> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gtm-api.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect a LinkedIn account

> Connect an account in the app, wait out the initial sync, then work with it over the API.

Connecting is the one step that happens in the app rather than the API: the account owner signs in to LinkedIn inside a dedicated anti-detect cloud browser, because a live human login is what keeps the session real. Everything after that is API territory.

## 1. Connect in the app

In [app.gtm-api.com](https://app.gtm-api.com/login), add a LinkedIn account. The platform provisions an isolated cloud browser with a dedicated proxy for it (one account, one browser, one device signature) and starts the initial sync: profile, conversations, connections.

## 2. Find the account and watch its status

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST "https://app.gtm-api.com/linkedin/v4/api/linkedin-accounts/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer gtm_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"filter": {"q": "cooper"}}'
```

The `status` field is the account lifecycle:

| Status                  | Meaning                                              |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `new`                   | Connected, sync not started                          |
| `initial_syncing`       | First sync in progress                               |
| `active`                | Usable; outbound actions allowed                     |
| `sync_failed`           | The sync hit a problem; check the account in the app |
| `shared_out`            | Lent to another team via account sharing             |
| `subscription_required` | The plan lapsed; renew to reactivate                 |

Until the account reaches `active`, outbound endpoints (connection requests, messages) answer with a `conflict` error. Read endpoints work as soon as data lands.

## 3. Check capabilities and limits

* `POST /api/linkedin-accounts/{sid}/check-sales-nav`, `/check-premium`, `/check-recruiter` report what the account's LinkedIn subscription actually supports. Sales Navigator endpoints on an account without Sales Navigator fail upfront with `validation_failed` rather than mid-run.
* `POST /api/linkedin-account-smart-limits/search` returns the account's current per-action daily budgets. A newly connected account starts well below platform maximums and is warmed up programmatically as it ages; read these limits instead of assuming a number.
* `POST /api/linkedin-account-snapshots/search` gives the health timeline the platform records for the account.

## 4. First action

Once `active`, the account's sid (`ln_ac_...`) is the handle every LinkedIn endpoint takes. A sensible first write is something low-risk, for example reacting to a post, before you schedule real outreach through a [mass action](/guides/run-a-mass-action) with pacing.

Every outbound call re-checks the smart limits server-side before dispatch. Hitting a budget answers `limit_exceeded`, and the action can resume the next day or after the limit is raised; the account is not penalized for your retry logic.