🚀 LinkedIn Sales Navigator Scraper

Extract professional profiles and company data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator with full authentication, proxy support, and anti-detection features.

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✨ Features

• ✅ People & Company Searches - Scrape any Sales Navigator search
• ✅ Automatic Pagination - Get hundreds of results automatically
• ✅ Deep Scraping - Optional detailed profile information (email, phone, etc.)
• ✅ Stealth Mode - Advanced anti-bot detection bypass
• ✅ Residential Proxies - Built-in proxy support for maximum success
• ✅ Export Formats - JSON, CSV, or Excel

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🚀 Quick Start (2 Steps)

Step 1: Export Your LinkedIn Cookies 🍪

Install Cookie-Editor Extension:

• Chrome: Cookie-Editor Extension

Export Your Cookies:

1. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/sales (must be logged in!)
2. Click the Cookie-Editor icon (🍪) in your browser toolbar
3. Click "Export" button at the bottom
4. Select "JSON" format
5. Copy the entire JSON output

Example output:

[
  {"name":"li_at","value":"AQEDAT...","domain":".www.linkedin.com"},
  {"name":"JSESSIONID","value":"ajax:123...","domain":".www.linkedin.com"},
  {"name":"li_ep_auth_context","value":"AHRh...","domain":".www.linkedin.com"},
  ...20+ more cookies
]

⚠️ Important: You need ALL cookies (20-25 of them), not just li_at!

Step 2: Get Your Search URL 🔍

1. Go to LinkedIn Sales Navigator
2. Perform your search (add filters, keywords, etc.)
3. Copy the entire URL from your browser address bar

Example:

https://www.linkedin.com/sales/search/people?query=(keywords%3Afounder)

Click Start! 🎉

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📊 Where to Find Your Scraped Data

✅ Dataset Tab (Your Main Results)

After scraping completes, your data is saved in the Dataset:

1. Go to "Storage" → "Dataset" in your Actor run
2. Or click the "Dataset" tab directly
3. View your data in multiple formats:
   • Overview - Key employee and company info
   • Employee Details - Full employee data
   • Company Details - Complete company info
   • All Fields - Every available field

📥 Export Options

Click "Export" to download as:

• CSV - For Excel/Google Sheets
• JSON - For API integration
• Excel - Formatted spreadsheet
• HTML, XML, RSS - Other formats

📝 Output Tab (Summary)

The Output tab shows a summary:

• Number of records scraped
• Success/failure status
• Pages processed
• Timestamp

🎯 Important: Your actual scraped profiles/companies are in the Dataset, not the Output tab!

See ./WHERE_TO_FIND_OUTPUT.md for detailed instructions.

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📋 Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
cookieString	String	✅ YES	ALL LinkedIn cookies in JSON format from Cookie-Editor
searchUrl	String	✅ YES	LinkedIn Sales Navigator search URL from your browser
totalRecords	Number	No	Maximum profiles to scrape (default: 25)
startPage	Number	No	Page number to start from (default: 1)
proxyConfiguration	Object	Recommended	Apify Proxy settings (residential recommended)

Note: Wait times between pages are automatically set to 5-30 seconds for optimal scraping speed and safety.

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📊 Output Format

📖 Detailed Documentation: See OUTPUT_SCHEMA.md for complete field reference, export guides, and integration examples.

Standardized Data Fields

All results include these standardized fields:

{
  "employee_linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-morgan/",
  "employee_full_name": "Theresa Morgan",
  "employee_first_name": "Theresa",
  "employee_last_name": "Morgan",
  "employee_linkedin_headline": "Sr. Director of Recruiting at Zerocater",
  "employee_experience_title": "Sr. Director of Recruiting at Zerocater",
  "employee_location": "Austin, Texas, United States",
  
  "company_name": "Zerocater",
  "company_linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/1234567/",
  "company_description": "Technology company specializing in...",
  "company_domain": "zerocater.com",
  "company_phone": "+1-555-0100",
  "company_industry": "Food Services",
  "company_size": "51-200 employees",
  "company_location": "Austin, Texas, United States",
  "company_country": "United States",
  "company_type": "Private Company",
  "company_founded": "2010",
  "company_specialties": "Catering, Food Technology, Workplace Solutions",
  
  "scrapedAt": "2025-12-23T12:00:00.000Z",
  
  // Legacy fields (backward compatibility)
  "name": "Theresa Morgan",
  "title": "Sr. Director of Recruiting at Zerocater",
  "company": "Zerocater",
  "location": "Austin, Texas, United States",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.linkedin.com/sales/lead/...",
  "avatar": "https://media.licdn.com/...",
  "headline": "Helping companies grow faster",
  "connectionDegree": "2nd",
  "industry": "Technology",
  "companySize": "11-50 employees"
}

Field Availability

✅ Always Available

These fields are extracted from search results:

• employee_linkedin - Converted to standard LinkedIn profile URL (e.g., /in/username/)
• employee_full_name, employee_first_name, employee_last_name
• employee_linkedin_headline, employee_experience_title
• employee_location
• company_name
• company_linkedin - Converted to standard LinkedIn company URL (e.g., /company/123/)
• company_location

⚠️ Partially Available

These may be present depending on what LinkedIn shows in search results:

• company_industry - When shown in search results
• company_country - Extracted from location string
• company_size - When shown in search results

Note: Some company detail fields (description, domain, phone, type, founded, specialties) may be empty as they typically require visiting individual profile pages, which is not enabled in this configuration.

