SharePoint Online: Copy a Document Library to another Site using PowerShell

Requirement: Copy a document library to another SharePoint Online site using PowerShell.

How to copy a Document Library to another site in SharePoint Online?

Have you ever needed to copy a document library from one SharePoint Online site to another? Maybe you needed to move content from an old site to a new one, or create a “test” environment for development work. In this article, I’ll show you how to use PowerShell to copy a document library between two sites. Let’s get started!

Copy a Document Library in SharePoint Online

The latest document library creation feature introduced in SharePoint Online lets you copy an existing library from any existing site. Here is how it works:

1. Login to the destination SharePoint site where the document library is to be copied
2. Click on the Settings gear icon >> Click on “Site Contents”
3. Click on the “New” button on the toolbar >> Choose “Document Library”
4. Select the “From existing library” option on the Create new document library popup.
5. Select the site where the source library exists, and select the document library to copy. Click on the “Next” button at the bottom of the page.
6. Provide a name for your new library and, optionally, a description. Finally, click on the “Create” button to create the library.

This will copy the source list along with all its columns and settings (but not any contents of the library). Once created, You can use the “Copy to” option from the source library to copy its content to the target document library created.

Copy a Document Library to another site using Copy-PnPList cmdlet in PnP PowerShell

We can use the PnP PowerShell cmdlet Copy-PnPList to copy a document library to another site. Here is how:

#Variables $SourceSiteURL = "https://crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/Operations" $TargetSiteURL = "https://crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales" $LibraryName = "Invoices" #Connect to Pnp Online Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SourceSiteURL -Interactive #Copy the document library to destination site Copy-PnPList -Identity $LibraryName -DestinationWebUrl $TargetSiteURL -Title $LibraryName

Now, the next part: Copy all files and folders from the source to the destination document library!

The “Save List as Template” Method to Copy a Document Library

In classic sites, (or an alternative approach) you can use this method to copy a document library:

1. Save the source document library as a template – Go to the source library >> Click on Settings gear >> Choose Library Settings >> Click on “Save as Template”. More info: How to Save List as Template in SharePoint Online?
2. Download the List Template and Upload it to the Destination Site
3. Create a new document library from the list template – Login to your destination SharePoint Online site >> Click on the Settings gear icon and click “Add an app”. You can use the pagination at the bottom of the page to find your custom list template, or the “Find an App” search box and pick your list template. More info: SharePoint Online: Create List from Custom Template using PowerShell
4. Copy all items from the source document library to the new document library – Once you created a new instance of the document library from the existing list template, you can copy all files and folders from the source library to the destination library. Select all items in the source library, choose the Copy to button in the toolbar and then specify the document library created in step 1. 3.

Sounds like a lot of manual work? Well, If you need to copy a document library from one SharePoint Online site to another, PowerShell is the way to go. Let me show you how to use PowerShell to copy a document library, including all its contents, from one site to another.

Custom script must be enabled both in source and the destination sites, before running this script! How to Enable Custom Script in SharePoint Online?

SharePoint Online: Copy document library to another site collection using PowerShell

Use this PowerShell script to copy a document library with its files and folders to either the same or a different site.

