jackwener/OpenCLI · error · CommandExecutionError

LinkedIn connection miniProfile field ${field} was malformed

Error message

LinkedIn connection miniProfile field ${field} was malformed

What it means

optionalText() in connections.js validates fields of each connection's miniProfile object from LinkedIn's /voyager/api/relationships/connections response. If a field like publicIdentifier, firstName, lastName or occupation is present but not a string (e.g. a number, object, or array due to a Voyager schema change), it throws CommandExecutionError naming the offending field.

Source

Thrown at clis/linkedin/connections.js:46

        if (!res.ok) return { error: 'HTTP ' + res.status };
        const contentType = res.headers?.get?.('content-type') || '';
        if (/\btext\/html\b/i.test(contentType)) {
            return { authRequired: true, error: 'HTML auth/checkpoint response' };
        }
        try {
            return { json: await res.json() };
        } catch {
            return { error: 'response was not valid JSON' };
        }
    } catch (e) {
        return { error: 'fetch failed: ' + ((e && e.message) || String(e)) };
    }
}

function optionalText(value, field) {
    if (value == null) return '';
    if (typeof value !== 'string') {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`LinkedIn connection miniProfile field ${field} was malformed`);
    }
    return normalizeWhitespace(value);
}

function mapConnection(element, index) {
    const mini = element && element.miniProfile;
    if (!mini || typeof mini !== 'object') {
        throw new CommandExecutionError('LinkedIn connections returned an element without a miniProfile');
    }
    const publicId = optionalText(mini.publicIdentifier, 'publicIdentifier');
    if (!publicId || /[\s/?#]/.test(publicId)) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError('LinkedIn connection element missing a stable public identifier');
    }
    const name = normalizeWhitespace([
        optionalText(mini.firstName, 'firstName'),
        optionalText(mini.lastName, 'lastName'),
    ].filter(Boolean).join(' ')) || publicId;
    return {

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

Update the library to the latest version in case a schema-change fix was released.
Capture the raw API payload and file an issue including the malformed field name from the message.
As a workaround, downgrade the limit or retry later — LinkedIn A/B variants sometimes revert.
Patch optionalText locally to coerce known object shapes (e.g. {text}) via normalizeWhitespace(String(value.text)).

Example fix

// before
if (typeof value !== 'string') {
    throw new CommandExecutionError(`LinkedIn connection miniProfile field ${field} was malformed`);
}
// after
if (typeof value !== 'string') {
    if (value && typeof value === 'object' && typeof value.text === 'string') return normalizeWhitespace(value.text);
    throw new CommandExecutionError(`LinkedIn connection miniProfile field ${field} was malformed`);
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

if (mini.publicIdentifier != null && typeof mini.publicIdentifier !== 'string') {
  throw new Error('miniProfile.publicIdentifier is not a string — LinkedIn schema may have changed.');
}

Type guard

function isTextField(v) {
  return v == null || typeof v === 'string';
}
const miniOk = isTextField(mini.publicIdentifier) && isTextField(mini.firstName) && isTextField(mini.lastName);

Try / catch

try {
  const rows = await opencli.linkedin.connections({ limit: 20 });
} catch (e) {
  if (e.name === 'CommandExecutionError' && /miniProfile field .* was malformed/.test(e.message)) {
    console.warn('LinkedIn schema drift on field:', e.message.match(/field (\w+)/)?.[1]);
    return [];
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Pin and regularly update the CLI; Voyager schema drift is fixed upstream.
Validate captured API payloads against expected miniProfile fields in tests.
Watch for reports of field-shape changes after LinkedIn releases.

When it happens

Trigger: Mapping a connection element (via mapConnection -> publicId/name/occupation) where miniProfile.<field> is non-null and non-string, e.g. LinkedIn returns publicIdentifier as a structured object or firstName as a localized text object.

Common situations: LinkedIn silently changing the Voyager miniProfile schema; A/B test cohorts receiving new field shapes; accounts where a contact has no public profile so publicIdentifier takes an unexpected type.

Understand the failure class

Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0bbaeb9a9cc9d77b. Report an issue: GitHub.