Linkedin Reply Handler

LinkedIn Reply Handler

Drafts a reply to a specific LinkedIn comment. Correctly handles LinkedIn's 2-level thread flattening: if you're replying to a reply, the your social API needs the TOP-level comment URN as parentComment, not the reply's URN.

When to use

• User pastes a LinkedIn comment URL (contains ?commentUrn=...) and says "reply to this"
• Someone (the post author, or another commenter) replied to the user's comment and the user wants to continue the thread
• User wants to re-engage a conversation that's gone dormant

Input

A LinkedIn URL containing commentUrn=urn:li:comment:(activity:POST,COMMENT_ID) — either the direct comment permalink or a feed URL with the query fragment.

Output

• 1-2 reply drafts, 150-300 chars each
• Reaction suggestion for the comment being replied to (always react before replying)
• Thread context summary (who said what, when)
• Approval card → on user "post", fires reaction + reply via SocialPublisher

Steps

1. Parse the URL. lib.url_parser.parse_linkedin_url returns post_urn, comment_id, comment_urn.
2. Determine thread structure. Fetch the post's comment thread (HarvestAPI if available) and locate the comment. Figure out whether it's:
   • a top-level comment (parentComment = this comment's URN when replying)
   • a reply to a top-level comment (parentComment = the TOP comment's URN, not this reply's URN — LinkedIn flattens)
3. Read the full context. Author post text, top-level comment text, any intermediate replies. Include the user's own prior comment if they're in the thread.
4. Draft the reply. Follow the engagement templates in references/reply-templates.md. If the counterpart asked a question, answer it directly. If they pushed back, concede then sharpen.
5. Humanizer pass. Strip em dashes, AI vocab, enforce varied sentence length.
6. Approval card. Include thread preview (who said what in last 3 turns), the draft, reaction suggestion, and the parentComment URN we'll send.
7. On approval — adapt to the active backend. Call lib.active_backend():
   • socialpublisher (SOCIALPUBLISHER_API_KEY set) → react on the specific comment being replied to, pause 8-15s, then post reply with the correct top-level parentComment URN.
   • manual (no backend configured — the default) → output the approved reply via lib.manual_mode_message(draft_text, target_url, kind="reply"). Include the parent comment URL so the user knows exactly where to paste. Do NOT attempt to post.
   • diy (LINKEDIN_SKILLS_CUSTOM_POSTER set) → invoke the custom poster with draft, target URL, and parent-comment URN.

The flattening gotcha

LinkedIn only nests replies two levels deep. Visually the thread looks like:

Top comment by Alice (id: 111)
└─ Reply by Bob (id: 222)          ← parentComment: urn:li:comment:(activity:POST, 111)
   └─ Reply by Carol (id: 333)     ← parentComment: STILL urn:li:comment:(activity:POST, 111)

Carol's reply doesn't nest under Bob's — it's pinned at level 2 to the same top comment. If you pass urn:li:comment:(activity:POST, 222) as parentComment, the API returns 400 on some paths or silently misplaces the reply.

Rule in this skill: always use the TOP-level comment's URN as parentComment. If you're replying to a 2nd-level reply, we walk up the tree to find the top comment.

Templates (references/reply-templates.md)

• R1 Answer-Their-Question — they asked, you answer plainly + one real detail
• R2 Concede-Then-Sharpen — "you're right on X, and the piece I'd push on is Y"
• R3 Extend-Their-Thesis — take their point one layer deeper with a new framing
• R4 Share-Lived-Experience — "we hit this last quarter — here's what broke"
• R5 Ask-Back — redirect with a sharper question when their position needs more context

Hard rules

• 150-300 chars. Replies are tighter than top-level comments.
• React to the comment you're replying to, not to the parent post.
• Capitalize the counterpart's first name.
• Never paste a canned "thanks!" — either respond with content or don't reply.
• If the thread is older than 72 hours, consider a DM instead (use linkedin-thread-engagement).

Example

User: "Reply to this: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:REPLACE_WITH_REAL_COMMENT_ID?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28activity%3AREPLACE_WITH_REAL_COMMENT_ID%2CREPLACE_WITH_PARENT_COMMENT_ID%29"

Skill: parses → post REPLACE_WITH_REAL_COMMENT_ID, comment REPLACE_WITH_PARENT_COMMENT_ID. Fetches thread. Sees: the author's post → your comment ("key takeaway") → another commenter's reply ("their personal follow-up question"). Drafts R1 Answer-Their-Question variant. Shows approval card.

User: "post"

Skill: react APPRECIATION on that commenter's reply → pause 12s → post reply with parentComment set to Author's original comment URN (the TOP level, not that commenter's reply).

Files

• SKILL.md — this file
• references/reply-templates.md — 5 reply templates with examples
• references/threading-rules.md — LinkedIn's 2-level flattening explained with edge cases