozen headers, email highlighting |
| CSV Export | Clean UTF-8 CSV for CRM, mail merge, Google Sheets |
| Anti-Detection | Playwright stealth, randomized delays, cookie sessions, adaptive rate limiting |
| Rich CLI | Progress bars, colored output, interactive prompts |
| Web UI | Streamlit browser interface with download buttons |
| API Interception | Captures LinkedIn's Voyager API for stable structured data |
| Cross-Platform | macOS, Windows, Linux — Chrome, Edge, or Chromium |
| Docker | Containerized deployment ready |
| Field | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Profile full name | Search + API |
| Headline | Job title / professional tagline | Search + API |
| Company | Current company | Search + API |
| Location | City, region, or country | Search + API |
| Industry | Professional sector | Profile API |
| Email address (if publicly visible) | Contact Info API | |
| Phone | Phone number (if publicly visible) | Contact Info API |
| Website | Personal or company website | Contact Info API |
| LinkedIn URL | Direct clickable link to profile | Search |
| Current Title | Current job title | Profile API |
| Experience | Work history (title, company, dates) | Profile API + DOM |
| Education | Schools, degrees, fields of study | Profile API + DOM |
| Skills | Professional skills list | Skills API + DOM |
| Connections | Number of LinkedIn connections | Profile API |
| About | Profile summary / bio | Profile API + DOM |
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Python 3.9+ | Download Python |
| LinkedIn Account | Needed for authentication |
| Google Chrome | Recommended (or Chromium / Edge) |
git clone https://github.com/SoCloseSociety/LinkedinDataScraper.git
cd LinkedinDataScraper
make install
source .venv/bin/activategit clone https://github.com/SoCloseSociety/LinkedinDataScraper.git
cd LinkedinDataScraper
python -m venv .venv
# Activate:
# Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
# Mac/Linux: source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
playwright install chromiumcp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your LinkedIn email and password# Interactive mode — prompts for everything
python -m linkedin_scraper
# Direct search with location
python -m linkedin_scraper "software engineer" --location "San Francisco" --max-results 20
# Industry filter + Excel only
python -m linkedin_scraper "data scientist" --industry "Technology" --format excel
# Fast mode — search results only, no profile pages
python -m linkedin_scraper "CEO" --location "New York" --no-details -n 50python -m linkedin_scraper [keywords] [options]
| Option | Short | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
keywords |
Search keywords (e.g., "software engineer") |
Interactive prompt | |
--location |
-l |
City, region, or country | Any |
--industry |
-i |
Industry filter | Any |
--max-results |
-n |
Max profiles to extract (cap: 80) | 50 |
--output |
-o |
Output directory | output/ |
--format |
-f |
csv, excel, or both |
both |
--no-details |
Skip profile pages (faster) | Extract details | |
--headless |
Run browser in headless mode | Visible | |
--email |
LinkedIn email | Env var or manual | |
--password |
LinkedIn password | Env var or manual | |
--cookies |
Cookies file path | linkedin_cookies.json |
|
--verbose |
-v |
-v INFO, -vv DEBUG |
Warning |
--version |
Show version |
# Marketing directors in France
python -m linkedin_scraper "directeur marketing" -l "France" -n 30
# Finance project managers in London → Excel
python -m linkedin_scraper "project manager" -l "London" -i "Finance" -f excel
# Recruiters in Berlin — fast scan, no detail pages
python -m linkedin_scraper "recruiter" -l "Berlin" --no-details -n 80
# Debug mode
python -m linkedin_scraper "developer" -l "Tokyo" -vvmake ui
# or: streamlit run app.pyThe web UI provides:
- Search form with all filters (keywords, location, industry, max results)
- Real-time progress tracking with status updates
- Interactive results table with sorting and filtering
- One-click download buttons for CSV and Excel
- Metrics dashboard (total profiles, with email, with phone, data source)
- Live logs for monitoring
The Excel file is professionally formatted and ready to use:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Color-coded headers | Purple (Identity), Indigo (Contact), Dark (Professional), Gray (Meta) |
| Email highlighting | Green = email found, Red = no email |
| Clickable links | LinkedIn profile URLs and websites open in browser |
| Auto-filters | All columns sortable and filterable |
| Frozen header | Header row + name column stay visible when scrolling |
| Alternating rows | Soft tint for readability |
| Summary sheet | Stats: total profiles, % with email, % with phone, data sources |
| Bold names | Full Name column uses larger bold font |
LinkedIn requires login. Three methods are supported:
| Method | When to use |
|---|---|
| Cookie sessions (recommended) | Login once, cookies saved for future runs |
| Auto login | Provide email/password via CLI or .env |
| Manual login | Browser opens, you log in manually — handles 2FA and CAPTCHA |
First run tip: Don't use
--headlessso the browser is visible. Complete login manually if there's a security challenge. Cookies are saved automatically.
