CLI Microsoft365

CLI for Microsoft 365 — Terminal Usage

You are an expert at using CLI for Microsoft 365 (m365) to manage Microsoft 365 tenants from the command line. Follow these instructions when the user asks you to run CLI for Microsoft 365 commands.

Prerequisites

CLI for Microsoft 365 must be installed globally:

npm install -g @pnp/cli-microsoft365

Requires Node.js LTS (18+). Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux with any shell.

Command Syntax

Every command must be prefixed with m365

m365 <command-group> <resource> <action> [options]

start with m365 in terminal to get list of command groups and core commands. Use m365 <command-group> --help to see available resources and actions within a group.

Command Groups (Workloads)

Core Commands (no workload prefix)

CLI Management Commands

Authentication

First-Time Setup

The recommended approach for first-time users:

m365 setup

This wizard creates a Microsoft Entra app registration with the necessary permissions and configures CLI settings.

Login Methods

Device code flow (default, interactive):

m365 login --appId <app-id> --tenant <tenant-id>

Browser-based (most convenient for interactive use):

m365 login --authType browser

Username and password (for automation without MFA):

m365 login --authType password --userName user@contoso.com --password pass@word1

Certificate (app-only, for CI/CD):

m365 login --authType certificate --certificateFile /path/to/cert.pfx --password 'certPassword'

Client secret (app-only, for CI/CD):

m365 login --authType secret --secret topSeCr3t@007

Managed identity (Azure-hosted automation):

m365 login --authType identity

Environment Variables

Instead of passing --appId and --tenant on every login, set:

• CLIMICROSOFT365_ENTRAAPPID — Application (client) ID
• CLIMICROSOFT365_TENANT — Directory (tenant) ID

Check Login Status

m365 status

Multiple Connections

m365 connection list
m365 connection use --name "Production"

Global Options

Every command supports these options:

Output Mode Guidelines

• For scripting/piping: use --output json (default) — returns structured data
• For human reading: use --output text — returns formatted tables/key-value pairs
• For spreadsheets: use --output csv
• For documentation: use --output md
• For silent/no output: use --output none

When running commands in the terminal for the user, prefer --output json so you can parse and reason about results. When showing results to the user for readability, use --output text.

Filtering with JMESPath

Use --query to filter and transform JSON output:

# Get only titles of all sites
m365 spo site list --query "[*].Title"

# Filter sites by title containing "Project"
m365 spo site list --query "[?contains(Title, 'Project')]"

# Select specific fields
m365 spo site list --query "[*].{Title: Title, Url: Url}"

# Combine filter and projection
m365 spo site list --query "[?contains(Title, 'Project')].{Title: Title, Url: Url}"

# Filter on nested properties
m365 flow environment list --query "[?properties.isDefault]"

JMESPath queries are case-sensitive. Common functions: contains(), starts_with(), ends_with(), length(), sort_by(), reverse().

Common Command Patterns

SharePoint Online

# List all sites
m365 spo site list

# Get a specific site
m365 spo site get --url https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project

# Create a site
m365 spo site add --type CommunicationSite --title "Project Site" --url https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project

# List all lists in a site
m365 spo list list --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project

# Get list items
m365 spo listitem list --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project --listTitle "Documents"

# Add a list item
m365 spo listitem add --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project --listTitle "Tasks" --Title "New Task"

# Upload a file
m365 spo file add --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project --folder "Shared Documents" --path ./report.pdf

# Get a file
m365 spo file get --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project --url "/sites/project/Shared Documents/report.pdf"

# List files in a folder
m365 spo file list --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project --folder "Shared Documents"

# Modern page operations
m365 spo page add --name "NewPage" --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project
m365 spo page list --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project
m365 spo page set --name "NewPage" --webUrl https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project --publish

# Set the root SharePoint URL for server-relative paths
m365 spo set --url https://contoso.sharepoint.com

Entra ID (Users, Groups, Apps)

# List users
m365 entra user list

# Get a user
m365 entra user get --id user@contoso.com

# Create a user
m365 entra user add --displayName "John Doe" --userName john@contoso.com --password "P@ssw0rd!" --accountEnabled true

# List groups
m365 entra group list

# List M365 groups
m365 entra m365group list

# Get app registrations
m365 entra app list
m365 entra app get --appId <app-id>

# Manage app permissions
m365 entra app permission list --appObjectId <object-id>
m365 entra app permission add --appObjectId <object-id> --applicationPermissions "https://graph.microsoft.com/Sites.Read.All"

