Laravel 11 Socialite: Implementing LinkedIn Login (Sign-In) Tutorial

Why Use LinkedIn Social Login in Laravel?

             Social authentication simplifies registration and login, boosting user conversion. Laravel Socialite handles OAuth providers like LinkedIn effortlessly, supporting secure sign-in without managing passwords.

Table Of Content

1 Prerequisites

• PHP ≥ 8.2
• Composer
• MySQL (or compatible database)
• Active LinkedIn account

2 Introduction

In this comprehensive guide, you'll learn how to add social authentication (social login) to your Laravel 11 application using the powerful Laravel Socialite package combined with Laravel Breeze for modern authentication scaffolding.

Laravel Socialite is an official, lightweight package that simplifies OAuth-based authentication with various providers. It handles the complex parts of the OAuth flow — such as redirects, token exchanges, and user data retrieval — so you can focus on building your application.

Officially supported providers in Laravel Socialite (as of Laravel 11/12):

• Facebook
• X (formerly Twitter)
• LinkedIn (using OpenID Connect — config key: linkedin-openid)
• Google
• GitHub
• GitLab
• Bitbucket
• Slack

For hundreds of additional providers (Discord, Reddit, Spotify, PayPal, and more), check out the community-maintained Socialite Providers package, which extends Socialite seamlessly.

In this tutorial, we'll focus on implementing LinkedIn sign-in using Socialite + Breeze in Laravel 11 — a popular choice for professional networking apps. By the end, users will be able to register or log in with their LinkedIn account in just a few clicks, improving UX and conversion rates. Ready to get started? Let's dive into the setup.

3 Create a Fresh Laravel 11 Project

3.1 Install Laravel Project

First, make sure your computer has a composer.
Use the following command to install new Laravel Project.

composer create-project laravel/laravel linkedin-auth-app

Then, navigate to your project directory:

cd linkedin-auth-app

3.2 Set Up Database Configuration

Upon logging in, the user's record will be stored in the database. This process involves accessing the .env file to input and define the database credentials.

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=linkedin_auth
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

4 Install Laravel Breeze & Socialite

We will use Laravel Breeze as an example of our existing authentication implementation.

4.1 Install Breeze Package

Use the following command to Install Laravel Breeze Package

composer require laravel/breeze --dev

After Composer has installed the Laravel Breeze package, you should run the breeze:install Artisan command. This command publishes the authentication views, routes, controllers, and other resources to your application.

php artisan breeze:install
 
php artisan migrate
npm install
npm run dev

4.2 Install Socialite Package

Use the following command to Install Laravel Socialite Package

composer require laravel/socialite

5 Create a LinkedIn Developer Application

5.1 Login into LinkedIn Developer App

If you have LinkedIn Developer Account Go to https://developer.linkedin.com/, else you can easily create one directly from the LinkedIn Developer Account.

5.2 Create App

Click "Create App" button in the LinkedIn Developer Portal


Entering App information in the following Screen


App successfully created with given information's

5.3 App Dashboard

Go to Dashboard in LinkedIn Developer Portal and Select Created App


Go to "Auth" Tab and update "Authorized redirect URLs for your app" This is the URI that we will use to redirect user after they choose their LinkedIn account to login to our web. For example here I use http://127.0.0.1:8000/callback/linkedin for the callback URI.


Now you will receive a Client ID and Client Secret. copy these keys into your .env file.

6 Configure Credentials in Laravel

6.1 Add the LinkedIn API Credentials in .env

Insert the Client ID and Client Secret key and redirect URI into the .env file, Which we obtained from previous step LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID and LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET. Additionally, include a new key in the .env file called LINKEDIN_REDIRECT_URI and populate it with the callback URI used in the Linkedin API Console.

LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID=Your Client ID
LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET=Your Client Secret
LINKEDIN_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:8000/callback/linkedin

6.2 Add the LinkedIn API .env key in config/services.php

Open the config/services.php file and Insert the LinkedIn OAuth Credentials

<?php

return [

    // Other services ..
    
