Windows curl-impersonate workaround still results in session redirect / expired cookies

[topshot99]

Hi, I’m trying to use linkedincli on Windows as a local MCP/CLI connector for read-only LinkedIn access first. I followed the README guidance around manual cookies and the curl-impersonate workaround, but I’m still unable to validate the session.

Goal

Use linkedincli locally on Windows to authenticate via LinkedIn browser cookies and run read-only commands like:

linkedin status --verify
linkedin companies view peacock-labs --pretty

No posting/write commands were attempted.

Environment

• OS: Windows
• Node/npm: using  npx.cmd 
• Package:  @bcharleson/linkedincli 
• Auth method: manual  li_at  +  JSESSIONID 
• Cookies tested from:
• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• curl-impersonate: Windows release from  lexiforest/curl-impersonate 

What I tried

1. Installed and ran npm package

npx.cmd -y @bcharleson/linkedincli login
npx.cmd -y @bcharleson/linkedincli status --verify

During login I saw:

{"message":"Cookies saved but validation failed — they may still work","warning":"fetch failed","config":"~/.linkedin-cli/config.json","validated":false}

Then:

{"logged_in":true,"profile":"Unknown","session_valid":"unknown","message":"Could not verify session: fetch failed"}

2. Checked local config shape

The saved cookies look structurally correct:

•  li_at  exists and starts with  AQED 
•  JSESSIONID  exists and starts with  ajax: 

I did not expose/store the actual cookie values.

3. Tried documented curl-impersonate workaround

I downloaded Windows  curl-impersonate  and verified  curl_chrome123.bat  runs:

curl_chrome123.bat --version

That works.

Then I set:

$env:LINKEDIN_HTTP="curl-impersonate"
$env:LINKEDIN_CURL_IMPERSONATE_BIN="path\to\curl_chrome123.bat"
npx.cmd -y @bcharleson/linkedincli status --verify

But the npm package still returned:

{"logged_in":true,"profile":"Unknown","session_valid":"unknown","message":"Could not verify session: fetch failed"}

4. Noticed npm package may not include transport workaround

I inspected the installed npm package and couldn’t find references to:

•  LINKEDIN_HTTP 
•  curl-impersonate 
•  LINKEDIN_CURL_IMPERSONATE_BIN 

The built  dist/index.js  appeared to call Node  fetch  directly.

However, the GitHub  main  branch does include  src/core/transport.ts  with the curl-impersonate logic.

Is the npm package behind the GitHub README/main branch?

5. Built GitHub main locally

I cloned and built the repo from GitHub main:

git clone https://github.com/bcharleson/linkedincli.git
npm install
npm run build

Then ran:

$env:LINKEDIN_HTTP="curl-impersonate"
$env:LINKEDIN_CURL_IMPERSONATE_BIN="path\to\curl_chrome123.bat"
node dist/index.js status --verify

This returned:

{"logged_in":true,"source":"config","profile":"Unknown","session_valid":"unknown","message":"Could not verify session: spawn EINVAL"}

6. Tried Windows shim around curl-impersonate.exe

Since spawning the  .bat  failed, I created a small local Windows  .exe  shim that calls:

curl-impersonate.exe --impersonate chrome123 <forwarded args>

The shim works with:

shim.exe --version

Then I set:

$env:LINKEDIN_HTTP="curl-impersonate"
$env:LINKEDIN_CURL_IMPERSONATE_BIN="path\to\shim.exe"
$env:LINKEDIN_CURL_IMPERSONATE_REAL_BIN="path\to\curl-impersonate.exe"
node dist/index.js status --verify

This changed the error to:

{"logged_in":true,"source":"config","profile":"Unknown","session_valid":false,"message":"Session cookies expired. Run: linkedin login"}

And:

node dist/index.js companies view peacock-labs --pretty

returns:

Error: Session redirected by LinkedIn. Run: linkedin login

I then refreshed cookies from Chrome and repeated login, but got the same result.

Questions

1. Is the npm package currently missing the  LINKEDIN_HTTP=curl-impersonate  transport support that exists on GitHub main?
2. Is Windows expected to work with  LINKEDIN_CURL_IMPERSONATE_BIN  pointing to a  .bat  file, or does it require an  .exe ?
3. Is there a recommended Windows setup for  curl-impersonate  with this CLI?
4. Is manual  li_at  +  JSESSIONID  expected to work on Windows, or is full Chrome cookie import required?
5. Since  --from-chrome  is documented as unsupported on Windows due to Chrome App-Bound Encryption, is Windows currently considered unsupported for reliable LinkedIn session validation?

Thanks — happy to provide more command output, but I’m avoiding sharing actual cookie values.