PowerShell: Identifying SharePoint Site Creation Sources
Introduction
Understanding how a SharePoint site was created is crucial for governance, compliance, and troubleshooting. In Microsoft 365, SharePoint sites can be created through various methods, such as Microsoft Teams, Viva Engage, the SharePoint Admin Center, and more. However, identifying the exact creation source can sometimes be challenging.
For example, exporting the list of active sites from the SharePoint Admin Center may not always provide accurate information.
Communication sites, for instance, may incorrectly show their creation source as “Microsoft M365 Group,” even though they can only be created from the SharePoint Admin Center.
Using REST API to Query Site Creation Sources
We can leverage a hidden list within the SharePoint Admin Center called DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS. This list contains valuable insights about SharePoint sites, including their creation source. Using REST APIs and PowerShell, we can extract this information for better governance and reporting.
https://<domain>-admin.sharepoint.com/_api/web/lists/GetByTitle('DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS')/Items
This query returns a list of site creation sources with their corresponding IDs, which can be mapped to human-readable names using the mapping from the endpoint https://domain-admin.sharepoint.com/_api/$metadata#Collection(Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.TenantAdministration.SPOSiteCreationSource) within PowerShell.
Why Identify Site Creation Sources?
Knowing the creation source of a SharePoint site can help in:
- Governance: Ensuring sites are created through approved channels.
- Compliance: Verifying that sites adhere to organizational policies.
- Troubleshooting: Identifying the origin of sites to resolve issues effectively.
PowerShell Script to Extract Site Creation Sources
The following PowerShell script connects to the SharePoint Admin Center, queries the hidden list, and exports the site creation sources to a CSV file:
param (
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
[string] $domain
)
$siteCreationSources = @(
@{ DisplayName = "Unknown"; Id = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"; Name = "Unknown" },
@{ DisplayName = "SharePoint start page"; Id = "a958918c-a597-4058-8ac8-8a98b6e58b45"; Name = "SPHome" },
@{ DisplayName = "OneDrive"; Id = "55cff85e-f373-4768-a7c8-56e7e318e760"; Name = "ODB" },
@{ DisplayName = "SharePoint admin center"; Id = "39966a89-5583-4e7f-a348-af1bf160ae49"; Name = "SPTenantAdmin" },
@{ DisplayName = "PowerShell"; Id = "36d0e864-21ac-40c2-bb7e-7902c1d57c4a"; Name = "PowerShell" },
@{ DisplayName = "API"; Id = "62aeb6b0-f7c5-4659-9f0a-0e08978661ff"; Name = "API" },
@{ DisplayName = "Migration"; Id = "70fbaeeb-90ae-4a83-bec4-72273ea97b89"; Name = "Migration" },
@{ DisplayName = "Hub site"; Id = "37c03f2d-ef6a-4baf-b79d-58ab39757312"; Name = "HubSite" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft 365 group"; Id = "2042b5d3-c5ec-41d1-b13c-0e53936c2c67"; Name = "GroupStatus" },
@{ DisplayName = "SharePoint app"; Id = "00000003-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000"; Name = "SPApplication" },
@{ DisplayName = "Outlook"; Id = "00000002-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000"; Name = "EXO" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft 365 group"; Id = "00000003-0000-0000-c000-000000000000"; Name = "MSGraph" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft Teams"; Id = "cc15fd57-2c6c-4117-a88c-83b1d56b4bbe"; Name = "TeamsService" },
@{ DisplayName = "Viva Engage"; Id = "00000005-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000"; Name = "Yammer" },
@{ DisplayName = "Planner"; Id = "09abbdfd-ed23-44ee-a2d9-a627aa1c90f3"; Name = "Planner" },
@{ DisplayName = "PnP provisioning"; Id = "410e0a1c-77e2-4166-b91c-ba5cec4f658d"; Name = "PnP" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft"; Id = "03cd98f4-670d-44c4-8866-1a9a93079b6c"; Name = "SPTenantProvisioning" },
@{ DisplayName = "My AAD Portal"; Id = "74658136-14ec-4630-ad9b-26e160ff0fc6"; Name = "AADPortal" },