📈 Dataset Views in Apify Console

When viewing results in Apify Console, you'll see organized tables with these views:

• Overview - Quick summary (name, title, company, industry, LinkedIn)
• Employee Details - Comprehensive employee information
• Company Details - Comprehensive company information
• All Fields - Complete dataset with all 32+ fields

Each view is optimized for different use cases. Switch between views using the dropdown menu.

Important: LinkedIn URL Format

Employee LinkedIn URLs are automatically converted from Sales Navigator format to standard format:

❌ Before: https://www.linkedin.com/sales/lead/ACwAAAyQDL4Bfv32QawPD7a77qjmta4xfysjFwQ,NAME_SEARCH,jIYH

✅ After: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-morgan/

Company LinkedIn URLs are similarly converted:

❌ Before: https://www.linkedin.com/sales/company/1234567

✅ After: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1234567/

This makes the URLs directly usable for viewing profiles in a regular browser without Sales Navigator access.

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🎯 Success Tips

Tip	Why It Matters
✅ Use ALL cookies (20-25)	Single cookie authentication often gets blocked
✅ Enable residential proxies	LinkedIn blocks datacenter IPs aggressively
✅ Fresh cookies	Re-export cookies weekly or when you see errors
✅ Start small	Test with 5-10 records before large scrapes
✅ Match geography	Use proxies from your LinkedIn account's country

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🔧 Common Issues & Solutions

❌ "cookieString is REQUIRED" error

Problem: You didn't provide cookies.

Solution:

1. Install Cookie-Editor Chrome extension
2. Go to linkedin.com/sales (logged in)
3. Export → JSON → Copy all
4. Paste into cookieString field

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❌ "Authentication failed" error

Problem: Cookies are expired, incomplete, or invalid.

Solution:

1. Re-export fresh cookies from Cookie-Editor
2. Make sure you're on linkedin.com/sales when exporting
3. Verify the JSON has 20-25 cookies (not just 1-2)
4. Check that li_at and li_ep_auth_context cookies are included

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❌ "Page appears to be blank" error

Problem: LinkedIn is blocking your IP address.

Solution:

1. Enable residential proxies:

   {
     "proxyConfiguration": {
       "useApifyProxy": true,
       "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
       "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
     }
   }
   

2. Wait 15-30 minutes between attempts
3. Try a different proxy country

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❌ "Search results did not load" error

Problem: Invalid URL or LinkedIn is blocking.

Solution:

1. Test your search URL in a browser first
2. Make sure cookies are fresh (exported today)
3. Enable residential proxies if not already
4. Reduce totalRecords to 10-25 for testing

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❌ Rate limit / Too many requests

Problem: Making requests too quickly.

Solution:

1. Reduce totalRecords to smaller batches (e.g., 25-50)
2. Run smaller batches over time
3. Wait 30-60 minutes between runs

Note: Wait times between pages are automatically optimized (5-30 seconds).

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🍪 Why Do I Need ALL Cookies?

Just li_at Cookie (❌ Often Fails):

LinkedIn sees:
- ✅ Valid authentication
- ❌ Missing JSESSIONID
- ❌ Missing session cookies
- ❌ Suspicious pattern
Result: BLOCKED!

ALL Cookies (✅ High Success Rate):

LinkedIn sees:
- ✅ Valid authentication (li_at)
- ✅ Valid session (JSESSIONID)
- ✅ Sales Navigator context (li_ep_auth_context)
- ✅ All session cookies present
Result: Looks legitimate!

Success rate: 90%+ with all cookies vs 20-30% with just li_at

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📚 Cookie Export - Detailed Steps

For Cookie-Editor Extension:

1. Install: Cookie-Editor for Chrome

2. Navigate to Sales Navigator: https://www.linkedin.com/sales (must be logged in)

3. Click Extension Icon: Look for the 🍪 icon in your browser toolbar

4. Export:

   • Click the "Export" button at the bottom
   • Select "JSON" from the format dropdown
   • The cookies are now in your clipboard!

5. Paste: Into the Actor's cookieString input field

That's it! You should see a JSON array with 20-25 cookies.

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💡 Best Practices

1. Always test first: Run 5-10 records before large scrapes
2. Use residential proxies: Required for consistent success
3. Fresh cookies: Export right before scraping
4. Respect limits: Don't scrape thousands at once
5. Monitor logs: Check for warnings or errors
6. Weekly refresh: Re-export cookies every 7 days

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⚠️ Important Notes

LinkedIn Terms of Service: This Actor is for educational and research purposes. Make sure you comply with LinkedIn's Terms of Service and applicable laws.

Cookie Security:

• 🔒 Never share cookies publicly
• 🔒 Cookies provide full access to your LinkedIn account
• 🔒 Re-export fresh cookies regularly
• 🔒 Use Apify's secret input feature

Rate Limiting: LinkedIn actively monitors scraping activity. Use appropriate delays and proxies to avoid account restrictions.

Proxy Requirement: Residential proxies are strongly recommended. LinkedIn actively blocks datacenter IPs and proxies.

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🆘 Need Help?

1. Check your cookies: Make sure you have 20-25 cookies, not just 1
2. Enable proxies: Residential proxies are essential
3. Test your URL: Verify it works in your browser first
4. Fresh cookies: Export new cookies if you see auth errors
5. Start small: Test with 5 records before scaling up

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📊 Example Successful Run

✅ Successfully set 22 cookies
✅ Using proxy: 10.0.35.159:8011 (US residential)
✅ Page loaded successfully
✅ Authentication successful!
✅ Found 25 results
✅ Extracted 25 profiles
✅ Saved to dataset
✅ Scraping complete!

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Happy Scraping! 🎉

Having issues? Make sure you exported ALL cookies (not just li_at) and enabled residential proxies!