Authorization Code Flow (3-legged OAuth)

The Authorization Code Flow is used for applications to request permission from a LinkedIn member to access their account data. The level of access or profile detail is explicitly requested using the scope parameter during the authorization process outlined below. This workflow will send a consent prompt to a selected member, and once approved your application may begin making API calls on behalf of that member.

This approval process ensures that LinkedIn members are aware of what level of detail an application may access or action it may perform on their behalf.

If multiple scopes are requested, the user must be consent to all of them and may not select individual scopes. For the benefit of your LinkedIn users, please ensure that your application requests the least number of scope permissions.

Authorization Code Flow

1. Configure your application in the Developer Portal to obtain Client ID and Client Secret.
2. Your application directs the browser to LinkedIn's OAuth 2.0 authorization page where the member authenticates.
3. After authentication, LinkedIn's authorization server passes an authorization code to your application.
4. Your application sends this code to LinkedIn and LinkedIn returns an access token.
5. Your application uses this token to make API calls on behalf of the member.

How to Implement 3-legged OAuth

Follow the steps given below to implement the 3-legged OAuth for LinkedIn APIs:

Prerequisites

• A LinkedIn Developer application to create a new application or select your existing application
• Prior authorization access granted for at least one 3-legged OAuth permission.

The permission request workflow is outlined in the Getting Access section.

Step 1: Configure Your Application

1. Select your application in the LinkedIn Developer Portal.
2. Click the Auth tab to view your application credentials.
3. Add the redirect (callback) URL via HTTPS to your server.

If you are using Postman to test this flow, use https://oauth.pstmn.io/v1/callback as your redirect URL and enable Authorize using browser.

Each application is assigned a unique Client ID (Consumer key/API key) and Client Secret. Please make a note of these values as they will be integrated into your application. Your Client Secret protects your application's security so be sure to keep it secure!

Step 2: Request an Authorization Code

To request an authorization code, you must direct the member's browser to LinkedIn's OAuth 2.0 authorization page, where the member either accepts or denies your application's permission request.

Once the request is made, one of the following occurs:

1. If it is a first-time request, the permission request timed out, or was manually revoked by the member: the browser is redirected to LinkedIn's authorization consent window.

2. If there is an existing permission grant from the member: the authorization screen is bypassed and the member is immediately redirected to the URL provided in the redirect_uri query parameter.

When the member completes the authorization process, the browser is redirected to the URL provided in the redirect_uri query parameter.

GET https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/authorization

The scopes available to your app depend on which Products or Partner Programs your app has access to. This information is available in the Developer Portal. Your app's Auth tab will show current scopes available. You can apply for new Products under the Products tab. If approved, your app will have access to new scopes.

Sample Request

GET https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/authorization?response_type=code&client_id={your_client_id}&redirect_uri={your_callback_url}&state=foobar&scope=liteprofile%20emailaddress%20w_member_social

Once redirected, the member is presented with LinkedIn's authentication screen. This identifies your application and outlines the particular member permissions/scopes that your application is requesting. You can change the logo and application name in the Developer Portal under My apps > Settings

Member Approves Request

By providing valid LinkedIn credentials and clicking Allow, the member approves your application's request to access their member data and interact with LinkedIn on their behalf. This approval instructs LinkedIn to redirect the member to the redirect URL that you defined in your redirect_uriparameter.

https://dev.example.com/auth/linkedin/callback?state=foobar&code=AQTQmah11lalyH65DAIivsjsAQV5P-1VTVVebnLl_SCiyMXoIjDmJ4s6rO1VBGP5Hx2542KaR_eNawkrWiCiAGxIaV-TCK-mkxDISDak08tdaBzgUYfnTJL1fHRoDWCcC2L6LXBCR_z2XHzeWSuqTkR1_jO8CeV9E_WshsJBgE-PWElyvsmfuEXLQbCLfj8CHasuLafFpGb0glO4d7M

Attached to the redirect_uri are two important URL arguments that you need to read from the request:

• code — The OAuth 2.0 authorization code.
• state — A value used to test for possible CSRF attacks.

The code is a value that you exchange with LinkedIn for an OAuth 2.0 access token in the next step of the authentication process. For security reasons, the authorization code has a 30-minute lifespan and must be used immediately. If it expires, you must repeat all of the previous steps to request another authorization code.

Failed Requests

If the member chooses to cancel, or the request fails for any reason, the client is redirected to your redirect_uri with the following additional query parameters appended:

• error - A code indicating one of these errors:
  • user_cancelled_login - The member declined to log in to their LinkedIn account.
  • user_cancelled_authorize - The member refused to authorize the permissions request from your application.
• error_description - A URL-encoded textual description that summarizes the error.
• state - A value passed by your application to prevent CSRF attacks.

For more error details, refer here

Step 3: Exchange Authorization Code for an Access Token

The next step is to get an access token for your application using the authorization code from the previous step.

POST https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/accessToken

To do this, make the following HTTP POST request with a Content-Type header of x-www-form-urlencoded using the following parameters:

Sample Request

POST  https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/accessToken
 
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
grant_type=authorization_code
code={authorization_code_from_step2_response}
client_id={your_client_id}
client_secret={your_client_secret}
redirect_uri={your_callback_url}

curl --location --request POST 'https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/accessToken' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
--data-urlencode 'grant_type=authorization_code' \
--data-urlencode 'code={authorization_code_from_step2_response}' \
--data-urlencode 'client_id={your_client_id}' \
--data-urlencode 'client_secret={your_client_secret}' \
--data-urlencode 'redirect_uri={your_callback_url}'

Response

A successful access token request returns a JSON object containing the following fields:

{  
"access_token":"AQUvlL_DYEzvT2wz1QJiEPeLioeA",
"expires_in":5184000,
"scope":"r_basicprofile"
}

For more error details, refer to the API Error Details table.

Step 4: Make Authenticated Requests

Once you've obtained an access token, you can start making authenticated API requests on behalf of the member by including an Authorization header in the HTTP call to LinkedIn's API.

Sample Request

curl -X GET https://api.linkedin.com/v2/me' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {INSERT_TOKEN}'

Step 5: Refresh Access Token

Refreshing an access token is a seamless user experience. To refresh an access token, go through the authorization process again to fetch a new token. This time however, in the refresh workflow, the authorization screen is bypassed, and the member is redirected to your redirect URL, provided the following conditions are met:

• The member is still logged into www.linkedin.com
• The member's current access token has not expired

If the member is no longer logged in to www.linkedin.com or their access token has expired, they are sent through the normal authorization process.

Programmatic refresh tokens are available for a limited set of partners. If this feature has been enabled for your application, see Programmatic Refresh Tokens for instructions.

API Error Details

Following are the API errors and its resolution for 3-legged OAuth. If you wish to view the standard HTTP status codes and its meaning, see Error Handling page.

/oauth/v2/authorization

/oauth/v2/accessToken