@{ DisplayName = "My Apps portal"; Id = "65d91a3d-ab74-42e6-8a2f-0add61688c74"; Name = "AADMyApps" },
@{ DisplayName = "Graph Explorer"; Id = "de8bc8b5-d9f9-48b1-a8ad-b748da725064"; Name = "GraphExplorer" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft 365 admin center"; Id = "00000006-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000"; Name = "O365AdminCenter" },
@{ DisplayName = "Project"; Id = "f53895d3-095d-408f-8e93-8f94b391404e"; Name = "Project" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft Stream"; Id = "2634dd23-5e5a-431c-81ca-11710d9079f4"; Name = "Stream" },
@{ DisplayName = "Power BI"; Id = "00000009-0000-0000-c000-000000000000"; Name = "PowerBI" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft Teams PowerShell"; Id = "12128f48-ec9e-42f0-b203-ea49fb6af367"; Name = "TeamsPowerShell" },
@{ DisplayName = "Microsoft Stream"; Id = "cf53fce8-def6-4aeb-8d30-b158e7b1cf83"; Name = "StreamUI" }
)
Clear-Host
$dateTime = (Get-Date).toString("dd-MM-yyyy-hh-mm")
$invocation = (Get-Variable MyInvocation).Value
$directorypath = (Split-Path $invocation.MyCommand.Path) + "\"
$exportFilePath = Join-Path -Path $directorypath -ChildPath $([string]::Concat($domain,"-createdSource_",$dateTime,".csv"));
$adminSiteURL = "https://$domain-Admin.SharePoint.com"
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $adminSiteURL
$list = "DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS"
$query = @"
<View>
<Query>
<Where>
<Neq><FieldRef Name='State'/><Value Type='Integer'>0</Value></Neq>
</Where>
<OrderBy><FieldRef Name='Title' Ascending='true' /></OrderBy>
</Query>
<ViewFields>
<FieldRef Name='Title'/>
<FieldRef Name='SiteUrl'/>
<FieldRef Name='SiteId'/>
<FieldRef Name='SiteCreationSource'/>
<FieldRef Name='TimeDeleted'/>
<FieldRef Name='TemplateName'/>
<FieldRef Name='PageViews'/>
</ViewFields>
</View>
"@
#$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$adminSiteURL/_api/web/lists/GetByTitle('$list')/RenderListDataAsStream" -Method Post -Headers $headers -Body ($body | ConvertTo-Json) -ContentType "application/json;odata=verbose"
#${spoAdminUrl}/_api/web/lists/GetByTitle('DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS')/RenderListDataAsStream
$items = Get-PnPListItem -List $List -PageSize 2000 -Query $query | Where-Object { -not $_.FieldValues["TimeDeleted"] }
# Create a report
$report = @()
foreach ($item in $items) {
$report += [PSCustomObject]@{
Title = $item.FieldValues["Title"]
SiteUrl = $item.FieldValues["SiteUrl"]
SiteId = $item.FieldValues["SiteId"]
Template = $item.FieldValues["TemplateName"]
SiteCreationSource = ($siteCreationSources | Where-Object { $_.Id -eq $item.FieldValues["SiteCreationSource"] }).DisplayName ?? $item.FieldValues["SiteCreationSource"]
PageViews = $item.FieldValues["PageViews"]
}
}
# Export the report to a CSV file
$report | Export-Csv -Path $exportFilePath -NoTypeInformation
#Disconnect-PnPOnline
Please note there are some unresolved GUID sources. It could be those sites were created using PowerShell scripts. Please share if you have more insights on those unresolved GUIDS.
Site Creation Sources Reference
Below is a list of common site creation sources and their corresponding IDs:
| Display Name | ID |
|---|---|
| SharePoint start page | a958918c-a597-4058-8ac8-8a98b6e58b45 |
| OneDrive | 55cff85e-f373-4768-a7c8-56e7e318e760 |
| SharePoint admin center | 39966a89-5583-4e7f-a348-af1bf160ae49 |
| PowerShell | 36d0e864-21ac-40c2-bb7e-7902c1d57c4a |
| Microsoft Teams | cc15fd57-2c6c-4117-a88c-83b1d56b4bbe |
| Viva Engage | 00000005-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000 |
For a complete list, refer to the appendix in the script.
Conclusion
By leveraging the hidden list DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS and using PowerShell, you can gain valuable insights into how SharePoint sites are created. This information is essential for maintaining governance, ensuring compliance, and troubleshooting issues effectively.
Appendix
Site Creation Sources
Below is a lost of site creation sources with corresponding id.
