How to Effortlessly Access Any LinkedIn Profile Using exa-mcp-server and Claude Desktop with MCP

Leveraging exa-mcp-server and Claude Desktop for LinkedIn Access

This tutorial demonstrates how to use the exa-mcp-server in combination with Claude Desktop to programmatically access any LinkedIn profile. The exa-mcp-server implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in a lightweight and high-performance manner, allowing Claude Desktop to send HTTP requests and receive raw HTML or structured data on demand.

Installation and Configuration Steps

Download Claude Desktop
Enable Developer Mode from the left pane within Claude Desktop to unlock advanced features.
Obtain the exa-mcp-server setup code from https://smithery.ai/server/exa. Copy the provided code snippet containing the API key and server installation commands.
Run the copied code in your desktop terminal to install and start the exa-mcp-server.
Open the Developer Menu in Claude Desktop and select 'Edit Config'.
Verify Configuration by opening the claude_desktop_config.json file. Ensure it contains the exa server details and API key, resembling the following example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": [
        "/c",
        "npx",
        "-y",
        "@smithery/cli@latest",
        "run",
        "exa",
        "--key",
        "Your Key",
        "--config",
        "\"{\\\"exaApiKey\\\":\\\"Your exa API Key\\\"}\""
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop to apply the new configuration.

Fetching LinkedIn Profiles

After setup, you can search for any LinkedIn profile directly from Claude Desktop. For example, searching your own LinkedIn page will retrieve the profile content seamlessly, without manual web scraping.

Advantages of This Approach

Using exa-mcp-server with Claude Desktop and MCP commands enables streamlined access to protected or dynamically rendered web pages, such as those requiring authentication or heavy JavaScript. This method can also be extended to automate data retrieval from other platforms like Twitter, research databases, and competitor analysis tools.

Resources