Get SharePoint information from environment variables

Summary

This sample first appeared in Data Source Environment Variables in Power Automate actions blog post.

Environment variables in Power Automate flows allow you to manage and reuse values across multiple flows, making updates easier and reducing hardcoding. They also simplify configuration management for different environments, enhancing flexibility and maintainability.

To create reference to a SharePoint site or a SharePoint list, you'd create environment variables of Data source type:

• SharePoint site: Parameter type = Site, and choose a site from a drop down
• SharePoint list or library: Parameter type =List, and choose a list/library from a drop down.

The site reference is stored as URL, but the list references are stored as GUID.

In Power Automate, different actions reference SharePoint lists and libraries differently. See the Data Source Environment Variables in Power Automate actions post for examples of different actions and their parameters.

Sometimes, it will be list Title, sometimes the URL (a.k.a. RootFolder), and other times, an Id. When accessing document libraries using drives Graph API, the id is not in GUID format, but rather something like this: b!WqNS-yXl-EmB9E5tlOY2kP3B7PZTD8lCgoRdFoRzZnK_WYiyUTlZTptnb3lchjmk.

The "Get Data Source List Info" flow retrieves the following site and list information:

parameter name	description	example
host_name	The URL of the root SharePoint site	contoso.sharepoint.com
site_url	The URL of the current SharePoint site, as defined in the site URL parameter.	https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/XYZ
site_title	Title of the current SPO site	Project XYZ
site_id	The id of the current SPO site in a guid format.	xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
web_id	The id of the current SPO web object in a guid format.	yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy
list_absolute_url	The full URL of the list.	https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/xyz/Archives or https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/xyz/Lists/Issue tracker
list_name	The RootFolder. Used in the URL, is generated automatically and cannot be changed by users. It can be changed with PowerShell.	Archive
list_title	The title of the list. This property can be changed by the user.	The Archive Library
list_id	The value provided as List Id parameter	zzzzzzzz-zzzz-zzzz-zzzz-zzzzzzzzzzzz
list_drive_id	Used by Graph API when referencing libraries. Only for document libraries.	b!S3SdNSBmTUGa4v5ffh_rslLJssoXH4xEuShkEO-uxKg9bblUMeoaTbQC5t69DJ-x
error_message	The error message if any of the actions failed, or empty string.	{"Error":"Send_an_HTTP_request_to_SharePoint:_get_Site_with_MS_Graph:[...]},{"Error":"Send_an_HTTP_request_to_SharePoint:_get_list_URL: \\"401 UNAUTHORIZED[...]\\""}
success	Result. If False, the error_message contains error description. Otherwise, error_message is an empty string.	True or False

It is designed to be executed as a child flow and accepts two parameters: the site URL and library/list Id, as provided by the environment variables.

Workflow preview

Input parameters

Main logic and error handling

Return parameters

Applies to

Compatibility

Contributors

• Kinga Kazala

Version history

Version	Date	Comments
1.0	April 22, 2025	Initial release

Minimal path to awesome

Using the solution zip

• Download the .zip from the solution folder
• Within Power Apps Studio, import the solution .zip file using Solutions > Import Solution and select the .zip file you just packed.
• During the import process, update the connection references and environment variables.
• If required, configure the flow to be executed as a child flow. Navigate the solution, select the Get Data Source List Info flow and on the details page, select Edit in the Run only users section.
• Click on Edit link and change the connection in the Connections Used section
• Add a service principal as an additional owner to ensure business continuity.

Using the source code

You can also use the Power Apps CLI to pack the source code by following these steps:

• Clone the repository to a local drive

• Pack the source files back into a solution .zip file:

  pac solution pack --zipfile pathtodestinationfile --folder pathtosourcefolder --processCanvasApps
  

  Making sure to replace pathtosourcefolder to point to the path to this sample's sourcecode folder, and pathtodestinationfile to point to the path of this solution's .zip file (located under the solution folder)

• Within Power Apps Studio, import the solution .zip file using Solutions > Import Solution and select the .zip file you just packed.

Features

This solution illustrates the following concepts on top of the Power Platform:

• Retrieving SharePoint list/library information based on Data source environment variables
• Error handling for errors caused by API calls and flow actions

See the Data Source Environment Variables in Power Automate actions article for detailed explanation of this workflow.

Help

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Disclaimer

THIS CODE IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.