{
"@odata.context": "https://domain-admin.sharepoint.com/_api/$metadata#Collection(Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.TenantAdministration.SPOSiteCreationSource)",
"value": [
{
"DisplayName": "Unknown",
"Id": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
"Name": "Unknown"
},
{
"DisplayName": "SharePoint start page",
"Id": "a958918c-a597-4058-8ac8-8a98b6e58b45",
"Name": "SPHome"
},
{
"DisplayName": "OneDrive",
"Id": "55cff85e-f373-4768-a7c8-56e7e318e760",
"Name": "ODB"
},
{
"DisplayName": "SharePoint admin center",
"Id": "39966a89-5583-4e7f-a348-af1bf160ae49",
"Name": "SPTenantAdmin"
},
{
"DisplayName": "PowerShell",
"Id": "36d0e864-21ac-40c2-bb7e-7902c1d57c4a",
"Name": "PowerShell"
},
{
"DisplayName": "API",
"Id": "62aeb6b0-f7c5-4659-9f0a-0e08978661ff",
"Name": "API"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Migration",
"Id": "70fbaeeb-90ae-4a83-bec4-72273ea97b89",
"Name": "Migration"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Hub site",
"Id": "37c03f2d-ef6a-4baf-b79d-58ab39757312",
"Name": "HubSite"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft 365 group",
"Id": "2042b5d3-c5ec-41d1-b13c-0e53936c2c67",
"Name": "GroupStatus"
},
{
"DisplayName": "SharePoint app",
"Id": "00000003-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000",
"Name": "SPApplication"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Outlook",
"Id": "00000002-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000",
"Name": "EXO"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft 365 group",
"Id": "00000003-0000-0000-c000-000000000000",
"Name": "MSGraph"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft Teams",
"Id": "cc15fd57-2c6c-4117-a88c-83b1d56b4bbe",
"Name": "TeamsService"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Viva Engage",
"Id": "00000005-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000",
"Name": "Yammer"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Planner",
"Id": "09abbdfd-ed23-44ee-a2d9-a627aa1c90f3",
"Name": "Planner"
},
{
"DisplayName": "PnP provisioning",
"Id": "410e0a1c-77e2-4166-b91c-ba5cec4f658d",
"Name": "PnP"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft",
"Id": "03cd98f4-670d-44c4-8866-1a9a93079b6c",
"Name": "SPTenantProvisioning"
},
{
"DisplayName": "My AAD Portal",
"Id": "74658136-14ec-4630-ad9b-26e160ff0fc6",
"Name": "AADPortal"
},
{
"DisplayName": "My Apps portal",
"Id": "65d91a3d-ab74-42e6-8a2f-0add61688c74",
"Name": "AADMyApps"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Graph Explorer",
"Id": "de8bc8b5-d9f9-48b1-a8ad-b748da725064",
"Name": "GraphExplorer"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft 365 admin center",
"Id": "00000006-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000",
"Name": "O365AdminCenter"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Project",
"Id": "f53895d3-095d-408f-8e93-8f94b391404e",
"Name": "Project"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft Stream",
"Id": "2634dd23-5e5a-431c-81ca-11710d9079f4",
"Name": "Stream"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Power BI",
"Id": "00000009-0000-0000-c000-000000000000",
"Name": "PowerBI"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft Teams PowerShell",
"Id": "12128f48-ec9e-42f0-b203-ea49fb6af367",
"Name": "TeamsPowerShell"
},
{
"DisplayName": "Microsoft Stream",
"Id": "cf53fce8-def6-4aeb-8d30-b158e7b1cf83",
"Name": "StreamUI"
}
]
}
Hidden Lists from SharePoint Admin Centre
param (
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
[string] $domain
)
$adminSiteURL = "https://$domain-Admin.SharePoint.com"
connect-PnPOnline -Url $adminSiteURL
PS C:\Users\reshm> get-pnplist
DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS bbf50945-91f4-4fd5-9052-73fd7bed9aeb /Lists/DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECO
DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_ALL_SITES_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS 44176c5b-bcf3-485f-ab65-f1833cbca40e /Lists/DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_ALL_SITES_AGGREGA
DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_ARCHIVE_SITES_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS 37cb1c61-99ca-4b2e-b03f-b7952eb3e56f /Lists/DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_ARCHIVE_SITES_AGG
https://org-admin.sharepoint.com/_api/web/lists/GetByTitle('DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS')/Items?$Select=SiteCreationSource
List fields from ‘DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS’
The list of fields can be queried to retrieve SharePoint’s information from the list ‘DO_NOT_DELETE_SPLIST_TENANTADMIN_AGGREGATED_SITECOLLECTIONS’ are as listed below. Some of the hard to get information is FileViewedOrEdited, PageViews and PagesVisited.
