Short answer: to export your LinkedIn contacts, open LinkedIn on a computer, go to Settings & Privacy → Data privacy → Get a copy of your data, choose Connections, and select Request archive. LinkedIn emails you a download link, and the file you want is Connections.csv. Expect gaps: it lists only your 1st-degree connections, and it includes an email address only for people who allow their connections to download it.
That’s the whole process. The rest of this guide covers what the file holds, why so many email cells are blank, and how to turn a list of names into something that helps you keep up with people.
How do I export my LinkedIn contacts?
You export them through LinkedIn’s own data download, in a desktop browser. LinkedIn says the feature isn’t available on mobile.
- Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
- Select Settings & Privacy.
- Click Data privacy in the left pane.
- Under How LinkedIn uses your data, click Get a copy of your data. On some help pages LinkedIn calls this Download your data.
- Choose Connections on its own, or the larger data archive, which also includes your connections.
- Select Request archive.
- Open the email LinkedIn sends to your primary address, follow the link, and download the ZIP file.
- Unzip it and open
Connections.csvin Excel or Google Sheets.
Use your own computer for this. LinkedIn recommends downloading your data from a personal computer, not a public one.
How long does the LinkedIn export take?
A connections-only request is quick. LinkedIn says that if you pick a specific type of data it emails you within minutes, and if you pick the larger download you’ll hear back within 24 hours. The download link works for 72 hours, so save the file once it arrives.
What’s in the LinkedIn Connections file?
You get one row per 1st-degree connection, with these fields:
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| First name, last name | The name on their profile |
| URL | Their public profile link |
| Email address | Only if they allow connections to download it |
| Company | Their current company |
| Position | Their current title |
| Connected on | The date you connected |
There’s no phone number column. LinkedIn’s archive does include a Phone Numbers file, but it holds the numbers on your own account, not your connections’ numbers.
Why are most email addresses missing?
Because each person decides. LinkedIn includes a connection’s email address only when that person’s privacy settings allow their connections to see or download it. Everyone else shows up with an empty email cell.
There’s no setting on your side that fills the gaps. You can ask people directly, or rely on the email threads you already have with them. If you’ve emailed someone, your inbox already knows their address, and the conversation is better context than a blank cell.
Can I export people who aren’t my connections?
No. LinkedIn says you can’t export a list of contacts who aren’t 1st-degree connections, so second-degree connections aren’t in the file. LinkedIn also doesn’t provide its People You May Know or Who’s Viewed Your Profile data.
What does the LinkedIn export leave out?
The Connections file tells you who you’re connected to and when. It doesn’t tell you how you know each person, what you last talked about, or what you said you’d do next. For most people, that missing context is the reason they wanted the export in the first place.
Two other files in the larger archive help a little:
- Messages: messages you sent, received and archived, with the date, subject and content.
- Invitations: invitations you sent and received, including the message attached to each one. A note like “Great meeting you at the conference” can be the only record of where you met someone.
In conversations about Tapestry, people describe the same problem in their own words: they can’t remember where they met someone, or which app a conversation happened in. A spreadsheet of names doesn’t fix that. The history behind each name does.
The export is also a snapshot. People change jobs, and your file won’t notice. Plan to export again when you need a fresh copy.
How do I open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets?
Unzip the archive first, then open the file:
- Excel: open
Connections.csvdirectly. - Google Sheets: import the file into a new sheet.
LinkedIn notes that its CSV and vCard formats don’t support every character. Names in languages with extended character sets, such as Chinese, Japanese or Hebrew, may not come through correctly.
How do I turn a LinkedIn export into a personal CRM?
Add the context the export lacks, then keep it next to your other conversations. You have three common routes.
Use a spreadsheet
Add a few columns of your own: How we met, Last talked, Next step and Notes. It’s free and flexible. It also only stays useful while you keep updating it by hand.
Import it into a CRM
Many CRMs can import a CSV. Map each column to a field, import a small batch first to check the mapping, then merge duplicates. This suits a team pipeline better than your own relationships. See personal CRM vs. sales CRM for the difference.
Use a personal CRM that reads it alongside everything else
A LinkedIn connection is one thread of a relationship. The rest is in your email, calendar and messages. A personal CRM can bring those together so you see the whole history in one place.
We make Tapestry PRM, a private personal CRM for Mac, so weigh this accordingly. Tapestry can read a LinkedIn data export you choose to import, alongside your email, calendar, messages and contacts. Everything you connect stays in your Tapestry folder on your device, and it keeps each detail with its original source, so you can check where it came from. Every source is read-only, and Tapestry never sends messages or contacts anyone for you.
How do I keep the file private?
Treat it like your address book, because it holds other people’s information, including email addresses they chose to share with their connections, not with every app you use. A few habits help:
- Download it on your own computer, as LinkedIn advises.
- Think twice before uploading it to a tool that stores a copy on its servers.
- Delete old copies you no longer need.
Privacy comes up again and again with people who ask for early access to Tapestry. In our early-access form, most said they want only their own devices to read their relationship data. That’s a good default for a file full of other people’s contact details, too.
Frequently asked questions
Can I export LinkedIn contacts from my phone?
No. LinkedIn says its data download isn’t available on mobile. Use a desktop browser.
Can I export LinkedIn contacts with phone numbers?
Not through LinkedIn’s export. The Connections file has no phone number column, and the Phone Numbers file in the archive lists only the numbers on your own account.
How long is the download link valid?
72 hours, according to LinkedIn. If it expires, request the archive again.
Can I export my LinkedIn connections to Excel?
Yes. The export is a CSV file, which opens in Excel and Google Sheets.
Learn more
- A contact management app for Mac, for seeing who you know at a company or in a city, with where every detail came from.
- A private personal CRM for networking, for finding the right person, remembering the details and reconnecting.
- Warm introductions, for turning a connection into an introduction.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help, “Export connections from LinkedIn.” Checked 5 November 2026.
- LinkedIn Help, “Download your data.” Checked 5 November 2026.
Tapestry PRM is invite-only for now, Mac first, and the local version is free. Request access.
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