Summary

Adds native support for Playwright's launch_persistent_context() to linkedin-scraper, providing automatic session persistence and eliminating the need for manual session.json management.

Motivation

The current BrowserManager requires explicit save_session() and load_session() calls, which:

• Are easy to forget, leading to re-authentication loops
• Don't work like real browsers (cookies expire, manual management is fragile)
• Require complex volume mounting patterns in Docker
• Are more susceptible to LinkedIn's anti-bot detection

Playwright's persistent context solves these issues by using actual Chromium user data directories that persist automatically.

Changes

New Classes & Functions

• PersistentBrowserManager - Drop-in replacement for BrowserManager using persistent contexts

  • Automatic session persistence to user data directory
  • Compatible .page property (works with all existing scrapers)
  • clear_profile() method for profile management

• migrate_session_to_profile() - Utility to migrate from session.json to persistent profiles

Documentation

• Added "Session Management" section to README comparing both approaches
• Updated authentication examples with persistent profile options
• Added Docker usage examples
• Migration guide for existing users

Sample Scripts

• samples/create_persistent_session.py - Create authenticated persistent profile
• samples/scrape_person_persistent.py - Example using persistent profile
• samples/migrate_session.py - Migrate existing session.json files

Tests

• 19 comprehensive tests for PersistentBrowserManager
• All existing tests pass (no regressions)
• Test coverage includes:
  • Cookie persistence (with proper expiration)
  • Profile directory management
  • Concurrent access handling
  • Migration from session.json
  • Scraper compatibility

Usage Example

Before (session.json):

from linkedin_scraper import BrowserManager, PersonScraper

async with BrowserManager() as browser:
    await browser.load_session("session.json")
    scraper = PersonScraper(browser.page)
    person = await scraper.scrape("https://linkedin.com/in/username")
    await browser.save_session("session.json")  # Easy to forget!

After (persistent profile):

from linkedin_scraper import PersistentBrowserManager, PersonScraper

async with PersistentBrowserManager(user_data_dir="~/.linkedin/profile") as browser:
    scraper = PersonScraper(browser.page)
    person = await scraper.scrape("https://linkedin.com/in/username")
    # Session automatically saved!

Checklist

• Tests added and passing
• Documentation updated
• Code formatted with black
• Linting passes (flake8)
• No breaking changes
• Example scripts provided
• Migration path documented