Six Degrees

See your LinkedIn network
as a galaxy.

Who you know, who they know, and the shortest path to someone you haven't met. A free Mac app that runs on your own computer. Nothing is uploaded.

macOS 13.5 or later · about 195–210 MB · free and open source

  1. 1 Install it
  2. 2 Bring your network in
  3. 3 Explore it

Step 1 of 3

Install it in a minute

Installing on a Mac, step by step (about a minute): the download, the one-time macOS warning and Open Anyway, or the one-line Terminal install, then a first look.
Which download? Apple menu → About This Mac. "Chip: Apple M…" means Apple Silicon. "Processor: …Intel…" means Intel.

  1. Drag it into Applications

    Open the file you downloaded (Six-Degrees-Mac-….dmg, in your Downloads folder). In the window that opens, drag Six Degrees onto the Applications folder.

  2. Open it once, and close the warning

    Open Six Degrees from Applications. macOS says it can't check the app for malware, because it isn't signed with a paid Apple certificate yet. Close that message with Done (on macOS 13 or 14: OK or Cancel). Anything except Move to Trash.

  3. Allow it in System Settings

    Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to "Six Degrees" was blocked, and click Open Anyway. Confirm with Open Anyway again (on macOS 13 or 14: Open), and your password if asked. That's once per download; after that it opens like any app.

Or skip those steps with Terminal

Press ⌘ Space, type Terminal and press Return. Paste this line and press Return:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blakeb056/six-degrees/main/install.sh | bash

It downloads the right version for your Mac, checks the file is exactly the one published, puts Six Degrees in Applications and opens it. Running it again updates the app. Read the script.

Step 2 of 3

Bring your network in

Three ways, from no risk at all to the full picture. Scanning is the only one that shows who your connections know.

Explore a sample

150 invented connections and the 598 people they know. Every view except Outlink, which needs your own scan.

Import LinkedIn's export

LinkedIn's own Connections.csv, read on your Mac. It shows the people you know, not who they know (so no Degrees or Outlink), and there's no risk to your LinkedIn account.

Scan your LinkedIn

The only way to see who your connections know. The app opens Google Chrome with a profile of its own, you sign into LinkedIn there yourself, and it reads slowly with daily limits. Needs Google Chrome (in Applications); the scanner's Python comes with the app.

Importing LinkedIn's export (half a minute): ask LinkedIn for your Connections file, then drop it on the app. No sign-in, and no risk to your account.

Scanning uses your own LinkedIn account, and LinkedIn may restrict accounts that automate it. Automating LinkedIn may break its User Agreement. It happened twice while building this app. The scanner now reads slowly, keeps to a budget and stops at the first push-back, but the risk is yours. The sample and the CSV import carry no LinkedIn risk at all.

How scanning works (under a minute): install what it needs, sign into LinkedIn in the Chrome window it opens, scan the people you know, then map who they know a few at a time.

Step 3 of 3

What it shows you

Network Circle

Everyone you know on rings by how much they can open up for you, the most powerful closest to you.

Degrees

The people two steps away, ranked, each with every way in: which of your connections can introduce you. Needs a scan, or try it with the sample.

Paths

Your network by company and industry: who you know at each company, who you can reach, and the warmest way in.

Outlink

Getting introduced, as a game: work through each connection's circle five people at a time. Needs a scan.

New in 0.3.0

Your sector

Pick the sectors you work in, from 49 (Dental, Real Estate, SaaS…), or take one suggested from your own network. Companies in them count for more in your scores. Everyone starts from the same neutral scores.

Updates in one click

Settings → Updates → Install and restart. It checks the download, swaps the app, and puts the old version back if anything goes wrong. No Terminal.

Take it to a new Mac

Save your network as one file and import it on another computer. Your LinkedIn sign-in never goes with it.

Screenshot of the Degrees view
Degrees. Everyone two steps away, ranked, with the connection who can introduce you.
Screenshot of the Paths view
Paths. Companies grouped by industry, and for any one of them, who's there and how to reach them.

Every person shown on this page is invented.

Your network stays on your Mac

This page has no trackers either. To show the latest version number, it asks GitHub once.

Get Six Degrees Free for Mac

On Linux

Six Degrees runs on Linux from the Terminal with npx, which comes with Node.js: it downloads Six Degrees from npm, the public library of Node.js programs, and runs it in your browser. Windows isn't supported yet.

Running it on Linux (half a minute): one command, then the same app in your browser.

One command

Install Node 22.13 or later (from nodejs.org or nvm; Ubuntu's own nodejs package is too old), then run:

npx six-degrees

It opens http://127.0.0.1:6363 in your browser and keeps your data in ~/.six-degrees. Stop it with Ctrl-C; update it with npx six-degrees@latest. Scanning also needs Google Chrome (not Chromium), and Python 3.10 to 3.14 with venv, or the Scan page's Set up the scanner, which downloads a private copy with one click. Windows isn't supported yet.