LinkedIn aggressively detects automation. Built-in protections:
| Protection | Detail |
|---|---|
| Randomized delays | 3-7 seconds between profile visits |
| Long pauses | 15-30 seconds every 8 profiles |
| Session limit | Max 80 profiles per run |
| Adaptive backoff | Exponential delay increase on errors |
| Cookie persistence | Avoids repeated logins |
| Playwright stealth | Anti-detection plugin active |
| Auto-stop | Halts after 5 consecutive failures |
Recommendation: Keep
--max-resultsunder 50 for regular use.
# Build
docker build -t linkedin-scraper .
# Run web UI
docker run -p 8501:8501 linkedin-scraper
# Run CLI
docker run -it -v $(pwd)/output:/app/output linkedin-scraper \
python -m linkedin_scraper "keywords" --location "City" --headless┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. AUTHENTICATE │
│ Load cookies → validate session → login if needed │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 2. SEARCH │
│ Navigate to LinkedIn People Search │
│ Apply filters (location, industry) │
│ Intercept Voyager API search responses → mini-profiles │
│ Paginate through results │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. EXTRACT (optional) │
│ Visit each profile page │
│ Intercept Voyager API profile + contact info responses │
│ DOM fallback for missing fields │
│ Rate-limited with adaptive delays │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 4. EXPORT │
│ Generate formatted Excel (.xlsx) with color coding │
│ Generate clean CSV (.csv) with UTF-8 BOM │
│ Summary statistics sheet │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
LinkedinDataScraper/
├── linkedin_scraper/ # Main Python package
│ ├── __main__.py # CLI entry point
│ ├── cli.py # Argument parsing
│ ├── config.py # Constants & rate limits
│ ├── models.py # Data models (LinkedInProfile)
│ ├── auth/
│ │ └── session.py # Cookie-based authentication
│ ├── scraper/
│ │ ├── browser.py # Playwright + stealth browser
│ │ ├── search.py # LinkedIn people search
│ │ ├── profile.py # Profile detail extraction
│ │ ├── api_interceptor.py # Voyager API response capture
│ │ └── selectors.py # CSS selectors (fallback)
│ ├── export/
│ │ └── exporter.py # CSV + Excel export
│ └── utils/
│ └── rate_limiter.py # Adaptive rate limiting
├── app.py # Streamlit web interface
├── assets/ # Brand assets (logo, banner)
├── output/ # Exported files
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── pyproject.toml # Package metadata
├── Makefile # Quick commands
├── Dockerfile # Container deployment
├── .env.example # Credentials template
├── LICENSE # MIT License
└── README.md
| Feature | v1 (old) | v2 (new) |
|---|---|---|
| Browser | Selenium | Playwright + stealth |
| Extraction | DOM parsing only | Voyager API interception + DOM fallback |
| Output | 2 separate CSVs | Formatted Excel + CSV |
| Fields | 2 (link, title) | 15+ fields (email, phone, experience...) |
| Error handling | None | Retry + graceful degradation |
| Rate limiting | sleep(10) |
Adaptive with backoff |
| Platform | Chrome only | Chrome, Edge, Chromium (Mac/Win/Linux) |
| Interface | input() terminal |
Rich CLI + Streamlit Web UI |
Q: Is this free? A: Yes. LinkedIn Data Scraper is 100% free and open source under the MIT license.
Q: Do I need a LinkedIn API key? A: No. This tool uses Playwright browser automation with Voyager API interception, no official API key needed.
Q: How many profiles can I scrape?
A: The built-in safety cap is 80 profiles per session to respect LinkedIn's rate limits. Keep --max-results under 50 for regular use.
Q: Are my credentials safe?
A: Credentials are stored in a local .env file that is gitignored. Cookie sessions are saved locally for future runs.
Q: Does it work without a LinkedIn account? A: No. LinkedIn requires authentication to view search results and profiles.
Q: Does it work on Mac / Linux? A: Yes. Fully cross-platform on Windows, macOS, and Linux with Chrome, Edge, or Chromium.
Q: Can I run it without a browser window?
A: Yes. Use --headless mode. But for the first run, use visible mode to handle any security challenges.
| Feature | LinkedIn Data Scraper | LinkedIn API | Manual Copy-Paste | Paid Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free (limited) | Free | $50-300/mo |
| Voyager API interception | Yes | N/A | N/A | Varies |
| 15+ data fields | Yes | Rate limited | Manual | Yes |
| Excel with formatting | Yes | No | No | Basic |
| Open source | Yes | N/A | N/A | No |
| Web UI (Streamlit) | Yes | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Docker ready | Yes | N/A | N/A | Varies |
Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
This tool is provided for educational and research purposes only. You are solely responsible for how you use this software. Scraping LinkedIn may violate their Terms of Service. By using this tool, you agree to:
- Use it responsibly and ethically
- Comply with all applicable laws and regulations
- Not hold the authors liable for any consequences
- Respect LinkedIn's rate limits and user privacy
MIT License - Copyright (c) 2022 Enzo Day
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Built with purpose by SoClose — Digital Innovation Through Automation & AI
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