How to Scrape LinkedIn Profiles With Claude Code (Free)

TL;DR: Use Claude Code with Apify’s “LinkedIn Profile Post Scraper (no cookies)” to export your last 50 posts—likes, comments, shares, and a custom engagement score—into a CSV for 10 ¢ and zero subscription. ## Why You Can’t Just Ask Claude to Scrape LinkedIn Typing “Please scrape my LinkedIn posts” into the Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini web UI returns a polite refusal: “LinkedIn prohibits automated scraping and requires login to access profile and post data.” To work around this, we route the job through Apify, an external actor marketplace that already hosts compliant scrapers for LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Maps, TikTok, Amazon, Facebook, and more. ## Set Up Apify (Free Tier) 1. Create a free Apify account (link in video description). 2. In the left sidebar open **Settings → API & Integrations** and copy your personal **API Token**. 3. Inside VS Code (with the Claude Code extension installed) run: ``` save my Apify API key in my APIs .env file ``` Paste the token when prompted. Storing it in `.env` keeps it out of the chat log. ## Pick the Right Actor Search the Apify Store for “LinkedIn Profile Post Scraper”. Choose **Harvest API’s “LinkedIn Profile Post Scraper (no cookies)”** because it: - Costs only **$2 per 1,000 posts** - **Does not require a paid Apify subscription** Free accounts receive **$5 credit monthly**, enough for multiple runs. ## Load the Claude Code Skill 1. Download the markdown file named **“LinkedIn Profile Scraper”** from the creator’s free [AI Marketing Essentials Guide](https://example.com) (link in description). 2. In Claude Code click **Upload Skill** and select the file. The skill wraps the Apify call, waits for completion, and returns a tidy CSV. ## Run the Scraper Prompt Claude Code: ``` use my LinkedIn profile scraper skill scrape my LinkedIn posts (Ryan Dozer profile) last 50 posts only export CSV with: publish date, URL, post type, likes, comments, shares calculate an “engagement score” and analyze why high-score posts perform well ``` Model: **Claude 3 Opus 4.6** Check **“ask before edits”** and click **Go**. Claude Code: - Calls the Apify actor - Monitors the run - Downloads the dataset - Computes an engagement score (example formula: likes + 3×comments + 5×shares) - Writes `linkedin_posts.csv` to the project folder ## View & Analyze the Data VS Code’s table viewer is cramped; instead: 1. Drag `linkedin_posts.csv` to your desktop. 2. Upload to Google Drive and open with Google Sheets. Example rows (abridged): | publishDate | url | postType | likes | comments | shares | engagementScore | |-------------|-----|----------|-------|----------|--------|-----------------| | 2024-08-10 | … | personal | 312 | 42 | 18 | 10 / 10 | | 2024-07-25 | … | how-to | 89 | 7 | 3 | 5.2 / 10 | **Insight:** The 10/10 post announced the upcoming birth of the creator’s first child—confirming that personal stories routinely outperform tactical content. ## Cost Check Apify dashboard shows **$0.10** consumed for 50 posts. At this rate you can: - Scrape 500 posts for **$1** - Run 30+ batches before hitting the free monthly credit ## If the Actor Disappears Pricing and availability change. Claude Code can auto-search the Apify store for alternative free actors and update the skill—no manual code edits required. ## Next Steps - Filter by post type to see which formats earn the most shares. - Build a pivot table to compare monthly engagement trends. - Feed high-score post copy into Claude for content-pattern prompts. **Source:** [How to Scrape LinkedIn Profiles With Claude Code (Free)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUsYPRwAK8g)