PS C:\Users\reshm> get-pnpfield -list $list
Title InternalName Id
----- ------------ --
Content Type ID ContentTypeId 03e45e84-1992-4d42-9116-26f756012634
Title Title fa564e0f-0c70-4ab9-b863-0177e6ddd247
Approver Comments _ModerationComments 34ad21eb-75bd-4544-8c73-0e08330291fe
File Type File_x0020_Type 39360f11-34cf-4356-9945-25c44e68dade
Compliance Asset Id ComplianceAssetId 3a6b296c-3f50-445c-a13f-9c679ea9dda3
AllowGuestUserSignIn AllowGuestUserSignIn e00bea72-0dab-4abd-acd1-df19ef978776
CreatedBy CreatedBy 2afa0227-fdfb-4474-a1a0-a2a6471741bc
DeletedBy DeletedBy 3edc1a80-7d44-434b-8bbe-8c1b5810caf4
ExternalSharing ExternalSharing b79b6c34-0e78-4278-8328-423d72244763
FileViewedOrEdited FileViewedOrEdited bccce620-6dcf-47e7-924a-c0d37d5d9c80
GroupId GroupId e787e92e-be59-48bc-a00e-43d01b3e6973
HubSiteId HubSiteId 2813ba7c-5ac1-48fd-827c-986a14e9b07b
Initiator Initiator f3c7eb8b-9782-4f02-b69b-5f45096d931b
LastActivityOn LastActivityOn e331b4b2-7795-4145-a0a5-09e11b6eefe5
NumOfFiles NumOfFiles 0cfde852-f413-439d-b949-afa4525de76a
OperationStartTime OperationStartTime 9ef230bd-028c-4a93-8ac9-54a4ab7ded4a
PageViews PageViews 87d6700d-50ee-42ab-9ad1-b39c80581401
PagesVisited PagesVisited 13a4f4f8-e226-419e-af34-98d0b405a33b
SensitivityLabel SensitivityLabel 089851e8-f3eb-4b51-a385-b851ce6d485e
SiteId SiteId 9652e6ea-e0f2-441f-b096-04ef7c7810e1
SiteUrl SiteUrl db0b26c4-e1af-42e7-b035-8606031d7a27
SiteOwnerEmail SiteOwnerEmail 065cd462-953f-47be-9116-b2da750ccfec
SiteOwnerName SiteOwnerName bda83db2-634e-4158-94cf-b03b2ab5147d
State State 7e0ccb0b-464b-4347-8945-c48d12d7e23d
StorageQuota StorageQuota 7910d3f1-4f74-4dc8-af8e-d62baf40197f
StorageUsed StorageUsed 9bfb301c-ae04-4255-88c8-80c0a478b558
StorageUsedPercentage StorageUsedPercentage 3d9debdb-96e4-408c-85ec-06af70979666
TemplateName TemplateName 438a1f9d-b021-421b-9ce5-96ec25405517
TimeCreated TimeCreated 90028dfe-d6c8-4d2f-8033-01f8e71c988e
TimeDeleted TimeDeleted 7f9d2902-3526-499c-9974-22d87fd25f51
SiteCreationSource SiteCreationSource 6e501697-6ef1-4610-bb6c-57e5a9b64bda
SiteFlags SiteFlags ae11d59e-f565-4750-967c-f5509715e139
ChannelType ChannelType 6d6446a6-dd80-4c30-850c-ef33327122b5
ChannelSitesCount ChannelSitesCount dfbf8687-0ddd-4b9e-9976-1beb37d7813f
RelatedGroupId RelatedGroupId 9d7e4233-1394-4a3e-b3ff-bad0c59aaf5f
IBSegmentsGuids IBSegmentsGuids a2b7cd2b-6524-4e10-88b7-2906ded0570f
CreatedByEmail CreatedByEmail 148a1a78-e259-4780-bc9d-02c35ec8e014
ConditionalAccessPolicy ConditionalAccessPolicy 1844592c-688e-4646-831d-37c0254dc46c
WasSegmentApplied WasSegmentApplied bae092b6-3f1a-44ff-af6c-dc1651e48136
ArchiveStatus ArchiveStatus 552beb16-410e-49fd-93bf-a57fe9af6049