---
title: "Getting Started with PowerShell SharePoint Management"
description: "Learn how to use PowerShell SharePoint tools to manage, provision, and update effectively in this ATA Learning tutorial!"
canonical: "https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-sharepoint/"
---
# Getting Started with PowerShell SharePoint Management
> Learn how to use PowerShell SharePoint tools to manage, provision, and update effectively in this ATA Learning tutorial!
Source: https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-sharepoint/
---
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# Getting Started with PowerShell SharePoint Management
[Ayomikun Sholademi](https://adamtheautomator.com/author/elijah-sholademi/)18 July 20227 min. read
Categories: [IT Ops](/category/it-ops/)
Tags:[PowerShell](/tag/powershell/)[SharePoint](/tag/sharepoint/)
Table of Contents
* [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
* [Installing the PowerShell SharePoint Online Module](#installing-the-powershell-sharepoint-online-module)
* [Connecting to PowerShell SharePoint Online](#connecting-to-powershell-sharepoint-online)
* [Administrator Account without MFA](#administrator-account-without-mfa)
* [Administrator Account with MFA](#administrator-account-with-mfa)
* [Managing Sites, Users, and Groups using the PowerShell SharePoint Module](#managing-sites-users-and-groups-using-the-powershell-sharepoint-module)
* [Creating a New SharePoint Site](#creating-a-new-sharepoint-site)
* [Creating Site Groups and Adding Users](#creating-site-groups-and-adding-users)
* [Generating a Site Users List](#generating-a-site-users-list)
* [Remove Users from Site Groups](#remove-users-from-site-groups)
* [Using the PowerShell SharePoint Online for Automation](#using-the-powershell-sharepoint-online-for-automation)
* [Conclusion](#conclusion)
Does the SharePoint admin center bore you, find it lacking, and want to switch to the command line? Yes, it is possible with the [PowerShell SharePoint Online Management](https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell) module.
Not a reader? Watch this related video tutorial!
**_Not seeing the video? Make sure your ad blocker is disabled._**
This module allows you to accomplish the same tasks that you typically do in the SharePoint admin center in PowerShell. What’s more, you can automate your SharePoint Online tasks!
This tutorial teaches the PowerShell SharePoint Online Management basics. You’ll learn to install the module, perform common administrative tasks, and automate repetitive actions. Don’t go anywhere and dive right in!
## Prerequisites
This tutorial will be a hands-on demonstration. If you’d like to follow along, be sure you have the following:
* You must have a [SharePoint Administrator](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/sharepoint-admin-role) role or higher in a Microsoft 365 tenant.
* You must know your SharePoint Online admin URL and portal URL. Refer to [this link](https://www.sharepointdiary.com/2019/06/sharepoint-online-get-admin-center-site-url.html) to know how to get the SharePoint Online admin URL in your tenant.
This tutorial will be using the portal URL _HTTPS://lzex.sharepoint.com_ and the admin URL _HTTPS://lzex-admin.sharepoint.com._
* Windows PowerShell 5.1 or the latest [PowerShell 7](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/it-ops-talk/how-to-install-powershell-7) on Windows. This tutorial uses Windows PowerShell 5.1 on Windows 10.
## Installing the PowerShell SharePoint Online Module
To manage SharePoint Online with PowerShell, you must first install the [PowerShell SharePoint Online Management](https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell) module. This module provides the cmdlets that allow you to connect and manage your SharePoint online organization and resources.
The quickest and most convenient way to install the PowerShell SharePoint Online module is from the PowerShell gallery using the Install-Module cmdlet. To do so, follow the below steps.
1\. Open PowerShell as an administrator.
Related:[Discover How to Run PowerShell as Administrator](https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-run-as-administrator/)
2\. Run the command below next. This command installs Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell module.
```powershell
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
```
3\. To confirm that the module installation is successful, run the below command to get the module information.
```powershell
Get-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -ListAvailable | Select-Object Name,Version
```
The command returns the module’s name and version. As you can see below, there’s one version of Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell module on this computer. The latest version as of this writing is _16.0.22615.12000_.
Listing the PowerShell SharePoint Online module information
4\. Lastly, import the PowerShell SharePoint module by running the below command in PowerShell.
