LinkedIn Profile Recommendations API
Returns the recommendations on a LinkedIn member's profile, with the recommender's name and headline, the recommendation text, and date.
GET /v1/linkedin/profile/recommendationsLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the LinkedIn Profile Recommendations API
Use it for written references, and set type to received or given to choose which side of the relationship you want.
From the API reference
Lists the recommendations a LinkedIn member received, or with type=given the ones they wrote, 20 per page, each with text, date, type (how the two members know each other, as LinkedIn words it, such as "Sam worked with Alex but they were at different companies") and recommender (on a given recommendation, recommender is the member who received it). When the primary source is momentarily rate-limited, a backup source answers the first page of received recommendations with the same recommendations in the same order, but type and the recommender's urn, first_name, last_name and is_premium are null. A later page, type=given, or a first page that backup cannot answer, comes from a second backup with the same recommendations and the same nulls, which also leaves out the recommender's avatar; data._warnings says so. Each recommendation also carries when it was last edited (updated_at, ISO 8601, null when the source that answered does not give it) and, with type=given, the member who received it (recipient, the same person as recommender); recipient is null on a received recommendation.
Searching 75 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Profile Recommendations API?
The Profile Recommendations endpoint gives you structured LinkedIn data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations: 5 credits per page. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 60: the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
# Next page: send pagination.next_cursor back as cursor until pagination.has_more is false.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 60 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Freidhoffman%2F" && cat response.json# GET /v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations: 5 credits per page. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 60 # the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/",
}
# Walk the list: send pagination.next_cursor back as cursor until has_more is false.
MAX_PAGES = 10 # each page is one call
items = []
for _ in range(MAX_PAGES):
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is None:
break
items.extend(body["data"]["items"])
page = body.get("pagination") or {}
if not page.get("has_more") or not page.get("next_cursor"):
break
params["cursor"] = page["next_cursor"]
print(f"{len(items)} items")// GET /v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations: 5 credits per page. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000; // the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations");
url.searchParams.set("url", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/");
// Walk the list: send pagination.next_cursor back as cursor until has_more is false.
const MAX_PAGES = 10; // each page is one call
const items: unknown[] = [];
for (let page = 0; page < MAX_PAGES; page++) {
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (!body) break;
items.push(...body.data.items);
const next = body.pagination?.next_cursor;
if (!body.pagination?.has_more || !next) break;
url.searchParams.set("cursor", next);
}
console.log(`${items.length} items`);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | Full URL of the LinkedIn profile, company, or post. |
| page | No | 1-based page number. Defaults to 1. |
| type | No | Filter by kind. See the allowed values. (received | given) |
| urn | No | The member's opaque LinkedIn URN, as returned in `author.ext.urn` by /v1/linkedin/profile. Optional, and a pure optimisation: pass it ALONGSIDE `url` (which stays required) and this call skips the internal handle lookup, so it answers faster and consumes half the upstream rate-limit budget. Verified on the deployed API 05/09/2026. To address a member by URN alone, send the URN-form profile URL as `url`, for example https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAA8BYqEBCGLg_vT_ca6mMEqkpp9nVffJ3hc: it resolves to the same member as the public address (verified 20/10/2026 on profile/posts and profile/comments) and holds only ASCII, which helps when the public address carries an emoji or other symbol. |
| max_pages | No | 1 to 50 (default 1, or 50 when `max_items` or `max_credits` is sent). Walk up to this many pages in one call and return the rows from all of them. Each page walked is billed exactly as one call to this endpoint (a cached page is free) and counts against your rate limit; its charge and any refund are recorded under the page's own request id, listed in `data.walk.request_ids`. The walk stops early at the last page, or when the request's time budget runs low; `data.walk.stopped` says why (`end`, `max_pages`, `max_items`, `max_credits`, `time_budget`, `page_error`) and `pagination.next_cursor` continues from where it stopped. |
| max_items | No | 1 to 5000. Get more in one call: keep walking pages until the response holds at least this many rows, then stop with `data.walk.stopped: "max_items"`. The last page is returned whole (it was billed), so `data.items` can hold up to one page more than this, and `pagination.next_cursor` resumes right after it without skipping a row. Walks up to 50 pages unless `max_pages` says fewer; each page is billed as one call (a cached page is free). Add `max_credits` to cap the spend. A long walk can stop on the time budget first (`"time_budget"`): send the returned cursor with the same params to continue. |
| max_credits | No | 1 to 100000. The most this call may spend, across every page it walks. A page starts only while the credits already spent plus that page's price (or, when higher, the most any page of this walk has cost) still fit, so the call never goes past it; the walk then stops with `data.walk.stopped: "max_credits"` and the cursor to resume. Sent alone, it walks as far as the budget goes (up to 50 pages). A value below the price of one page is a free 400 whose `error.details.page_credits` names that price. Credits a row join (`include=`) adds are known only once a page has run, so page 1 is checked against its own price. |
What does the LinkedIn Profile Recommendations API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "linkedin",
"endpoint": "/v1/linkedin/profile/recommendations",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted).",
"date": "July 19, 2018",
"type": "user_9dc415 worked with user_d9f1cc but they were at different companies",
"recommender": {
"url": "https://example.com/user_1d86c9",
"urn": "user_023b9b",
"public_identifier": "user_a359aa",
"first_name": "user_9dc415",
"last_name": "user_a0fa82",
"full_name": "user_ef178d",
"description": "Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted).",
"is_premium": true
}
},
{
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted).",
"date": "December 20, 2013",
"type": "user_9dc415 worked with user_d9f1cc but they were at different companies",
"recommender": {
"url": "https://example.com/user_1d86c9",
"urn": "user_023b9b",
"public_identifier": "user_a359aa",
"first_name": "user_9dc415",
"last_name": "user_a0fa82",
"full_name": "user_ef178d",
"description": "Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted).",
"is_premium": true
}
}
],
"total": 48,
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 5,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": "sc.eyJ2IjoyLCJjIjoiMiIsImUiOiJsaW5rZWRpbi9wcm9maWxlL3JlY29tbWVuZGF0aW9ucyIsInAiOiJwYWdlIn0",
"has_more": true,
"page_size": 20,
"typical_page_size": null,
"next_page_credits": 5
},
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"source": "captured",
"captured_at": "2026-11-02T01:01:02.006Z",
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the LinkedIn Profile Recommendations API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 75 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
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Query 75 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
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import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I get the recommendations written for a LinkedIn member?
Can I fetch given vs received LinkedIn recommendations?
What fields does the LinkedIn Recommendations API return?
How much does the LinkedIn Recommendations API cost?
Can I paginate a member with many recommendations?
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