Automating Content Expiration and Cleanup using PnP PowerShell

Managing content lifecycle in SharePoint Online is crucial for keeping sites clean, organized, and compliant with data retention policies. Automating content expiration and cleanup using PnP PowerShell helps:

Identify old or unused files
Apply retention policies
Move expired content to archives
Delete obsolete documents

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Step 1: Connect to SharePoint Online

Before executing any actions, connect to SharePoint Online:

$siteUrl = "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/YourSite"
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $siteUrl -Interactive

✔ Ensures secure authentication.

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Step 2: Identify Expired Content

Find documents older than 1 year in a specific library:

$libraryName = "Documents"
$thresholdDate = (Get-Date).AddYears(-1)

$expiredFiles = Get-PnPListItem -List $libraryName | Where-Object {
    $_["Modified"] -lt $thresholdDate
}

Write-Host " Found $($expiredFiles.Count) expired files"

✔ Lists old documents for review.

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Step 3: Move Expired Files to an Archive

Move old files to an archive library instead of deleting them immediately:

$archiveLibrary = "ArchivedDocuments"

foreach ($file in $expiredFiles) {
    $fileUrl = $file["FileRef"]
    Move-PnPFile -ServerRelativeUrl $fileUrl -TargetUrl "/sites/YourSite/$archiveLibrary/" -Force
    Write-Host " Moved: $fileUrl → $archiveLibrary"
}

✔ Ensures content is retained but organized.

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Step 4: Automatically Delete Expired Files

For permanent deletion, remove files older than 2 years:

$deleteThresholdDate = (Get-Date).AddYears(-2)

$filesToDelete = Get-PnPListItem -List $libraryName | Where-Object {
    $_["Modified"] -lt $deleteThresholdDate
}

foreach ($file in $filesToDelete) {
    Remove-PnPListItem -List $libraryName -Identity $file.Id -Force
    Write-Host " Deleted: $($file['FileRef'])"
}

✔ Frees up storage space.

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Step 5: Automate Content Cleanup with a Scheduled Task

To run the script weekly, follow these steps:

1️⃣ Save the script as CleanupScript.ps1
2️⃣ Open Task Scheduler → Create Task
3️⃣ Trigger → Weekly
4️⃣ Action → Start program → powershell.exe -File C:\Scripts\CleanupScript.ps1
5️⃣ Ensure script execution policy:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

✔ Keeps SharePoint clean and optimized.