    'linkedin' => [
        'client_id' => env('LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID'),
        'client_secret' => env('LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET'),
        'redirect' => env('LINKEDIN_REDIRECT_URI'),
    ],
];
?>
    

6.3 Add linkedin_id Column to Users Table

Create a Laravel Migration to Add a New Column within the Users Table to Store linkedin_id

php artisan make:migration add_linkedin_id_to_users

In the generated new migration file, update the up and down methods as described below:

database/migrations/2024_05_24_120820_add_linkedin_id_to_users.php

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration
{
    public function up()
    {
        Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->string('linkedin_id')->after('password')->nullable()->unique();
        });
    }

    public function down()
    {
        Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->dropColumn('linkedin_id');
        });
    }
};

Use the following command to run the migration to update your database.

php artisan migrate

6.4 Update the User Model

In your User model , Include linkedin_id in the fillable array of the User Model.
app/Models/User.php

<?php
namespace App\Models;

// use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\MustVerifyEmail;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use HasFactory, Notifiable;

    /**
     * The attributes that are mass assignable.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'email',
        'password',
        'linkedin_id'
    ];

    /**
     * The attributes that should be hidden for serialization.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $hidden = [
        'password',
        'remember_token',
    ];

    /**
     * Get the attributes that should be cast.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    protected function casts(): array
    {
        return [
            'email_verified_at' => 'datetime',
            'password' => 'hashed',
        ];
    }
}

?>

7 Create Socialite Controller

php artisan make:controller Socialite/LinkedinController

app/Http/Controllers/Socialite/LinkedinController.php

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Socialite;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
use Laravel\Socialite\Facades\Socialite;
use App\Models\User;
use Exception;

class LinkedinController extends Controller
{
    public function redirect()
    {
        return Socialite::driver('linkedin')->redirect();
    }

    public function callback()
    {
        try {
            $linkedinUser = Socialite::driver('linkedin')->user();

            $user = User::where('linkedin_id', $linkedinUser->id)->first();

            if ($user) {
                Auth::login($user);
                return redirect('/dashboard');
            }

            // Optional: Check if email exists to avoid duplicates
            $existingUser = User::where('email', $linkedinUser->email)->first();
            if ($existingUser) {
                // Handle conflict (e.g., link accounts or show error)
                return redirect('/login')->with('error', 'Email already registered.');
            }

            $newUser = User::create([
                'name'     => $linkedinUser->name,
                'email'    => $linkedinUser->email,
                'linkedin_id' => $linkedinUser->id,
                'password' => bcrypt(str_random(16)), // Random secure password
            ]);

            Auth::login($newUser);
            return redirect('/dashboard');

        } catch (Exception $e) {
            return redirect('/login')->with('error', 'LinkedIn login failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
        }
    }
}
?>

8 Define Routes (routes/web.php)

use App\Http\Controllers\Socialite\LinkedinController;

Route::get('/auth/linkedin', [LinkedinController::class, 'redirect'])->name('auth.linkedin');
Route::get('/auth/callback/linkedin', [LinkedinController::class, 'callback']);

9 Add LinkedIn Login Button to View

Create the Link in the login view to Show LinkedIn Sign-in Button
resources/views/auth/login.blade.php(Breeze), add:

<a href="{{ route('auth.linkedin') }}" class="btn btn-primary">
    Sign in with LinkedIn
</a>

Style with CSS or use an official LinkedIn button image (with proper alt text: "Sign in with LinkedIn").

10 Folder Structure

11 Run and Test the Application

Use the following artisan command to Test the App.

php artisan serve

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/login and test the LinkedIn button.

Best Practices & Troubleshooting

• Use HTTPS in production.
• Add scopes if needed: Socialite::driver('linkedin')->scopes(['r_liteprofile', 'r_emailaddress']).
• Handle email conflicts (as shown).
• For production: Use Laravel queues/jobs if needed, and secure redirect URIs.
• Common errors: Redirect URI mismatch → double-check LinkedIn dashboard vs .env.
• "Driver not found" → composer dump-autoload.

12 Conclusion

You've now integrated secure LinkedIn login in Laravel 11 using Socialite. This improves UX and reduces friction. Extend it for other providers easily.

Frequently Asked Questions