How to Use the LinkedIn Connections Export

Before you start

Decide how to export your connections:

You can use the Phantom or download your LinkedIn archive manually. Choose the option that best fits the size of your network.

Option 1: Use this Phantom (recommended for small to medium networks)

This Phantom:

• Can extract thousands of connections in a single run.
• Works best for networks of up to ~2,000 connections.
• Pulls your connections directly from LinkedIn.
• Is easiest when you want to chain automations (e.g. enrich each profile with the LinkedIn Profile Scraper).

→ Use this option when you want a fast export directly from LinkedIn.

Option 2: Download your LinkedIn archive manually (recommended for large networks, over 2,000 connections)

If you have more than ~2,000 connections, using your LinkedIn archive is the safest and most reliable way to get your full list without multiple runs.

To download your official connection list:

1. Go to Me > Settings & Privacy in LinkedIn.
2. Under Data privacy > How LinkedIn uses your data, click Get a copy of your data.
3. Select Connections and click Request archive.

→ LinkedIn will email you a spreadsheet within 5–10 minutes.

With this method, you don’t need this Phantom at all. Just:

• Open the file in Google Sheets.
• Clean the top rows so only contacts remain.
• Share it with “Anyone with the link."
• And use it directly as input for other Phantoms (e.g. LinkedIn Profile Scraper).

Step 1: Connect your LinkedIn account

To let the Phantom act on your behalf:

1. Install the PhantomBuster browser extension and connect your LinkedIn session in one click.
2. If you’re not using Chrome or Firefox, you can retrieve your session cookie manually (see our cookie guide).

Check your browser user agent
Make sure your browser is up to date before connecting your account. 
→ If your Chrome or Firefox version is outdated, your session cookie may expire much more quickly, and you’ll need to reconnect often.

Step 2: Configure behavior

In this step, you choose how many profiles to extract and how the Phantom selects them.

1. Total number of profiles to extract (optional):
   • Enter the number of connections you want to extract.
   • Important behavior to understand:
     • The Phantom always starts at the top of your connections list.
     • It extracts connections from newest to oldest.
     • If you relaunch the Phantom without changing the extraction number, it processes the same profiles again.
     • The Phantom does not continue where it left off.
     • To fetch new connections, relaunch only after you’ve added new ones to your network.
   • Daily safe usage to keep your LinkedIn account safe:
     • Extract up to 1,000 profiles per day with a standard LinkedIn account.
     • Extract up to 2,500 profiles per day if you have Sales Navigator.
     • Spread extractions over working hours for safer activity patterns.

2. Sort by (optional):

   • Recently added
   • First name
   • Last name

   Sorting affects the order in which the Phantom sees your connections. 
   If you relaunch the Phantom with the same sort order, it will process the same profiles again unless you have new connections.

Advanced settings (dropdown in setup)

• Only retrieve profiles added after a specific date (optional):
  • This filter limits the results in a single launch.
  • It tells the Phantom not to extract connections older than the date you set.
  • Important limitation:
    • This does not help the Phantom “continue” extraction later.
    • It doesn't fetch older connections in a second launch.
    • It only filters newer connections during that run.

Step 3: Select launch frequency

Choose how often the Phantom should run:

1. Launch manually: Start the Phantom yourself whenever you need.
2. Launch once at a specific time: schedule a one-time run at a set date and time.
3. Launch repeatedly: schedule regular runs (e.g. once per day, several times during working hours).
4. Launch after another Phantom: chain automations together so this Phantom starts right after another finishes.
5. Advanced scheduling: customize the exact minutes, hours, days, or months when the Phantom should run.

→ For a complete walkthrough of scheduling options, see our guide to scheduling Phantoms automatically.

Step 4 (Optional): Advanced settings

Advanced settings are available if you want to fine-tune how your Phantom runs, but by default they’re already optimized for most use cases.

We recommend leaving them as they are unless a guide specifically instructs you to change something.

→ For a detailed overview of all advanced options (like execution limits, retries, email notifications, proxies, webhooks, and file management), see our Advanced settings guide.

Launch and results

When you’re ready:

1. Click Launch to start your Phantom.
2. Once it finishes, open the Results tab in the Phantom console to see the data collected.
3. Download your results as a CSV or JSON file, or view them as a dynamic list on the LinkedIn Leads page.

→ To learn how to export your data to Google Sheets, integrate with other tools, or reuse it in more automations, check our Access and Export your Phantom Results guide.

Export and input limits on the Free plan
If you’re on the Free plan or Free trial, some features are limited:
- CSV exports include only the first 10 rows of results.
- CSV download links (for dynamic viewing in Google Sheets or integrations) are not available.
- JSON exports are not available.
- CSV upload as an input method is not supported.
To unlock all features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

What you give (Input) and What you get (Output)

This section gives you a detailed breakdown of everything you need to provide to run this Phantom, and everything you’ll receive once it completes.

What you give (Input)

What you get (Output)

Tips and troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

• Expecting more data → This Phantom extracts only very basic details (name + profile URL). For richer data (job title, company, etc.), use the LinkedIn Profile Scraper.
• Expecting to export all connections when you have a large network → This Phantom works best for small to medium networks (up to ~2,000 connections). If you have more than ~2,000, use the LinkedIn archive method instead.
• The Phantom does not resume where it left off.
• Relaunching without changes will process the same profiles again.
• Using the date after filter expecting it to backfill → it only limits results in the current launch, it won’t go back to older connections.

If you run into issues

• Check how to troubleshoot your phantom using Logs.
• Browse the Fix Issues & Troubleshoot Errors section for solutions to common problems.
• Review our Automation Rate Limits by Platform guide.
• Check our Best Practices for Social Media Automation guide.

Suggested automations

After exporting your connections, you can:

• Analyze your network’s activity → Use the LinkedIn Activity Extractor to see what your connections are posting, commenting, and engaging with.
• Engage passively → Interact with your connections’ posts using LinkedIn Auto Liker or LinkedIn Auto Commenter to stay visible and nurture relationships.