# Debugging the "https://www..." JSON Error
## What's Happening
The error `unexpected token 'h', https://www"...is not valid JSON` happens when:
1. The LinkedIn API returns unexpected data
2. A job URL contains special characters that aren't handled properly
3. The linkedin-jobs-api package encounters an error
## Quick Fix Steps
### Step 1: Test the LinkedIn API Directly
First, let's see if the LinkedIn API is working at all:
```powershell
cd D:\Claude\linkedin-mcp-server
node test-linkedin-api.js
```
**What to look for:**
- ✅ If it shows jobs → The API works, issue is in the MCP server
- ❌ If it shows an error → The LinkedIn API itself has issues
---
### Step 2: Rebuild with Better Error Handling
I've added much better error handling. Rebuild the server:
```powershell
cd D:\Claude\linkedin-mcp-server
npm run build
```
**Restart Claude Desktop completely** (important!)
---
### Step 3: Try a Simple Search
Try a very simple search to test:
```
"Search for teacher jobs in Boston"
```
This uses common words that are less likely to have special characters.
---
### Step 4: Check the Logs
The improved server now logs to stderr. To see the logs:
**Windows PowerShell:**
```powershell
# Run the server manually to see logs
node D:\Claude\linkedin-mcp-server\build\index.js
```
Then in Claude Desktop, try a search. You'll see debug output in the PowerShell window.
Press Ctrl+C when done.
---
## Common Issues & Solutions
### Issue 1: LinkedIn Rate Limiting
**Symptom:** Works sometimes, fails other times
**Solution:**
- Wait a few minutes between searches
- Use more specific search terms
- The linkedin-jobs-api scrapes LinkedIn's public site, so too many requests may get rate limited
---
### Issue 2: Invalid Job Data
**Symptom:** Error mentions `https://` or URLs
**Solution:** The improved error handling now:
- ✅ Validates each job before processing
- ✅ Skips jobs with bad data
- ✅ Shows which job failed
---
### Issue 3: API Changes
**Symptom:** Worked before, stopped working
**Solution:** LinkedIn may have changed their HTML structure
1. Check for package updates:
```powershell
npm update linkedin-jobs-api
npm run build
```
2. Check the package issues: https://github.com/VishwaGauravIn/linkedin-jobs-api/issues
---
## Debug Mode: See What's Happening
### Option 1: Manual Server Run
Run the server manually to see all debug output:
```powershell
# Terminal 1: Run the MCP server manually
cd D:\Claude\linkedin-mcp-server
node build\index.js
```
Keep this window open. Now use Claude Desktop to search for jobs. You'll see debug logs like:
```
LinkedIn Query: {
"keyword": "software engineer",
"location": "San Francisco",
...
}
LinkedIn API returned: Array[10]
```
This helps identify where the error occurs.
---
### Option 2: Test API Output
```powershell
node test-linkedin-api.js
```
This shows you exactly what the LinkedIn API is returning.
**Example Good Output:**
```
Success! Received response:
Type: object
Is Array: true
Length: 3
First Job Details:
Position: Software Engineer
Company: Tech Corp
Location: San Francisco
Job URL: https://linkedin.com/jobs/view/...
```
**Example Bad Output (means API issue):**
```
Error calling LinkedIn API:
Error Type: TypeError
Error Message: Cannot read property 'query' of undefined
```
---
## Workarounds
If the LinkedIn API is unreliable, you can:
### 1. Try Different Search Terms
Some searches work better than others:
- ✅ "software engineer" + "San Francisco"
- ✅ "teacher" + "Boston"
- ❌ Very long job titles with special characters
- ❌ Non-English locations with accents
### 2. Use Fewer Filters
Start with just keyword and location:
```
"Search for software engineer jobs in San Francisco"
```
Then add filters one at a time:
```
"Search for remote software engineer jobs in San Francisco"
```
### 3. Limit Results
Ask for fewer results (less data to process):
```
"Search for software engineer jobs in San Francisco, show me 5 results"
```
---
## Getting More Help
### Share Debug Output
If it's still not working:
1. **Run the test script:**
```powershell
node test-linkedin-api.js > debug-output.txt 2>&1
```
2. **Share the output** - paste the contents of `debug-output.txt`
3. **Include:**
- What search query you tried
- The exact error message from Claude
- Any console output
### Check Package Status
```powershell
# See what version you have
npm list linkedin-jobs-api
# Check for updates
npm outdated
```
---
## Alternative: Different LinkedIn Package
If linkedin-jobs-api is unreliable, we could switch to a different package. Let me know if you want to try:
- `@atharvh01/linkedin-jobs-api`
- Or build a custom scraper
---
## Expected Behavior After Fix
After rebuilding with better error handling, you should see:
**If LinkedIn API fails:**
```
Error calling LinkedIn API: [specific error message]
This might be due to:
- LinkedIn rate limiting
- Network issues
- Changes to LinkedIn's website structure
Try again in a few moments.
```
**If specific jobs fail:**
```
Found 10 job(s) for "software engineer" in "San Francisco":
1. Senior Software Engineer
Company: Tech Corp
...
2. [Error processing this job listing]
3. Full Stack Engineer
...
```
The server now handles errors gracefully instead of crashing!
---
## Next Steps
1. **Rebuild** with `npm run build`
2. **Run test script** with `node test-linkedin-api.js`
3. **Restart Claude Desktop completely**
4. **Try a simple search**
5. **Share any error messages** you still see
The improved error handling will give us much better information about what's failing!
