Logo SearchApi

LinkedIn People API

GET   /api/v1/search?engine=linkedin_people
OpenAPI Initiative Download OpenAPI Spec

The LinkedIn People API returns the LinkedIn members whose name matches a first name, a last name or both. Each member comes with a name, a profile link, a location, and the headline, company, school and photo when LinkedIn shows them. LinkedIn shows at most 50 members for a name, so there is no pagination, and the response also gives the total number of members with that name. A name no member has returns an error.

API Parameters

Search Query

  • Name
    first_name
    Required
    Optional
    Description

    Parameter defines the first name to search for, such as John. It can be up to 255 characters long, must contain a letter or a digit, and cannot contain %, { or }. At least one of first_name and last_name is required.

  • Name
    last_name
    Required
    Optional
    Description

    Parameter defines the last name to search for, such as Smith. It can be up to 255 characters long, must contain a letter or a digit, and cannot contain %, { or }. At least one of first_name and last_name is required.

Engine

  • Name
    engine
    Required
    Required
    Description

    Parameter defines an engine that will be used to retrieve real-time data. It must be set to linkedin_people.

API key

  • Name
    api_key
    Required
    Required
    Description

    The api_key authenticates your requests. Use it as a query parameter (https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY) or in the Authorization header (Bearer YOUR_API_KEY).

Zero Data Retention

  • Name
    zero_retention
    Enterprise Only
    Enterprise Only
    Required
    Optional
    Description

    Set this parameter to true to disable all logging and persistent storage. No request parameters, HTML, or JSON responses are stored or logged. Suitable for high-compliance use cases. Debugging and support may be limited while enabled.

API Examples

Full Response

Full Response
GET
https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search?engine=linkedin_people&first_name=John
Request
import requests

url = "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search"
params = {
  "engine": "linkedin_people",
  "first_name": "John"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=params)
print(response.text)
Response
{
  "search_metadata": {
    "id": "search_VgoBt5dbcZunloAvH2U9hYDz",
    "status": "Success",
    "created_at": "2026-11-12T01:27:54Z",
    "request_time_taken": 3.12,
    "parsing_time_taken": 0.44,
    "total_time_taken": 3.56,
    "request_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir?firstName=John&lastName=",
    "html_url": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/searches/search_VgoBt5dbcZunloAvH2U9hYDz.html",
    "json_url": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/searches/search_VgoBt5dbcZunloAvH2U9hYDz"
  },
  "search_parameters": {
    "engine": "linkedin_people",
    "first_name": "John"
  },
  "search_information": {
    "total_results": 4592000,
    "is_total_results_approximate": true
  },
  "profiles": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "name": "John Kao",
      "username": "johnkao1",
      "link": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkao1",
      "headline": "Chairman and CEO at Alignment Health",
      "location": "Orange, CA",
      "company_name": "Alignment Health",
      "school_name": "UCLA Anderson School of Management",
      "thumbnail": "https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/C5603AQH9xjiInB9SFg/profile-displayphoto-shrink_200_200/profile..."
    },
    "..."
  ]
}

Search by First and Last Name

Search by First and Last Name
GET
https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search?engine=linkedin_people&first_name=John&last_name=Smith
Request
import requests

url = "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search"
params = {
  "engine": "linkedin_people",
  "first_name": "John",
  "last_name": "Smith"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=params)
print(response.text)
Response
{
  "profiles": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "name": "John Smith",
      "username": "john-smith-59a87315",
      "link": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-smith-59a87315",
      "location": "Spring, TX",
      "company_name": "Indorama Ventures LLC - Indovinya"
    },
    "..."
  ]
}