LinkedIn data access: API closed, need Pearch integration strategy

[matthewod11-stack]

Description

LinkedIn API is closed to HR tech startups. Proxycurl shut down July 2025. Pearch (810M+ profiles) is the best current alternative but is a paid API. The intake engine already accepts multiple input types to work around this, but direct LinkedIn enrichment remains unavailable.

Current State

• packages/intake/ accepts LinkedIn URLs as input but cannot resolve them programmatically
• No LinkedIn adapter exists in packages/adapters/
• Success profile intake works around this by accepting multiple input types (GitHub, X, manual)

Suggested Fix

• Evaluate Pearch API pricing and coverage for target personas
• Build adapter-pearch if cost/benefit is favorable
• Consider ContactOut or PeopleDataLabs as fallback enrichment sources
• Update intake prompts to guide users toward available data sources

Verification

• pnpm build passes
• pnpm test passes
• Adapter returns structured EvidenceItem[] with proper generateEvidenceId() IDs

Automation Hints

scope: packages/adapters/
do-not-touch: packages/core/src/types/
approach: add-new-adapter
risk: medium
max-files-changed: 15
blocked-by: none
bail-if: Pearch API requires enterprise contract with no self-serve tier

Priority

Medium