How to post to LinkedIn from Claude Desktop
The long conversation is the draft. Claude Desktop turns twenty minutes of thinking out loud into a LinkedIn post, and you read the final text in the tool call before it is scheduled.
How do I post to LinkedIn from Claude Desktop?
Add the planpo.st MCP server to Claude Desktop, connect LinkedIn once in the dashboard, then ask. The first three steps are one-time.
- 1
Create an API key and add planpo.st to Claude Desktop
Make a scoped key in planpo.st under Settings. Open Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and enter the planpo.st URL with an Authorization header. Or add the local npx entry to claude_desktop_config.json and restart the app, since it reads that file only on launch.
- 2
Confirm the server is connected
Start a new chat and check that the planpost tools appear in the tools menu.
- 3
Connect LinkedIn
Connect LinkedIn in the dashboard under Connections. A personal profile and a company page are separate connections with separate IDs, and get_connection_link gives the agent a URL to pass to you when one is missing.
- 4
Know what the post needs
A LinkedIn post needs text of 3,000 characters or fewer. Media is optional and nothing in platformSettings is required.
- 5
Ask in a chat window
Say what to post and when. Claude Desktop finds the LinkedIn connection, creates the post, and tells you whether it was scheduled or kept as a draft, with the reason.
Settings -> Connectors -> Add custom connector
Name: PlanPost
URL: https://mcp.planpo.st/mcp
Then add the header:
Authorization: Bearer pk_live_xxx{
"mcpServers": {
"planpost": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "planpost-mcp"],
"env": { "PLANPOST_API_KEY": "pk_live_xxx" }
}
}
}Config location: macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Replace pk_live_xxx with your own key.
Hosted or local for Claude Desktop?
For Claude Desktop the custom connector is the easy route: two fields in Settings and no file to edit. Choose the local config when you want the key in a file on your own disk, and remember the app reads that file only when it starts.
- Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config file. It only reads it on launch.
The full walkthrough is on the Claude Desktop setup page.
What can Claude Desktop do on LinkedIn?
It can publish text posts, single-image posts, multi-image posts of up to 9 images and video posts, to a personal profile or a company page. It cannot post PDF documents, polls or articles.
Text post
3,000Up to 3,000 characters with clickable links. The long cut of an idea belongs here, with platformContent.linkedin holding it when other networks get a shorter one.
Image or images
1 to 9One image, or several as a multi-image post. The first 9 are used.
Video
One video per post. When the first attachment is a video, that file is the post.
Profile or page
Decided by the connection ID. Pass the profile's ID, the page's ID, or both in two posts with different wording.
Attachments are optional on LinkedIn. When a post should carry one, that is the one awkward part of this pairing. Claude Desktop reaches planpo.st through the connector and has no shell to PUT a file from your disk to an upload URL. Two routes work: upload the file in the planpo.st dashboard and let Claude Desktop pick it with list_media, or ask for a carousel rendered from text with render_carousel.
Which settings does a LinkedIn post take?
The LinkedIn publisher reads nothing from platformSettings. Who the post is from is decided by the connection, and visibility is always public, so the table lists the post fields that do the work.
| Field | Allowed values | If you leave it out | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| connectionIds | ID of a profile connection or a company page connection | None, required | This is the profile versus page switch. list_connections returns both with their IDs. |
| platformContent.linkedin | Text, 3,000 characters or fewer | The shared content | Over 3,000 here is rejected with a 400. Shared content over 3,000 saves the post as a draft with char_limit. |
| media, platformMedia.linkedin | Images (1 to 9) or one video | Text post | The first attachment decides the kind of post. Images after the ninth are left out. |
| platformSettings.linkedin.* | Not read | Does not apply | organizationUrn and isPersonal exist on the type and are ignored at publish. Use the connection ID. |
| Visibility | PUBLIC | PUBLIC | Fixed. There is no connections-only option. |
What do I type to post to LinkedIn from Claude Desktop?
Plain requests work. Each example lists the tool calls Claude Desktop makes in response.
1. Profile and company page, two voices
You say
Use the draft we wrote above in this chat. Write two LinkedIn posts from it: first person for my profile, third person for the company page. Schedule both for Thursday 09:00.
