---
title: Import from LinkedIn
description: How to bring your positions, education, skills, and other professional history from LinkedIn into Sifa using LinkedIn's data export.
---

LinkedIn lets you download your whole profile as a ZIP. Sifa's importer reads that ZIP and turns it into AT Protocol records on your own PDS. The same data becomes portable, any app can read it, and it survives a future move away from Sifa or LinkedIn.

The import runs entirely in your browser. Sifa's servers never see the LinkedIn ZIP.

## Before you start

You need:

- A Sifa account ([sign in](/docs/create-account) first if you haven't).
- A LinkedIn account in the name of the profile you want to import.

And a few minutes of patience. LinkedIn doesn't hand you the ZIP instantly. It emails you a link, usually within 10 minutes, sometimes longer.

## Step 1: request your data archive from LinkedIn

1. Open [LinkedIn's "Download my data" page](https://www.linkedin.com/mypreferences/d/download-my-data).
2. Select **Download larger data archive** (the first option).
3. Click **Request archive**.
4. LinkedIn emails you when the archive is ready. Subject line: _"Your LinkedIn data archive is ready to download"_.
5. Follow the link, sign in, download the ZIP. **Don't unzip it.** Sifa wants the ZIP as-is.

LinkedIn splits exports into batches. **Batch 1** is the one Sifa needs, usually within 10 minutes. Later batches contain ads data and similar things Sifa doesn't use.

## Step 2: upload the ZIP to Sifa

1. Go to [sifa.id/import](https://sifa.id/import).
2. Drag the ZIP onto the upload area, or click to browse and pick the file.
3. The ZIP is extracted in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to Sifa's servers at this stage.

If the page rejects the file, jump to [troubleshooting](#troubleshooting).

## Step 3: review what will be imported

After parsing, Sifa shows a review screen with everything it found in the archive. Check before continuing:

- **Positions** (current and past jobs). Title, company, dates, description.
- **Education**. Schools, degrees, fields of study, dates.
- **Skills**. Each one becomes a separate record.
- **Certifications**. Issuer, date, expiration.
- **Projects, publications, volunteering, honours, languages, courses**. Anything LinkedIn lets you list, Sifa imports.

Anything you don't want public, deselect now.

> **Everything you import will be publicly visible.** On LinkedIn some fields are hidden from logged-out visitors. On Sifa profiles are fully public. Logged-out humans, search engines, AI agents all see the same thing you do. No half-public mode.

That's on purpose. A portable professional profile only works if anyone can link to it. If you want to keep something private, leave it off.

## Step 4: import

Click **Import**. Sifa writes one [AT Protocol](https://atproto.com) record per item to your PDS:

- `id.sifa.profile.position` for each job
- `id.sifa.profile.education` for each school
- `id.sifa.profile.skill` for each skill
- …and so on for the rest.

The records live on your PDS, not on Sifa's servers. Sifa reads from your PDS to render your profile. Sign in to a different Atmosphere app tomorrow and the same records are visible there too.

You can edit, delete, or re-order anything from the Sifa profile editor afterwards.

<Screenshot
  src="public-profile.png"
  alt="A Sifa profile rendered from imported records: name, handle, tagline, location, and a left-hand navigation listing About, Career, Education, Projects, Credentials, Publications, Volunteering, Awards."
  caption="What an imported profile looks like on Sifa. Sections on the left, content on the right."
/>

## Troubleshooting

**"This doesn't look like a LinkedIn export."**  
You probably picked _Fast file (only your profile)_ instead of _Download larger data archive_. Sifa needs the larger archive because it contains the structured CSVs. Request it again and wait for the email.

**"The ZIP is too big."**  
LinkedIn exports get large if you've been there for years. Sifa's browser-side extractor handles a few hundred MB. If yours is bigger, open it locally, grab the `Profile.csv`, `Positions.csv`, `Education.csv` (and similar) files in the root, and zip those on their own. Upload the smaller ZIP.

**"Some of my positions are missing dates."**  
LinkedIn sometimes omits end dates for current roles. Sifa reads a missing end date as "still current", which is what you want for an active job. For past roles missing dates, fix them on LinkedIn before re-exporting, or edit them on Sifa after import.

**"My LinkedIn name doesn't match my AT Protocol handle."**  
Fine. Sifa doesn't match identities by name. It writes everything to whichever PDS you're signed in with. You can be `myhandle.bsky.social` on Sifa and any name on LinkedIn. They don't need to agree.

## What Sifa doesn't import

- Connections / followers list. Your Sifa graph is separate (and lives on your PDS as standard AT Protocol follow records).
- Messages (DMs).
- Recommendations written by other people. Use [endorsements](/docs/activity-feed) once your profile is up.
- Likes, comments, and other engagement signals. Sifa is a record of work, not an engagement feed.

## Privacy summary

- The LinkedIn ZIP is **extracted in your browser**. Sifa's servers don't see the ZIP, the file contents, or any field you choose not to import.
- When you click Import, the records you selected are written to **your PDS** via AT Protocol's authenticated APIs. Sifa's AppView reads them back to render your profile.
- Delete Sifa later and the imported records stay on your PDS unless you explicitly delete them too. They become readable by any other Atmosphere app.
- LinkedIn itself is untouched. Sifa never logs in to LinkedIn or scrapes it. The import is one-way, from the ZIP you supplied.