> _Note: While the PowerShell SharePoint Online module works with PowerShell 7, you must explicitly import the module with the -UseWindowsPowerShell switch._
```powershell
# On Windows PowerShell 5.1
Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
# On PowerShell 7x
Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -UseWindowsPowerShell
```
> _Ignore the warning about unapproved verbs. This warning warns you about cmdlets that do not start with approved verbs in the Get-Verb list but do not affect the module’s functionality._
>
> _To avoid this warning, append the -DisableNameChecking switch to the Import-Module cmdlet._
Importing the PowerShell SharePoint Online module
## Connecting to PowerShell SharePoint Online
You’re now ready to connect to the PowerShell SharePoint Online session. But before you do, understand that the syntax and method would vary depending your your admin account’s multifactor authentication status.
### Administrator Account without MFA
If your admin account is not MFA-enabled, run the below command `Connect-SPOService`. Specify your admin URL after the `-Url` parameter and your _user principal name (UPN)_ after the `-Credential` parameter.
```powershell
Connect-SPOService -Url -Credential spoadmin@domain.com
```
Type your password on the next prompt and press Enter.
Connect SPOService
Connecting to PowerShell SharePoint online without MFA
> _The -Credential parameter also accepts a PSCredential object, which you can create with the Get-Credential cmdlet._
Related:[Using the PowerShell Get-Credential Cmdlet and all things credentials](https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-get-credential/)
### Administrator Account with MFA
For an MFA admin account, follow the steps below to connect to the PowerShell SharePoint Online session.
1\. Run the below command in PowerShell. Ensure to specify the correct SharePoint admin URL.
```powershell
Connect-SPOService -Url https://tenant-admin.sharepoint.com/
```
2\. On the Sign in window that pops up, type your admin username and click Next.
Type the SharePoint admin username
3\. Next, type the password for the admin account and click Sign in.
Enter the account password
4\. Finally, complete your MFA challenge. Depending on how you configured MFA for your account, the MFA method may differ from the screenshot below.
Completing the MFA challenge
Once you’ve completed these steps, your PowerShell SharePoint online connection should now be active.
## Managing Sites, Users, and Groups using the PowerShell SharePoint Module
Through PowerShell, you can perform some functionalities that SharePoint provides to SharePoint Online and various resources. In this section, you will be performing the typical SharePoint Online tasks, such as creating sites, creating groups, adding users, removing users from groups, and generating user reports.
### Creating a New SharePoint Site
Leveraging the New-SPOSite command, you can create a new SharePoint Online site. Suppose you’re creating a new modern Team Site site called _My First Team Site_, execute the following steps.
1\. First, get the name of the Team Site template.
```powershell
Get-SPOWebTemplate
```
Look for the template you wish to apply to the new site. In this example, copy the Name value of the Team site (no Microsoft 365 group) template, STS#3.
Listing all available SharePoint web templates
2\. Now, run the below command to create the modern Team Site. Make sure that the following parameters are complete.
* `Url - Specifies the new site’s URL. This URL structure follows this convention - _HTTPS://.sharepoint.com/sites/._`
> _Ensure the URL is unique. The site creation will fail if a site exists with the same URL, even if the site is in the recycle bin._
* `Title` – Sets the title for your new site.
* `Owner - Assigns the site owner’s user principal name.`
> _Note: SPO automatically sets the Company Administrator group as the site owner if the owner you specify has an administrator role._
* `Template` – Indicates the web template you’re applying to the new site.
* `StorageQuota - Configures the site’s storage quota value in MB.`
> _Note: The StorageQuota value takes effect only if the_ [_Site Storage Limit_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/manage-site-collection-storage-limits) _in your SharePoint Online organization is set to Manual. If the setting is Automatic, the tenant’s total storage quota takes precedence._
```powershell
New-SPOSite `
-Url 'https://lzex.sharepoint.com/sites/MyFirstTeamSite' `
-Title 'My First Team Site' `
-Owner 'spoadmin@lzex.ga' `
-Template 'STS#3' `
-StorageQuota 1000
```
If the site creation is successful, you will get no response or message in PowerShell.
3\. Confirm that the new site exists by running the Get-SPOSite cmdlet.
```powershell
Get-SPOSite -Identity 'https://lzex.sharepoint.com/sites/MyFirstTeamSite'
```
Getting the new SPO site details
4\. Lastly, open the SharePoint site URL in your web browser to confirm the site works.
Opening the new SPO site in the browser
### Creating Site Groups and Adding Users
After creating a new SPO site, you can start creating groups and adding users with [specific permission levels](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/sites/user-permissions-and-permission-levels). In this section, you will be learning how to create groups and add users to such groups.
First, create the groups that follow the specifications in the table below.
> _To get a list of permission levels, visit the [User permissions and permission levels in SharePoint Server](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/sites/user-permissions-and-permission-levels) documentation._