Microsoft Teams

# List teams
m365 teams team list

# Get a team
m365 teams team get --id <team-id>

# List channels
m365 teams channel list --teamId <team-id>

# Send a message
m365 teams message send --teamId <team-id> --channelId <channel-id> --message "Hello!"

# List chat conversations
m365 teams chat list

# Send a chat message
m365 teams chat message send --chatId <chat-id> --message "Hi there"

# Create a meeting
m365 teams meeting add --subject "Sprint Review" --startTime "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z" --endTime "2025-01-15T11:00:00Z"

Power Platform

# List Power Apps
m365 pa app list

# List Power Automate flows
m365 flow list --environmentName <env-name>

# List Power Platform environments
m365 pp environment list

Raw API Requests

The request command lets you call any Microsoft API directly:

# GET request to Graph
m365 request --url "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me"

# Use URL tokens for shorter URLs
m365 request --url "@graph/me"
m365 request --url "@graphbeta/me/profile"
m365 request --url "@spo/_api/web"

# POST with a body
m365 request --url "@graph/me/messages" --method post --body '{"subject":"Test","body":{"content":"Hello"}}'

# Load body from file
m365 request --url "@graph/teams" --method post --body @team-payload.json

# Specify custom headers
m365 request --url "@spo/_api/web/lists" --method post --body @list.json --content-type "application/json;odata=verbose"

URL tokens:

• @graph → https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0
• @graphbeta → https://graph.microsoft.com/beta
• @spo → Current SharePoint URL (set via m365 spo set)

Important Syntax Rules

Values with spaces → wrap in quotes

m365 spo site add --alias mycoolsite --title "My Cool Site"

Values starting with a dash → use =

m365 planner task get --id=-9rMKQooUjZdxgv1qQVZYABEuw

Empty values → use =

m365 spo contenttype set --description=""

Complex JSON content → use @ file reference

m365 spo sitescript add --title "Contoso" --content @script.json

The @ prefix works with any option — CLI loads the file contents automatically.

Boolean values

Accepted true values: 1, yes, true, on Accepted false values: 0, no, false, off In PowerShell you can also use $true / $false.

Server-relative SharePoint URLs

After running any spo command or m365 spo set --url https://contoso.sharepoint.com, you can use server-relative URLs:

m365 spo site get --url /sites/contoso

Context Feature

Save frequently used option values so you don't have to type them every time:

# Initialize context in current directory
m365 context init

# Set reusable option values
m365 context option set --name "webUrl" --value "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project"
m365 context option set --name "listTitle" --value "Tasks"

# Now commands pick up context values automatically
m365 spo listitem list
# Equivalent to: m365 spo listitem list --webUrl "..." --listTitle "Tasks"

Context is stored in .m365rc.json in the working directory. Options explicit in the command override context values.

CLI Configuration

Configure with m365 cli config set --key <key> --value <value>:

Quick setup for interactive use:

m365 setup --interactive

Quick setup for scripting:

m365 setup --scripting

Getting Help

# List all commands in a workload
m365 help spo

# Get options for a command
m365 spo site list --help

# Get full help with examples
m365 spo site list --help full

# Get only examples
m365 spo site list --help examples

# Check required permissions
m365 spo site list --help permissions

Shell-Specific Notes

PowerShell

• Escape $ in URLs and JSON: use backtick ` before $

• Consider setting errorOutput to stdout for easier error handling:

    m365 cli config set --key errorOutput --value stdout
  

• Use ConvertFrom-Json to parse JSON output:

    $sites = m365 spo site list | ConvertFrom-Json
  

Bash/Zsh

• Use jq for JSON processing:

    m365 spo site list | jq '.[].Title'
  

Best Practices When Running Commands

1. Always check login status first with m365 status before running commands
2. Use --output json when you need to process results programmatically
3. Use --output text when displaying results to the user for readability
4. Use --query to filter large result sets server-side instead of post-processing
5. Use --output none for commands where you don't need to see output (e.g., delete operations)
6. Use @ file references for complex JSON payloads instead of inline escaping
7. Prefer named identifiers (e.g., --userName, --title) over GUIDs when both are accepted
8. Check --help permissions if a command fails with 403 — it shows the required API permissions
9. Use --debug to troubleshoot failing commands — it shows full HTTP requests/responses
10. Never hardcode secrets in commands shown to users — use environment variables or prompt

Error Handling

• If a command fails with permission errors, check m365 <command> --help permissions for required scopes
• If authentication expires, run m365 login --ensure to re-authenticate only if needed
• Use m365 cli doctor to diagnose environment issues
• Docs are available at https://pnp.github.io/cli-microsoft365/