Tool calls
list_connections()
create_post({ content: "<first person>", connectionIds: ["<profile id>"], schedule: "thursday 09:00" })
create_post({ content: "<third person>", connectionIds: ["<page id>"], schedule: "thursday 09:00" })Two scheduled posts on two connections. They are separate posts on purpose, because the wording differs and so will the numbers.
2. A carousel of images
You say
Read the document I attached. Make a 7-slide carousel from it for LinkedIn and save the post as a draft so I can look first.
Tool calls
generate_carousel({ content: "<source text>", platform: "linkedin", maxSlides: 7 })
render_carousel({ slides: [...], family: "<id from list_carousel_styles>" })
get_carousel_render({ id: "<render id>" })
create_post({ content: "<caption>", media: [<7 assets>], connectionIds: ["<linkedin id>"], schedule: "draft" })Seven rendered PNG slides in your media library and a draft multi-image post. Seven fits; a tenth slide would be dropped, since LinkedIn gets the first 9 images.
3. Post with a tracked link
You say
Take the outline from earlier in this conversation. Write a LinkedIn post that ends with the link to the pricing page and schedule it at the best time this week.
Tool calls
get_best_times({ platform: "linkedin" })
create_post({ content: "<post ending in https://...>", connectionIds: ["<linkedin id>"], scheduledFor: "<ISO time from get_best_times>", campaign: "pricing-update" })A scheduled post with a clickable link and a campaign tag. Payments that follow a click on that link show up next to this post.
What stops a LinkedIn post from Claude Desktop?
The tag on a card is the code that comes back in the tool result.
3,000 characters
char_limitChecked when the post is created. Too long and it is saved as a draft with the count, the limit and the field to shorten.
9 images, then it stops
A multi-image post uses the first 9 attachments. Extra images are left out without failing the post, so keep carousels at 9 or fewer.
Do not mix images and video
The first attachment decides the type. An image first makes it an image post; a video first makes it a video post with that one file.
No PDF documents
The swipeable document format is not supported. A rendered image carousel is the nearest thing and it publishes as a multi-image post.
Always public
Posts go out with public visibility. If you need connections-only, post that one by hand.
Profile and page are different connections
Sending a page announcement to your personal profile is one wrong ID away. Have the agent read list_connections back before the first post.
Restart after editing the config
Claude DesktopClaude Desktop reads claude_desktop_config.json when it starts. An edit made while it is open does nothing until you quit and reopen it.
Can Claude Desktop tell me what a LinkedIn post earned?
Yes. Links in LinkedIn posts are clickable, so a tracked link in the post gives a click to match against a later payment, and get_revenue_overview returns the totals and recent transactions. LinkedIn readers are mostly buying for a business, which usually means Stripe on the other end.
Claude Desktop and LinkedIn: questions people ask
- Can Claude Desktop upload an image from my machine for LinkedIn?
- Not directly. Claude Desktop reaches planpo.st through the connector and has no shell to PUT a file from your disk to an upload URL. Upload the file in the dashboard and Claude Desktop finds it with list_media, or have it render one: render_carousel makes branded images from text.
- How do I post to a company page instead of my profile?
- Pass the page's connection ID. The page and the profile are separate connections, and the post is authored by whichever one the ID belongs to. There is no setting for it.
- Can it post a document carousel?
- Not the PDF kind. It can render up to 9 slides as images and publish them as a multi-image post.
- What happens when Claude Desktop sends a LinkedIn post that breaks a rule?
- It is told at once. The usual case on LinkedIn is text over 3,000 characters: the post is kept as a draft and the tool result carries char_limit plus the fix, which Claude Desktop applies with update_post.
- Do I have to edit a config file?
- No. The custom connector in Settings takes the URL and the key and needs no file. The config file route exists for the local server, if you would rather the key stayed on your machine while you post to LinkedIn.
- Will it post without showing me the text?
- Claude Desktop asks before it uses a tool unless you have allowed it for the session, so you see the LinkedIn post in the tool call first. Asking for drafts gives you a second look in the dashboard.
Keep going
LinkedIn from other agents
Other networks from Claude Desktop