#Function to Copy library to Another site Function Copy-PnPLibrary < param ( [parameter(Mandatory=$true, ValueFromPipeline=$true)][string]$SourceSiteURL, [parameter(Mandatory=$true, ValueFromPipeline=$true)][string]$DestinationSiteURL, [parameter(Mandatory=$true, ValueFromPipeline=$true)][string]$SourceLibraryName, [parameter(Mandatory=$true, ValueFromPipeline=$true)][string]$DestinationLibraryName ) Try < #Connect to the Source Site $SourceConn = Connect-PnPOnline -URL $SourceSiteURL -Interactive -ReturnConnection $SourceCtx = $SourceConn.Context #Get the Source library $SourceLibrary = Get-PnPList -Identity $SourceLibraryName -Includes RootFolder -Connection $SourceConn #Get the List Template $SourceRootWeb = $SourceCtx.Site.RootWeb $SourceListTemplates = $SourceCtx.Site.GetCustomListTemplates($SourceRootWeb) $SourceCtx.Load($SourceRootWeb) $SourceCtx.Load($SourceListTemplates) $SourceCtx.ExecuteQuery() $SourceListTemplate = $SourceListTemplates | Where $SourceListTemplateURL = $SourceRootWeb.ServerRelativeUrl+"/_catalogs/lt/"+$SourceLibrary.id.Guid+".stp" #Remove the List template if exists If($SourceListTemplate) < #Remove-PnPFile -ServerRelativeUrl $SourceListTemplateURL -Recycle -Force -Connection $SourceConn $SourceListTemplate = Get-PnPFile -Url $SourceListTemplateURL -Connection $SourceConn $SourceListTemplate.DeleteObject() $SourceCtx.ExecuteQuery() >Write-host "Creating List Template from Source Library. " -f Yellow -NoNewline $SourceLibrary.SaveAsTemplate($SourceLibrary.id.Guid, $SourceLibrary.id.Guid, [string]::Empty, $False) $SourceCtx.ExecuteQuery() Write-host "Done!" -f Green #Reload List Templates to Get Newly created List Template $SourceListTemplates = $SourceCtx.Site.GetCustomListTemplates($SourceRootWeb) $SourceCtx.Load($SourceListTemplates) $SourceCtx.ExecuteQuery() $SourceListTemplate = $SourceListTemplates | Where #Connect to the Destination Site $DestinationConn = Connect-PnPOnline -URL $DestinationSiteURL -Interactive -ReturnConnection $DestinationCtx = $DestinationConn.Context $DestinationRootWeb = $DestinationCtx.Site.RootWeb $DestinationListTemplates = $DestinationCtx.Site.GetCustomListTemplates($DestinationRootWeb) $DestinationCtx.Load($DestinationRootWeb) $DestinationCtx.Load($DestinationListTemplates) $DestinationCtx.ExecuteQuery() $DestinationListTemplate = $DestinationListTemplates | Where $DestinationListTemplateURL = $DestinationRootWeb.ServerRelativeUrl+"/_catalogs/lt/"+$SourceLibrary.id.Guid+".stp" #Remove the List template if exists If($DestinationListTemplate) < #Remove-PnPFile -ServerRelativeUrl $DestinationListTemplateURL -Recycle -Force -Connection $DestinationConn $DestinationListTemplate = Get-PnPFile -Url $DestinationListTemplateURL -Connection $DestinationConn $DestinationListTemplate.DeleteObject() $DestinationCtx.ExecuteQuery() >#Copy List Template from source to the destination site Write-host "Copying List Template from Source to Destination Site. " -f Yellow -NoNewline Copy-PnPFile -SourceUrl $SourceListTemplateURL -TargetUrl ($DestinationRootWeb.ServerRelativeUrl+"/_catalogs/lt") -Force -OverwriteIfAlreadyExists -Connection $SourceConn Write-host "Done!" -f Green #Reload List Templates to Get Newly created List Template $DestinationListTemplates = $DestinationCtx.Site.GetCustomListTemplates($DestinationRootWeb) $DestinationCtx.Load($DestinationListTemplates) $DestinationCtx.ExecuteQuery() $DestinationListTemplate = $DestinationListTemplates | Where #Create the destination library from the list template Write-host "Creating New Library in the Destination Site. " -f Yellow -NoNewline If(!(Get-PnPList -Identity $DestinationLibraryName -Connection $DestinationConn -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) < #Create the destination library $ListCreation = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ListCreationInformation $ListCreation.Title = $DestinationLibraryName $ListCreation.ListTemplate = $DestinationListTemplate $DestinationList = $DestinationCtx.Web.Lists.Add($ListCreation) $DestinationCtx.ExecuteQuery() Write-host "Library '$DestinationLibraryName' created successfully!" -f Green >Else < Write-host "Library '$DestinationLibraryName' already exists!" -f Yellow >Write-host "Copying Files and Folders from the Source to Destination Site. " -f Yellow $DestinationLibrary = Get-PnPList $DestinationLibraryName -Includes RootFolder -Connection $DestinationConn #Copy All Content from Source Library's Root Folder to the Destination Library If($SourceLibrary.ItemCount -gt 0) < #Get All Items from the Root Folder of the Library $global:counter = 0 $ListItems = Get-PnPListItem -List $SourceLibraryName -Connection $SourceConn -PageSize 500 -Fields ID -ScriptBlock $RootFolderItems = $ListItems | Where < ($_.FieldValues.FileRef.Substring(0,$_.FieldValues.FileRef.LastIndexOf($_.FieldValues.FileLeafRef)-1)) -eq $SourceLibrary.RootFolder.ServerRelativeUrl>Write-Progress -Activity "Completed Getting Items from Library $($SourceLibrary.Title)" -Completed #Copy Items to the Destination $RootFolderItems | ForEach-Object < $DestinationURL = $DestinationLibrary.RootFolder.ServerRelativeUrl Copy-PnPFile -SourceUrl $_.FieldValues.FileRef -TargetUrl $DestinationLibrary.RootFolder.ServerRelativeUrl -Force -OverwriteIfAlreadyExists -Connection $SourceConn Write-host "`tCopied $($_.FileSystemObjectType) '$($_.FieldValues.FileRef)' Successfully!" -f Green >> #Cleanup List Templates in source and destination sites $SourceListTemplate = Get-PnPFile -Url $SourceListTemplateURL -Connection $SourceConn $DestinationListTemplate = Get-PnPFile -Url $DestinationListTemplateURL -Connection $DestinationConn $SourceListTemplate.DeleteObject() $DestinationListTemplate.DeleteObject() $SourceCtx.ExecuteQuery() $DestinationCtx.ExecuteQuery() #Remove-PnPFile -ServerRelativeUrl $SourceListTemplateURL -Recycle -Force -Connection $SourceConn #Remove-PnPFile -ServerRelativeUrl $DestinationListTemplateURL -Recycle -Force -Connection $DestinationConn > Catch < write-host -f Red "Error:" $_.Exception.Message >> #Parameters $SourceSiteURL = "https://crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/Retail" $DestinationSiteURL = "https://crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/warehouse" $SourceLibraryName = "Invoices" $DestinationLibraryName = "Invoices V2" #Call the function to copy document library to another site Copy-PnPLibrary -SourceSiteURL $SourceSiteURL -DestinationSiteURL $DestinationSiteURL -SourceLibraryName $SourceLibraryName -DestinationLibraryName $DestinationLibraryName

You can also use this PowerShell method to move a document library to another site! Just add a step to delete the source document library (Which we call “Move”!). Ensure you have Site Collection administrator access to both the source and destination sites, and that the custom script is enabled before running this script!