Kinnetly
When you export LinkedIn connections to a personal CRM, the most useful mindset is simple: export once, then curate deliberately. The file gives you a contact snapshot. It does not contain your relationship history, keep itself current or decide which connections matter most to you.
LinkedIn documents an export process for your first-degree connections. Its Help guidance also notes that email availability depends on each connection’s privacy setting. That makes the export a practical starting point for your own records, but not a complete picture of your network.
Kinnetly does not connect to LinkedIn. It cannot import from LinkedIn directly, sync your connections, track profile changes, observe messages or refresh a list when someone changes jobs. It can import a user-prepared CSV or vCard file with a preview and duplicate-skip. The distinction lets you stay clear about what you are importing and what context you are creating yourself.
What the connection export is, and is not
A LinkedIn Connections export is a list of first-degree connections and the fields LinkedIn makes available through its documented account-data flow. Treat it as a directory snapshot.
It may help you recover names, organisations and available contact details. It will not reliably tell you the whole story of how you met, what you discussed, who introduced you or when it makes sense to reconnect. That information comes from your own interactions and judgement.
Before exporting, decide what you want the file to support. A broad list can be useful for search, but you do not need to turn every connection into an active relationship record. Starting with people you genuinely know often makes the first pass more useful.
Export your first-degree connections from LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s current Help articles are the source of truth for the account-data steps, because the menu labels and timing may change. Follow the documented process from your LinkedIn account to request and download the Connections file.
Once you have it:
- Save the original download unchanged in a secure location you control.
- Open a copy locally in a spreadsheet application.
- Check the headings and sample rows before editing anything.
- Note that blank email addresses do not necessarily mean an error. LinkedIn says email availability depends on the connection’s privacy setting.
- Do not treat the download as a live feed. It is a point-in-time export.
This local review matters. It gives you a chance to understand what you are carrying forward rather than importing a file you have not inspected.
Prepare a smaller, useful CSV
You do not need to preserve every column simply because it exists. Start with basic contact fields that you can verify, such as name, email where available, phone where you have it, and company if it is still useful to you.
Remove rows you do not need. Correct obvious duplicates carefully, but do not spend hours trying to perfect every historic record. Keep the original download so you can return to it if necessary.
Be cautious with personal information. A connection is not a reason to collect extensive notes. Add context only when it is relevant to your real relationship and appropriate to retain.
If you are converting between contact file formats, Kinnetly’s vCard and CSV converter can help you inspect the formats. It does not connect to or fetch data from LinkedIn.
Import the prepared file into Kinnetly
Kinnetly accepts CSV and vCard or VCF contact files. The import includes a preview and duplicate-skip, which gives you an opportunity to check the proposed result before completing the import.
A careful import workflow looks like this:
- Prepare a copy of the CSV with the basic fields you want to use.
- Import that prepared file into Kinnetly.
- Inspect the preview rather than assuming every custom column will map perfectly.
- Let duplicate-skip help with obvious existing matches, then review your records after import.
- Keep your source file. An import is not a substitute for a backup.
Kinnetly does not promise automatic cleanup, enrichment or interpretation of arbitrary LinkedIn columns. The useful work begins after the contact list is in a form you can search and maintain.
Turn a directory into relationship context
A searchable personal network becomes valuable through the context you add over time. After an actual interaction, you might log a short activity such as a coffee meeting, a phone call or an event conversation. You may add a private note with a relevant project detail, record an introduction, connect the person to a company, group or event, or set a reminder for a follow-up you have chosen.
Kinnetly search looks across people, companies, groups, events, notes and activity descriptions. That means a specific, useful note can be easier to retrieve than an unstructured memory. The relationship map can also show connections among the people and contexts you have added.
Do not try to manufacture context for every imported name. A clean contact list with a few well-maintained records is more useful than a large database full of guesses.
Remember the limits of the snapshot
Your imported list will age. People change roles, contact details and platforms. Kinnetly will not monitor LinkedIn for those changes. When you have a real interaction, update the information you know to be current. If there is no interaction, it is usually better to leave the record alone than to infer meaning from a public profile.
For data control, Kinnetly can export contacts and companies as CSV or vCard, and it offers a separate whole-network JSON backup and restore. These are user-controlled exports, not a LinkedIn sync.
A LinkedIn export is a starting point, not relationship history. Explore how Kinnetly organises an individual relationship map, or get started with Kinnetly for free when you are ready to turn a reviewed contact snapshot into searchable context you maintain yourself.