How to connect Grok to LinkedIn, step by step

What you need

• A Finchreach account (sign in at finchreach.com) and the LinkedIn account you want Grok to work on.
• Grok (plan requirements for app connectors aren’t stated. The server must be public (Finchreach’s is)).
• About five minutes.

Step 1: Create a Finchreach API key

1. Sign in at finchreach.com and open API keys.
2. Create a key and name it after the tool, for example “Grok”.
3. Copy it right away: it starts with lk_ and is shown only once.

Step 2: Connect your LinkedIn account

1. Open Accounts and click to connect LinkedIn.
2. Follow the steps until the account shows as connected.

Approval mode is on by default: nothing the assistant drafts reaches LinkedIn until you approve it.

Step 3: Add Finchreach to Grok

1. API: add an mcp tool to a Responses request with the server URL and the key, as below. The headers field lets you send X-API-Key, which Finchreach accepts with the bare key.
2. App: go to grok.com/connectors → New Connector → Custom → enter the URL → complete the authentication it asks for. On Business and Enterprise an admin provisions connectors first.

{
  "model": "grok-4.7",
  "input": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Summarize my LinkedIn notifications."
    }
  ],
  "tools": [
    {
      "type": "mcp",
      "server_url": "https://mcp.finchreach.com/mcp",
      "server_label": "finchreach",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "lk_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  ]
}

mcp(server_url="https://mcp.finchreach.com/mcp", server_label="finchreach", extra_headers={"X-API-Key": "lk_YOUR_KEY"})

Replace lk_YOUR_KEY with your key. Keep the key out of shared files and repos; where Grok can read it from an environment variable, prefer that.

In the API, authorization sets the Authorization header (xAI doesn’t say whether to include Bearer ), and headers / extra_headers add others. The grok.com app’s docs only say “complete any required authentication”: no header or key field is documented, so the app may not be able to send a Finchreach key.

Requirements: Plan requirements for app connectors aren’t stated. The server must be public (Finchreach’s is).

Step 4: Test the connection

In Grok, start with a read. It runs right away and proves the key and the account work:

Ask your assistant“List my connected LinkedIn accounts, then summarize my five latest notifications.”

You should see calls to linkedin_list_accounts and linkedin_get_notifications. Then try a write, which goes to your approval queue instead of LinkedIn:

Ask your assistant“Draft a short LinkedIn post saying I’m trying a new AI assistant workflow. Submit it for my approval.”

Step 5: Approve or reject it in Finchreach

1. Open Approvals. The draft is there with its exact text and the account it would go out from.
2. Approve it to publish, or reject it (reject the test post if you don’t want it live).
3. Grok can check the result with linkedin_get_action: pending, approved, rejected, executed, failed or expired.

Troubleshooting

• If you use the API’s authorization field instead of X-API-Key, test both lk_YOUR_KEY and Bearer lk_YOUR_KEY.
• If the grok.com connector screen asks for an OAuth sign-in, go ahead: Finchreach supports it (sign in and approve on Finchreach). This path is untested; if it fails, use the API route.
• 401 or “unauthorized”: the key is wrong, revoked or missing its prefix. Finchreach accepts Authorization: Bearer lk_… or X-API-Key: lk_…; check for a missing Bearer , quotes or a trailing space.
• A tool is missing: the key’s permissions don’t include it. Create a key with the permissions you need under API keys.
• “No LinkedIn account”: connect one under Accounts, or reconnect it if its session expired.
• A post or message “didn’t go out”: it is probably still waiting under Approvals. Writes run only after you approve them.

Still stuck? Compare your setup with Grok’s documentation, checked on 2026-10-28; client screens change often.

What to ask Grok next

Ask your assistant“Summarize my LinkedIn notifications and new messages in five bullet points.”

Ask your assistant“Draft a LinkedIn post reacting to this news story, in my usual tone.”

Ask your assistant“Search LinkedIn for recent posts about AI agents and list the authors with the most engagement.”

More ideas on the Grok integration page.

Common questions