Dux-Soup

Browser-based LinkedIn automation: visits profiles, sends connection requests and drip message sequences on your behalf.

KINDA · partial replacement
price $14.99/mo per seatsubscription / year $179.88estimated build time a weekendreplaced by 0 people

Mechanically this is a Playwright script that drives your own logged-in Chrome profile, clicks buttons, and waits a random number of seconds. An agent can get a working profile-visitor and connection-request sender running in a session, and a small campaign queue with daily caps by the end of a weekend. What you are actually buying from Dux-Soup is the accumulated caution: throttle curves that do not get your account restricted, selectors that keep working after LinkedIn reshuffles the DOM every few weeks, and a cloud mode so your laptop does not have to stay awake. Note that neither the paid tool nor your script is blessed by LinkedIn, so the ban risk is yours in both cases; you are just choosing who tunes the pacing. Build it if you want ten touches a day and enjoy fixing selectors, buy it if outreach volume is how you eat.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • Pacing heuristics and safety limits tuned across a lot of accounts, not guessed at by you
  • Selector maintenance: when LinkedIn changes markup, someone else patches their extension and nobody patches yours
  • Cloud execution, so campaigns keep running with your laptop shut
  • Webhook and CRM plumbing into HubSpot, Pipedrive and friends, plus Zapier glue
  • Campaign reporting, reply detection and sequence branching that actually stops when someone answers

Why people still pay

Because the failure modes are expensive and asymmetric. A sloppy script gets your LinkedIn account rate-limited or restricted, and for people doing outbound sales that account is the pipeline. Paying a few tens of dollars a month for someone whose full-time job is keeping the clicks looking human, plus a cloud runner and CRM handoff, is cheaper than a week of debugging selectors and one restricted profile. The DIY build is real and fun for low volume; it is a bad trade at volume.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • Runtime and tools: TypeScript, React and a Node server with SQLite for a single small workspace.
  • Before starting: A local Node runtime, writable data directory, sample records and a documented backup/restore path.
01
TypeScript, React and a Node server with SQLite for a single small workspace
02
Data design: Store Prospect, ImportBatch, NoteDraft, FollowUp and ManualOutcome; preserve source URL and user-entered evidence, deduplicate normalized URLs and stop follow-ups when a reply is logged.
03
Setup: A local Node runtime, writable data directory, sample records and a documented backup/restore path
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1

Pin the working slice and create its example input: Import LinkedIn profile URLs into a relationship tracker, prepare personalized connection notes and open each profile for manual review and sending. Confirm setup: A local Node runtime, writable data directory, sample records and a documented backup/restore path.

2

Phase 2

Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store Prospect, ImportBatch, NoteDraft, FollowUp and ManualOutcome; preserve source URL and user-entered evidence, deduplicate normalized URLs and stop follow-ups when a reply is logged.

3

Phase 3

Connect the working view to real saved state. Use migrations and server-side validation; expose saved, pending and failed states. Keep each write atomic and reject stale edits using a revision number.

4

Phase 4

Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Replace stealth browser actions with a manual workflow. Do not claim daily caps make automated LinkedIn actions safe or authorized; unavailable profile fields stay unknown.

5

Phase 5

Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Import one profile twice, edit the drafted note and mark the person replied; keep one prospect and cancel pending follow-up suggestions. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

the pro prompt
download AGENTS.md
Build the following focused alternative to Dux-Soup. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service.

WORKING SLICE
Import LinkedIn profile URLs into a relationship tracker, prepare personalized connection notes and open each profile for manual review and sending.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use TypeScript, React and a Node server with SQLite for a single small workspace. Prerequisites: A local Node runtime, writable data directory, sample records and a documented backup/restore path. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store Prospect, ImportBatch, NoteDraft, FollowUp and ManualOutcome; preserve source URL and user-entered evidence, deduplicate normalized URLs and stop follow-ups when a reply is logged.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Use migrations and server-side validation; expose saved, pending and failed states. Keep each write atomic and reject stale edits using a revision number. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
Replace stealth browser actions with a manual workflow. Do not claim daily caps make automated LinkedIn actions safe or authorized; unavailable profile fields stay unknown.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Import one profile twice, edit the drafted note and mark the person replied; keep one prospect and cancel pending follow-up suggestions. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md

prior art · use these instead of building, if you'd rather

No prior-art project is listed yet. Compare the scoped build with the paid product before choosing.

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Questions about Dux-Soup

Can you build your own Dux-Soup with AI?

Partly. Mechanically this is a Playwright script that drives your own logged-in Chrome profile, clicks buttons, and waits a random number of seconds. An agent can get a working profile-visitor and connection-request sender running in a session, and a small campaign queue with daily caps by the end of a weekend. What you are actually buying from Dux-Soup is the accumulated caution: throttle curves that do not get your account restricted, selectors that keep working after LinkedIn reshuffles the DOM every few weeks, and a cloud mode so your laptop does not have to stay awake. Note that neither the paid tool nor your script is blessed by LinkedIn, so the ban risk is yours in both cases; you are just choosing who tunes the pacing. Build it if you want ten touches a day and enjoy fixing selectors, buy it if outreach volume is how you eat.

What does the Dux-Soup build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Import LinkedIn profile URLs into a relationship tracker, prepare personalized connection notes and open each profile for manual review and sending. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: Pacing heuristics and safety limits tuned across a lot of accounts, not guessed at by you; Selector maintenance: when LinkedIn changes markup, someone else patches their extension and nobody patches yours; Cloud execution, so campaigns keep running with your laptop shut. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Dux-Soup prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Dux-Soup project take?

The catalogue estimate is a weekend for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Dux-Soup?

Pacing heuristics and safety limits tuned across a lot of accounts, not guessed at by you; Selector maintenance: when LinkedIn changes markup, someone else patches their extension and nobody patches yours; Cloud execution, so campaigns keep running with your laptop shut; Webhook and CRM plumbing into HubSpot, Pipedrive and friends, plus Zapier glue; Campaign reporting, reply detection and sequence branching that actually stops when someone answers. Because the failure modes are expensive and asymmetric. A sloppy script gets your LinkedIn account rate-limited or restricted, and for people doing outbound sales that account is the pipeline. Paying a few tens of dollars a month for someone whose full-time job is keeping the clicks looking human, plus a cloud runner and CRM handoff, is cheaper than a week of debugging selectors and one restricted profile. The DIY build is real and fun for low volume; it is a bad trade at volume.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Pro Dux plan is $14.99/mo per seat (monthly per user), checked 2026-08-18. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Dux-Soup?

No alternative is listed in this entry yet. That is a gap in this catalogue, not proof that no suitable product exists. Compare the paid product and the proposed scope before committing to a build.

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