Step by Step Guide to Building a LinkedIn API Integration in C#

Aug 1, 2024 • 5 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your app with LinkedIn integration? You're in the right place. We're going to walk through building a LinkedIn API integration using C# and the nifty AspNet.Security.OAuth.LinkedIn package. Buckle up, because we're about to make your app a whole lot more professional!

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you've got:

Visual Studio (or your favorite C# IDE)
.NET Core SDK
A LinkedIn Developer account (if you don't have one, no worries - we'll cover that)

Setting up the project

Let's get our hands dirty! Fire up Visual Studio and create a new ASP.NET Core project. Once that's done, it's NuGet time. Open up your Package Manager Console and run:

Install-Package AspNet.Security.OAuth.LinkedIn

Configuring LinkedIn OAuth

Head over to the LinkedIn Developer portal and create a new app. You'll need to grab your Client ID and Client Secret - keep these safe, they're the keys to your LinkedIn kingdom!

Implementing LinkedIn Authentication

Now for the fun part. Open up your Startup.cs file and add this to your ConfigureServices method:

services.AddAuthentication().AddLinkedIn(options =>
{
    options.ClientId = Configuration["LinkedIn:ClientId"];
    options.ClientSecret = Configuration["LinkedIn:ClientSecret"];
});

Don't forget to add the authentication middleware in the Configure method:

app.UseAuthentication();
app.UseAuthorization();

Creating the authentication controller

Time to create our auth controller. Here's a quick example:

[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class AuthController : Controller
{
    [HttpGet("linkedin-login")]
    public IActionResult LinkedInLogin()
    {
        return Challenge(new AuthenticationProperties { RedirectUri = "/" }, "LinkedIn");
    }

    [HttpGet("linkedin-callback")]
    public async Task<IActionResult> LinkedInCallback()
    {
        var result = await HttpContext.AuthenticateAsync("LinkedIn");
        // Handle the authentication result
    }
}

Accessing LinkedIn API

Once you've got your access token, you're ready to start making API requests. Here's a simple example:

var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", accessToken);
var response = await client.GetAsync("https://api.linkedin.com/v2/me");
var content = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();

Handling user data

Parse that JSON response and do your thing! Store it, display it, shout it from the rooftops - whatever your app needs.

Error handling and security considerations

Remember, always handle your errors gracefully and never, ever store sensitive info like access tokens in plain text. Use secure storage solutions and follow best practices.

Testing the integration

Time to put it all together! Run your app, click that "Login with LinkedIn" button, and watch the magic happen. If all goes well, you should be able to access LinkedIn data in no time.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a LinkedIn API integration in C#. Pretty cool, right? Remember, this is just the beginning - there's so much more you can do with the LinkedIn API. Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun!

Additional resources

Want to dive deeper? Check out these resources:

Happy coding, and may your commits always be green!