How to Post a Video on LinkedIn (Specs, Limits and the Processing Wait)
Click Start a post, click the video icon, pick your file, add your text, and click Post. The upload is the easy part. What catches people out is that LinkedIn allows one video per post, caps length at 15 minutes from desktop and 10 from mobile, and transcodes the file after you upload it — so a video can be accepted and still not be watchable for a few minutes.
#Quick answer
- How? Start a post → video icon → select file → write your text → Post.
- How long can it be? Up to 15 minutes uploading from desktop, 10 minutes from mobile.
- How big? Up to 5 GB for an organic post, though smaller uploads are far more reliable.
- How many per post? One. You cannot post two videos together, or mix video with images.
- Why is it not playing yet? LinkedIn is still transcoding. Give it a few minutes.
#The step-by-step
- Go to your feed and click Start a post.
- Click the video icon in the composer.
- Choose your file and wait for the upload bar to finish.
- Add your post text above the video.
- Click Post.
The video icon is in the same row as the image and document buttons. If it is greyed out, you already have an image attached — LinkedIn will not let you mix the two.
#The limits that actually bite
| Constraint | Value |
|---|---|
| Videos per post | 1 |
| Max length (desktop upload) | 15 minutes |
| Max length (mobile upload) | 10 minutes |
| Max file size (organic post) | 5 GB |
| Mixing video and images | Not allowed |
The desktop-versus-mobile length difference is the one that surprises people. A 12-minute video uploads fine from a laptop and is rejected from the phone app, with an error that does not always explain why. If a file is refused on mobile and you are near the limit, try again from a browser before re-editing anything.
#Why your video is "posted" but not playing
LinkedIn does not publish your file as-is. After the upload finishes it transcodes the video into its own delivery formats, and that happens asynchronously — the post can exist before the video behind it is ready.
For a short clip this is seconds. For a long or large file it can run several minutes. During that window the post may show a still frame, a spinner, or nothing at all, and people who see it in that state will scroll past.
This is also the single most common reason an automated post "fails" for reasons that look like nothing is wrong. Any tool publishing video to LinkedIn through the API has to wait for the file to report itself as available before attaching it to a post — attach it too early and LinkedIn accepts a post it cannot render. Schedule & Chill polls for that ready state before publishing rather than firing and hoping.
#Practical advice before you upload
- Re-encode before uploading, not after. A 4 GB export and a 300 MB export look the same in the feed. The small one uploads faster and transcodes faster.
- Design for sound-off. Most feed video is watched muted. Burn in captions.
- Front-load the first three seconds. Same rule as the text fold — nobody waits for a slow build.
- Vertical or square beats wide on a feed that is mostly read on a phone.
- Post it and check it. Come back two minutes later and confirm it plays.
#Frequently Asked Questions
How do I post a video on LinkedIn? Click Start a post, click the video icon, choose your file, add your text, then click Post.
How long can a LinkedIn video be? Up to 15 minutes when uploading from a desktop browser and up to 10 minutes from the mobile app. Video ads allow longer.
What is the maximum video file size on LinkedIn? Up to 5 GB for an organic post. Smaller files upload and process far more reliably, so re-encode large exports first.
Can I post more than one video in a LinkedIn post? No. LinkedIn allows a single video per post, and you cannot combine video with images in the same post.
Why is my LinkedIn video not playing after I posted it? LinkedIn transcodes video after upload, and the post can go live before that finishes. Wait a few minutes and reload before assuming it failed.
Can I schedule a video post on LinkedIn? Yes. Video posts can be scheduled the same way as any other post — compose it, then use the clock icon in the composer.
#Where to go next
Zakir Hossen
Founder of Schedule & Chill. Bootstrapped entrepreneur and software engineer.
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