This guide will walk you through setting up your Phantom step-by-step.
How to configure and launch new Phantoms and Flows
1. Log in to your PhantomBuster account.
2. Go to the Solutions tab and use the filters on the left side panel to select a Phantom or Flow.
3. Click on Use this Phantom from the Phantom’s card.
- For the purpose of this guide, we’ll use LinkedIn Search Export.
4. You will be redirected to the Phantom's setup page where you have to configure the desired behavior.
5. Define the input. The input is the data you provide to the Phantom, which it will use to carry out the automated task. The type of input required will depend on the specific task. Click Save to continue after selecting and configuring an option.
💡You can find the type of input required for each Phantom on its Overview page, or in the Input step of the setup.
- Single URL Input: Provide a specific URL directly as the input. This could be a profile, company, or search URL depending on the Phantom you are using.
- Spreadsheet URLs: If you need to process multiple URLs, use a spreadsheet as input, containing all your queries.
- Chaining Phantoms: Use the results from one Phantom as input for another.
- LinkedIn Leads List: For most LinkedIn and Sales Navigator Phantoms, you can use a Leads List as input.
- Keywords: For search Phantoms (such as LinkedIn Search Export, Google Maps Search Export, and URL Finder Phantoms), keywords are acceptable as input. The Phantom will run a search using the keywords you provide.
6. Connect your Phantom to your network account: Social Media Phantoms require your cookie session to run. Install the PhantomBuster Chrome Extension to connect automatically. Click Connect and Save to move to the next step.
⚠️ The setup can vary between Phantoms. For example, Google Maps Phantoms don't require a session cookie because Google Maps results are available without logging in. For these Phantoms, you won’t see this setup stage.
7. Set the Phantom’s behavior: This step defines how your Phantom or Flow will operate, including the number of actions it will perform and pace at which it will run.
- Results to export per launch: set the maximum number of results you want to export each time you run the Phantom.
- Results to export per search: specify how many results you want to export from each search URL.
💡 These features allow you to break the results into different launches. For example, for 2 search URLs, if you want to retrieve 20 results from each one, set the Results to export per search to 20. If you want to pull in only 10 results at a time, until you get all 40 results, set the Results to export per launch to 10.
⚠️ Each social media platform has automation rate limits you should adhere to in order to avoid getting your account restricted.
8. Optional: Configure Advanced Behavior for the Phantom.
- Remove duplicate profiles between different searches: enable this feature to ensure that the Phantom doesn’t include the same profiles more than once across multiple searches.
- Watcher Mode: enable this feature to automatically re-run the Input each time you launch the Phantom, allowing it to find and extract any new profiles that match your search criteria.
⚠️ Watcher Mode is only available when using a single search URL as the Input.
9. Configure the details of the Phantom’s output file (optional step). Click Save to continue.
- Name your results file: Choose a name for the output file the Phantom will generate.
- Fields to keep: Specify Fields and create an additional output file based on your needs.
⚠️ By default, the Phantom will also output a file with all available fields.
10. Choose the launch frequency and click Save.
- Launch your Phantom repeatedly: set the Phantom to run automatically multiple times throughout the day.
- Launch your Phantom once: manually start the Phantom whenever you’re ready.
- Launch your Phantom after another Phantom: configure the Phantom to start automatically after another Phantom completes its run.
- Launch your Phantom with Advanced options: schedule the Phantom to launch at specific hours, minutes, and days.
11. (Optional) Click on Advanced settings for extra settings.
12. Save your Phantom setup by clicking on Save & close. This will save the settings and redirect you back to the Dashboard.
13. Click Launch to launch the Phantom.
How to change settings and launch existing Phantoms
If you already have a Phantom on your Dashboard that hasn't been configured yet, here's how to get started.
1. Go to your Dashboard.
2. Click on the three dots on the Phantom’s card and select Setup:
3. You’ll be redirected to the Setup page where you can follow the instructions mentioned in the first section of this article.
Related guides
How to Chain Phantoms and Flows to Create Automated Sequences
How to Manage and Organize your Dashboard
How to Automate Multiple Accounts with a Single PhantomBuster Account
You can contact Support at any time for additional details on your PhantomBuster workspace.