linkedctl

OAuth2 CLI and MCP server for the LinkedIn API.

What It Does

• Post content to LinkedIn via the official API
• OAuth 2.0 authentication with your own LinkedIn app
• Direct token passing for tokens obtained from other applications
• MCP server for AI assistant integration (Claude, Cursor, etc.)
• CLI for scriptable LinkedIn operations

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 24
• A LinkedIn Developer App with appropriate permissions

Installation

npm install -g linkedctl

Or run directly:

npx linkedctl --help

Quick Start

• Create a LinkedIn app at linkedin.com/developers
• Configure OAuth 2.0 credentials
• Authenticate:

  linkedctl auth login --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID --client-secret YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET
  

• Start using:

  linkedctl post "Hello from LinkedCtl!"
  

See the OAuth Setup Guide for detailed step-by-step instructions.

MCP Integration

MCP Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linkedctl": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["linkedctl", "mcp"]
        }
    }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add linkedctl -- npx linkedctl mcp

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linkedctl": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["linkedctl", "mcp"]
        }
    }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linkedctl": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["linkedctl", "mcp"]
        }
    }
}

Available Tools

post_create

Create a text post on LinkedIn.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
text	string	Yes	The text content of the post
visibility	string	No	"PUBLIC" or "CONNECTIONS" (default "PUBLIC")
profile	string	No	Profile name to use from config file

auth_status

Show authentication status for a profile.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
profile	string	No	Profile name to check (uses default if not specified)

auth_revoke

Revoke the access token server-side and clear local credentials for a profile.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
profile	string	No	Profile name to revoke (uses default if not specified)

Configuration

Config File Format

LinkedCtl stores configuration in YAML files. Each file represents a single profile:

api-version: "202601"
oauth:
    client-id: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"
    client-secret: "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
    access-token: "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
    refresh-token: "YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN"
    token-expires-at: "2026-05-03T12:00:00.000Z"

Available keys:

Key	Description
api-version	LinkedIn API version (e.g. 202601)
oauth.client-id	OAuth 2.0 client ID
oauth.client-secret	OAuth 2.0 client secret
oauth.access-token	OAuth 2.0 access token
oauth.refresh-token	OAuth 2.0 refresh token
oauth.token-expires-at	Token expiration timestamp (ISO 8601)

Config files are written with 0600 permissions (owner read/write only).

File Location and Precedence

Without a profile, LinkedCtl searches for config files in this order:

• .linkedctl.yaml in the current working directory
• ~/.linkedctl.yaml in the home directory

The first file found is used. When writing (e.g. after auth login), LinkedCtl writes to the CWD file if it exists, otherwise to the home directory file.

Profiles

Profiles let you manage multiple LinkedIn accounts or configurations. Each profile is stored as a separate YAML file under ~/.linkedctl/:

Profile	Config file path
(default)	~/.linkedctl.yaml
work	~/.linkedctl/work.yaml
personal	~/.linkedctl/personal.yaml

Use the --profile flag with any command:

linkedctl --profile work auth login --client-id ID --client-secret SECRET
linkedctl --profile work post "Hello from my work account!"

Manage profiles with the profile command:

linkedctl profile create work --access-token YOUR_TOKEN --api-version 202601
linkedctl profile list
linkedctl profile show work
linkedctl profile delete work

Authentication Methods

OAuth 2.0 (Recommended)

LinkedCtl supports OAuth 2.0 with your own LinkedIn Developer App:

linkedctl auth login --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID --client-secret YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET

Direct Token

If you already have an access token from another application:

linkedctl auth token --access-token YOUR_TOKEN

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
LINKEDCTL_CLIENT_ID	LinkedIn OAuth 2.0 client ID
LINKEDCTL_CLIENT_SECRET	LinkedIn OAuth 2.0 client secret
LINKEDCTL_ACCESS_TOKEN	Direct access token (bypasses OAuth flow)
LINKEDCTL_API_VERSION	LinkedIn API version string (e.g. 202601) required

Environment variables take precedence over config file values.

Profile-Prefixed Environment Variables

When using a named profile, LinkedCtl also reads profile-prefixed environment variables. The profile name is uppercased with hyphens converted to underscores:

Profile	Variable
(default)	LINKEDCTL_ACCESS_TOKEN
work	LINKEDCTL_WORK_ACCESS_TOKEN
my-brand	LINKEDCTL_MY_BRAND_ACCESS_TOKEN

The same pattern applies to CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, and API_VERSION.

Precedence Order

Configuration values are resolved in this order (highest priority first):

• Environment variables (profile-prefixed if a profile is active)
• Config file (profile-specific file, or CWD/home fallback)

CLI Reference

Global Options

Option	Description
--profile <name>	Use a specific configuration profile

auth -- Manage Authentication

Command	Description
auth login	Authenticate via OAuth 2.0 (opens browser)
auth token	Store a direct access token
auth status	Show authentication status and token expiry
auth logout	Clear stored credentials from the active profile
auth refresh	Refresh the access token using a stored refresh token
auth revoke	Revoke the access token server-side and clear local tokens

auth login options:

Option	Description	Default
--client-id <id>	OAuth 2.0 client ID	from config
--client-secret <secret>	OAuth 2.0 client secret	from config
--scope <scopes>	OAuth 2.0 scopes (space-separated)	openid profile w_member_social

auth token options:

Option	Description
--access-token <token>	Access token to store (required)

post -- Manage LinkedIn Posts

# Shorthand: pass text as an argument
linkedctl post "Hello from LinkedCtl!"

# Explicit subcommand
linkedctl post create --text "Hello from LinkedCtl!"

# Pipe content from stdin
echo "Hello from LinkedCtl!" | linkedctl post create

post create options:

Option	Description	Default
--text <text>	Text content of the post
--visibility <visibility>	PUBLIC or CONNECTIONS	PUBLIC
--format <format>	Output format (json, table)	auto

When no --text is provided, text is read from stdin if available.

The --format option defaults to table in a terminal and json when piped.

profile -- Manage Configuration Profiles

Command	Description
profile create <name>	Create a new profile
profile list	List all profiles
profile show <name>	Show profile details (redacted)
profile delete <name>	Delete a profile

profile create options:

Option	Description
--access-token <token>	OAuth 2.0 access token (required)
--api-version <version>	LinkedIn API version, e.g. 202601 (required)

whoami -- Show Current User

linkedctl whoami
linkedctl whoami --format json

Option	Description	Default
--format <format>	Output format (json, table)	auto

Disclaimer

This is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with LinkedIn Corporation. LinkedIn is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation.

License

AGPL-3.0-only

Using LinkedCtl as a CLI tool or MCP server: No license obligations — use freely.

Using @linkedctl/core as a library in your project: Your combined work must be licensed under AGPL-3.0 (or a compatible license).