There are two ways to export your LinkedIn connections to Excel. LinkedIn's own data export gives you a CSV with six fields and, for most people, an almost empty email column. The Mastros LinkedIn extension exports the same people from a People search filtered to 1st-degree connections, with profile URLs, headlines and locations, in one run and without waiting for an email from LinkedIn.
What does LinkedIn's own connections export give you?
The built-in export is a file called Connections.csv inside the data archive LinkedIn prepares for you. It has six columns: First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Company, Position and Connected On. That is the complete list. No headline, no location, no profile URL, no phone number, and nothing about 2nd or 3rd-degree contacts.
The Email Address column is the one people expect the most and get the least. LinkedIn only fills it for connections who switched on the setting that allows their connections to export their email, and that setting is off by default. Plan for a minority of rows to carry an email and treat the rest as names to enrich later.
The export is free on every LinkedIn account. You do not need Premium or Sales Navigator.
How do you export LinkedIn connections with LinkedIn's data export?
- On desktop, click your profile photo, then Settings & Privacy.
- Open Data privacy in the left menu and click Get a copy of your data.
- If you see a Connections option, tick it and request the archive. If LinkedIn only offers the larger archive, request that; the Connections file arrives in the first part.
- Wait for LinkedIn's email. The page says up to 24 hours; it is usually far quicker, often within the hour.
- Download the ZIP, unzip it and open Connections.csv in Excel or Google Sheets.
If the download button is greyed out, you requested an archive recently. Look for the link to request a new one.
How do you export connections with profile URLs, headlines and locations?
LinkedIn's export has no list view for connections you can filter, but People search does. Every 1st-degree connection is a search result, and the Mastros LinkedIn extension exports search results.
- Open LinkedIn People search and set the Connections filter to 1st.
- Add any other filter you want in the export: location, current company, keywords in the headline. A filtered search is a filtered export.
- Open the Mastros extension from the Chrome toolbar and choose the search results export.
- Run it. The extension pages through the results in your browser and collects the fields shown in the list for each person, including the profile URL.
- Download as CSV, JSON or JSONL; the CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets.
LinkedIn shows at most 100 pages of results for any single search. If you have more connections than that, split the export by location or company and combine the files in Excel; a filtered search stays under the cap.
Two things the extension does not do, so you can plan around them: it does not find email addresses, and it does not visit each profile. It reads what is on the results page you can already see, in your own session, and puts it in a file. For emails, see the last section.
Which LinkedIn connections export should you use?
| LinkedIn data export | Mastros 1st-degree search export | |
|---|---|---|
| Fields | First name, last name, email (if shared), company, position, connected date | Name, headline, current company, location, profile URL, as shown in search results |
| Filtering | None, everyone at once | Any People search filter: location, company, keywords |
| Emails | Only for connections who opted in | None |
| Wait | Minutes to 24 hours, delivered by email | Runs while you watch |
| Cost | Free | Free plan, paid plans for larger runs (pricing) |
| Best for | A one-time backup of who you know and when you connected | A working list you will sort, segment and import |
Most people who ask "how do I export my LinkedIn contacts" want the second column: a list they can filter by city or company and open in a CRM with the profile link attached. Use the first for a backup and the second for a list.
Can you export your connections without breaking LinkedIn's terms?
LinkedIn's own export exists partly because data-portability law requires it, so downloading your Connections.csv is squarely inside the rules.
The extension export reads pages you are already allowed to see, in your own logged-in browser, at the pace you scroll them. It sends no messages, adds no connections, likes nothing and does not run while you are away. That is the line Mastros holds on every platform: export what you can see, never act on your account. LinkedIn's User Agreement does restrict collecting data with software, so keep exports to lists you have a reason to hold, do not resell them, and respect the privacy rights of the people in the file. If you are exporting on behalf of a company, check your own data-protection obligations before importing anything into a shared CRM.
How do you get the file into Excel, Google Sheets or a CRM?
Both exports are plain CSV. Double-click to open in Excel, or in Google Sheets use File, Import, Upload. If names with accents look wrong in Excel, import through Data, From Text/CSV and choose UTF-8.
For a CRM, map the columns once: profile URL to the LinkedIn field, company to the account field, headline to the title field. The Mastros file already has one row per person with a stable profile URL, which is the field most CRMs use to de-duplicate.
How do you add email addresses to an exported connections list?
Neither export gives you a reliable email column, and Mastros does not guess or generate emails. The working method is a two-step one: export the list with names, companies and profile URLs, then run it through an email enrichment tool that matches people to work addresses and verifies them. We cover the tools and the hit rates you can expect in How to find LinkedIn emails in bulk.
FAQ
Can I export only my 1st-degree connections?
Yes. LinkedIn's data export only ever contains 1st-degree connections. In the extension, set the Connections filter to 1st before you run it.
Does the LinkedIn export include phone numbers?
No. Phone numbers are never in Connections.csv, and the extension does not collect them either.
Why are most email addresses blank in my LinkedIn export?
Because LinkedIn only includes an email when that connection has allowed connections to export it. The setting is off by default, so most rows stay blank. Nothing you do on your side changes this.
Can I export 2nd or 3rd-degree contacts?
Not from LinkedIn's export. In the extension, change the Connections filter to 2nd or 3rd+ and the same search export works on those results.
Does exporting notify my connections?
No. Neither method sends anything to the people in the list.
How long does LinkedIn's export take?
LinkedIn says up to 24 hours. The Connections file usually arrives much sooner, often in minutes.
Can I export Sales Navigator lead lists the same way?
Yes, the extension exports Sales Navigator lead and account lists too. See Sales Navigator export.
Is there a limit to how many connections I can export?
LinkedIn's export has no cap. A single People search shows at most 100 pages of results, so for larger networks split the export by filter. Plan limits for the extension are on the LinkedIn product page.