LinkedIn Connect

Option B — OpenClaw Isolated Browser (openclaw profile)

• OpenClaw manages a separate Chrome instance
• On first use, navigate to https://www.linkedin.com and let the user log in; cookies persist across sessions
• Use profile="openclaw" for all browser tool calls in this mode

Confirm which option they've set up. Default to Option A (Chrome Relay) if the user's account has been flagged or warned about automation.

3. Ready Check

Only proceed once the user says:

• ✅ File is ready and accessible
• ✅ Browser is open with LinkedIn logged in (and relay is attached if Option A)

Browser Profile

Set the profile variable based on user's choice in the Pre-flight Checklist:

• Option A: profile="chrome" — reuse the relay-attached tab; get targetId via browser action=tabs
• Option B: profile="openclaw" — OpenClaw-managed isolated Chrome instance

Do not mix profiles mid-run. Pick one and use it consistently for every browser tool call.

Data File Setup

Ensure the tracking file has a Connection Status column. If missing, add it:

import csv
rows = []
with open('file.tsv', 'r') as f:
    reader = csv.DictReader(f, delimiter='\t')
    fieldnames = reader.fieldnames + ['Connection Status']
    rows = list(reader)
with open('file.tsv', 'w', newline='') as f:
    writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=fieldnames, delimiter='\t')
    writer.writeheader()
    for row in rows:
        row['Connection Status'] = ''
        writer.writerow(row)

Three-Tier Profile Discovery (Priority Order)

Always try in this order. Move to the next tier only if the current one fails.

Tier 1 — Direct LinkedIn URL (fastest, zero ambiguity)

Navigate directly to the LinkedIn profile URL from the data file.

• ✅ URL loads → correct profile, proceed to connect
• ❌ Returns 404 → escalate to Tier 2
• Skip Tier 1 if no URL is in the data file for this person

Tier 2 — Google Search (reliable fallback, preserves accuracy)

Search Google for "Founder Name" "Brand/Company" linkedin.

• Navigate to: https://www.google.com/search?q=<Name>+<Company>+linkedin
• Find the LinkedIn profile link in results (usually first result), click it
• Once on the profile, proceed to Connect step
• ⚠️ Only escalate to Tier 3 if Google can't find the right person or returns no LinkedIn result

Tier 3 — LinkedIn People Search (last resort)

Run a LinkedIn people search for the founder + brand directly inside LinkedIn.

• Navigate to: https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/people/?keywords=<Name>+<Company>
• Look for inline Connect buttons first; otherwise open the profile from search results
• Confirm name + headline/company match before connecting
• ❌ No trustworthy match → mark Profile Not Found

See references/browser-workflow.md for detailed browser steps for each tier.

Connecting on a Profile

Once on the correct profile, two patterns exist:

Pattern A - Direct Connect button visible on profile → click it → confirm dialog → Send without a note

Pattern B - Follow mode (no Connect button, only Follow + Message + More) → click More actions → use selector .artdeco-dropdown__content--is-open to get dropdown → click Invite [Name] to connect → confirm dialog → Send without a note

If neither Connect nor Invite is available → mark Follow Only.

Status Values

Multi-founder Rows

When a TSV row has multiple founders, track per-founder status separated by |:

Founder1Slug: Request Sent | Founder2Slug: Already Connected

Rate Limiting & Anti-Detection

⚠️ LinkedIn flags accounts that jump directly between profile URLs. Always visit the feed between profiles — no exceptions.

• Navigate to /feed/ before every single profile, without exception. See references/browser-workflow.md for the exact call. This is the primary anti-detection measure.
• Add a short natural pause (2–4 seconds) after loading the feed before navigating to the next profile.
• If >3 consecutive clean URLs return 404, pause for 10 seconds on the feed before continuing (then fall back to Google/LinkedIn search).
• Do not open new browser tabs — the relay breaks; reuse the same attached tab for every action.
• Aim for no more than 20–25 connection requests per session. Stop and tell the user if you're approaching this limit.

Saving Progress

Use a linkedin_progress.json sidecar file:

{ "statuses": { "https://www.linkedin.com/in/username/": "Request Sent" } }

Update the TSV from this dict every 10 profiles or at the end.

References

• references/browser-workflow.md - Detailed browser steps for all three tiers and both connect patterns