linkedctl

OAuth2 CLI and MCP server for the LinkedIn API.

What It Does

• Post content — text, images, video, documents, articles, multi-image carousels, and polls
• Comments & reactions — create, list, and delete comments and reactions on posts
• Organization support — post, comment, react, and view analytics as an organization
• Analytics — per-post, per-member, and per-organization statistics
• Media uploads — upload images, video, and documents to LinkedIn
• Draft posts — save posts as drafts before publishing
• 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

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

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

4. Start using:

   linkedctl post "Hello from LinkedCtl!"
   

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

MCP Integration

MCP Client Configuration

<details> <summary><b>Claude Desktop</b></summary>

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

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Claude Code</b></summary>

claude mcp add linkedctl -- npx linkedctl mcp

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Cursor</b></summary>

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

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Windsurf</b></summary>

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

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

</details>

Available Tools

All tools accept an optional profile parameter to select a configuration profile.

Authentication

Tool	Description
whoami	Show the current user's name, email, and profile picture URL
auth_status	Show authentication status for a profile
auth_revoke	Revoke the access token server-side and clear local credentials

Posts

Tool	Description
post_create	Create a post on LinkedIn with optional media, poll, or article attachment
post_get	Fetch a single post by URN
post_list	List posts with pagination (supports as_org for organization posts)
post_update	Update the commentary text of an existing post
post_delete	Delete a post by URN

post_create supports rich content types:

Parameter	Description
text	Post text content (required)
visibility	PUBLIC or CONNECTIONS (default PUBLIC)
draft	Save as draft instead of publishing
image / image_file	Attach a single image (URN or local file path)
video / video_file	Attach a video (URN or local file path)
document / document_file	Attach a document (URN or local file path)
images / image_files	Attach multiple images (minimum 2)
article_url	Attach an article link
poll	Poll question text
poll_options	Poll answer options (2–4 required when poll is set)
poll_duration	ONE_DAY, THREE_DAYS, ONE_WEEK, or TWO_WEEKS
as_org	Post as an organization (numeric ID)

Comments

Tool	Description
comment_create	Create a comment on a post (supports as_org)
comment_list	List comments on a post
comment_get	Get a specific comment by URN
comment_delete	Delete a comment by URN

Reactions

Tool	Description
reaction_create	Add a reaction to a post (supports as_org). Types: LIKE, PRAISE, EMPATHY, INTEREST, APPRECIATION, ENTERTAINMENT
reaction_list	List reactions on a post
reaction_delete	Remove a reaction from a post (supports as_org)

Organizations

Tool	Description
org_list	List organizations the authenticated user administers
org_get	Fetch a single organization by ID
org_followers	Get the follower count for an organization

Analytics

Tool	Description
stats_post	Get analytics for a single post (impressions, reach, reactions, comments, reshares)
stats_me	Get aggregated analytics across all your posts
stats_org	Get share statistics for an organization (lifetime or time-bucketed)

Media

Tool	Description
document_upload	Upload a document to LinkedIn (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, DOC, PPT; max 100 MB)

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:

1. .linkedctl.yaml in the current working directory
2. ~/.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):

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

CLI Reference

Global Options

Option	Description
--profile <name>	Use a specific configuration profile
--json	Force JSON output
-q, --quiet	Suppress informational output
--no-color	Disable color output

auth — Manage Authentication

Command	Description
auth setup	Configure OAuth client credentials interactively
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

Command	Description
post create	Create a post on LinkedIn
post get <urn>	Fetch a post by URN
post list	List posts with pagination
post update <urn>	Update a post's commentary text
post delete <urn>	Delete a post (with confirmation)

post create options:

Option	Description	Default
--text <text>	Text content (also accepts --text-file, positional, or stdin)
--visibility <visibility>	PUBLIC or CONNECTIONS	PUBLIC
--draft	Save as draft instead of publishing
--image <urn>	Image URN to attach
--image-file <path>	Local image file to upload and attach
--video <urn>	Video URN to attach
--video-file <path>	Local video file to upload and attach
--document <urn>	Document URN to attach
--document-file <path>	Local document file to upload and attach
--images <urns>	Multiple image URNs (comma-separated, minimum 2)
--image-files <paths>	Multiple local image files (comma-separated, minimum 2)
--article-url <url>	Article URL to attach
--poll <question>	Poll question text
--option <text>	Poll option (repeat 2–4 times)
--poll-duration <duration>	ONE_DAY, THREE_DAYS, ONE_WEEK, or TWO_WEEKS	THREE_DAYS
--as-org <id>	Post as an organization (numeric ID)
--format <format>	Output format (json, table)	auto

post list options:

Option	Description	Default
--count <n>	Number of posts to return (max 100)	10
--start <n>	Starting index for pagination	0
--as-org <id>	List posts of an organization (numeric ID)

comment — Manage Comments

Command	Description
comment create <post-urn>	Create a comment on a post
comment list <post-urn>	List comments on a post
comment get <comment-urn>	Get a specific comment by URN
comment delete <comment-urn>	Delete a comment (with confirmation)

comment create options:

Option	Description
--text <text>	Comment text (required)
--as-org <id>	Comment as an organization (numeric ID)

reaction — Manage Reactions

Command	Description
reaction create <urn>	Add a reaction to a post
reaction list <urn>	List reactions on a post
reaction delete <urn>	Remove a reaction from a post

reaction create options:

Option	Description
--type <type>	LIKE, PRAISE, EMPATHY, INTEREST, APPRECIATION, or ENTERTAINMENT (default LIKE)
--as-org <id>	React as an organization (numeric ID)

org — Manage Organizations

Command	Description
org list	List organizations the authenticated user administers
org get <id>	Get organization details
org followers <id>	Get organization follower count

media — Upload Media

Command	Description
media upload-image <file>	Upload an image (JPG, PNG, GIF)
media upload-video <file>	Upload a video
media upload-document <file>	Upload a document (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, DOC, PPT; max 100 MB)

All media commands accept --as-org <id> and --format json|table.

stats — View Analytics

Command	Description
stats post <urn>	Get post analytics (impressions, reach, engagement)
stats me	Get aggregated analytics across all your posts
stats org <id>	Get organization share statistics

Common options:

Option	Description
--from <date> / --start <date>	Start of date range (YYYY-MM-DD)
--to <date> / --end <date>	End of date range (YYYY-MM-DD)
--time-granularity <granularity>	DAY or MONTH (org stats only)

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 (with confirmation)

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

completion — Shell Completions

linkedctl completion bash
linkedctl completion zsh

Security

• Dependabot keeps dependencies up to date with automated pull requests
• CodeQL analysis runs on every push and pull request for automated vulnerability detection
• Path traversal validation on profile names prevents directory escape attacks
• Unified auth error handling across all MCP tools provides consistent authentication failure messages
• Destructive operations (delete post, delete comment, delete profile) require interactive confirmation unless --force is passed

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).