Pre-Built Tooling
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Authentication | OAuth 2.0 (Authorization Code with refresh tokens) or Bearer Token |
| Two-Way Sync | No |
| Events Supported | No |
| Realtime | Polling |
| Supports Rate Limiting | Yes |
| Authentication Scopes Supported | r_emailaddress, r_liteprofile, w_member_social |
Objects Supported
Alloy Automation supports syncing the following objects from LinkedIn:- Custom actions and resources (refer to LinkedIn API documentation for available endpoints)
Set Up Guide
Trial Access
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Offers free trial? | Yes. Creating a LinkedIn account and developer app is free. Sign up at https://www.linkedin.com/signup and access the developer portal at https://www.linkedin.com/developers/. |
| Requires paid sandbox | No. LinkedIn provides free API access for approved applications. |
| Requires partnership to obtain authentication? | No, but your application must go through LinkedIn’s app review process for production use. |
Authentication (OAuth 2.0)
For customers who want to completely whitelabel their OAuth experience, you can provide your own developer keys instead of using Alloy Automation’s.Create your OAuth app
- Create a LinkedIn account (or use an existing personal/company account)
- Go to LinkedIn Developers at https://www.linkedin.com/developers/
- Click Create app to register a new application
- Fill in required information:
- App name: Your application name
- LinkedIn Page: Associate with your company’s LinkedIn page (required)
- App logo: Upload your application logo
- Legal agreement: Accept LinkedIn’s API Terms of Use
- Once created, navigate to the Auth tab
- Configure OAuth 2.0 settings:
- Add redirect URL:
https://api.runalloy.com/api/strategy/connector/linkedin/callback - Note your Client ID and Client Secret
- Add redirect URL:
- Request API Products:
- Go to the Products tab
- Request access to required products (e.g., “Sign In with LinkedIn”, “Share on LinkedIn”)
- Wait for LinkedIn’s approval (can take a few days)
- Configure OAuth scopes (under the Auth tab):
r_emailaddress- Access to email addressr_liteprofile- Access to basic profile informationw_member_social- Post on behalf of the member
- Copy your credentials and configure them in Alloy Automation
API Documentation
- LinkedIn API Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/linkedin/
- OAuth 2.0 Guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/linkedin/shared/authentication/authentication
- Developer Portal: https://www.linkedin.com/developers/
Use Cases
1) Social media content distribution
Automatically post content to LinkedIn when new blog posts, articles, or announcements are published on your website or CMS, expanding your content’s reach across social channels.2) Lead generation and enrichment
Capture LinkedIn profile information when users authenticate with LinkedIn, enriching your CRM with professional data like job titles, companies, and industries.3) Professional network analytics
Pull LinkedIn engagement data (likes, shares, comments) to analyze content performance and understand which messages resonate with your professional audience.4) Employee advocacy programs
Enable employees to easily share company content on their LinkedIn profiles, amplifying your brand’s reach and establishing thought leadership.5) Recruitment and talent sourcing
Integrate LinkedIn profile data with your applicant tracking system to streamline candidate evaluation and track professional backgrounds during the hiring process.API Gotchas
- App review required: LinkedIn requires app review and approval before you can request certain scopes or move to production. The review process can take several days to weeks. Plan accordingly and submit your app for review early in your development cycle.
- Scope limitations: Not all API endpoints are available to all applications. Some features (like company page management or advertising APIs) require specific LinkedIn products to be approved for your app. Check product requirements before building features.
- Profile data restrictions: LinkedIn has strict policies about how profile data can be used and stored. You cannot use profile data for advertising purposes or store it longer than necessary. Review LinkedIn’s API Terms of Use carefully.
- Rate limiting: LinkedIn enforces application-level and user-level rate limits. Limits vary by API endpoint and your application’s approval status. Implement exponential backoff and respect rate limit headers.
- Token expiration: LinkedIn access tokens expire after 60 days. Implement refresh token logic to maintain long-term access, or prompt users to re-authenticate when tokens expire.
- API migration: LinkedIn APIs have undergone significant changes (v1 to v2). Ensure you’re using the latest API version and endpoints. Legacy v1 endpoints are deprecated and will stop working.
- Scope delimiter: LinkedIn uses space-separated scopes in the OAuth authorization URL. When requesting multiple scopes, separate them with spaces (e.g.,
r_liteprofile r_emailaddress w_member_social).
For questions or troubleshooting, contact support@runalloy.com.