Copy-PnPFileMetadata
SYNOPSIS
Synchronizes metadata between files and folders in SharePoint
SYNTAX
Copy-PnPFileMetadata [-SourceUrl] <String> [-TargetUrl] <String> [-Fields <String[]>] [-Recursive] [-Force] [-Connection <PnPConnection>] [-SourceConnection <PnPConnection>] [-TargetConnection <PnPConnection>]
DESCRIPTION
Synchronizes metadata (Created, Modified, Author, Editor) from source files and folders to their corresponding targets without copying the actual content. This cmdlet is useful for restoring lost metadata after migrations where system fields may have been reset.
When updating items, the cmdlet uses UpdateOverwriteVersion() to allow setting system fields while avoiding new user-facing versions.
For folders, the cmdlet batches updates per folder to reduce round-trips and improve performance on large libraries. With -Verbose, it logs progress for each folder and file processed, including periodic batch flush messages.
Both -SourceUrl and -TargetUrl can be provided as absolute URLs, server-relative (starting with /), or web-relative paths. URLs are normalized against their respective connections: the source URL is normalized using -SourceConnection (or the current connection), and the target URL is normalized using -TargetConnection (or the current connection). Targets must already exist; if a corresponding target file or folder is not found, it is skipped.
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLE 1 (same site, folder, recursive)
Copy-PnPFileMetadata -SourceUrl "Shared Documents/MyProject" -TargetUrl "Shared Documents/MyProject"
Synchronizes metadata for the MyProject folder and all its contents recursively from the source to the target location, preserving original creation dates, modification dates, and author information.
EXAMPLE 2 (same site, single file)
Copy-PnPFileMetadata -SourceUrl "Shared Documents/report.docx" -TargetUrl "Shared Documents/report.docx"
Synchronizes metadata for a single file from the source to the target, restoring the original system fields.
EXAMPLE 3 (same site, limited fields)
Copy-PnPFileMetadata -SourceUrl "Shared Documents/Projects" -TargetUrl "Shared Documents/Projects" -Fields @("Created", "Modified") -Force
Synchronizes only the Created and Modified dates for the Projects folder and its contents, without prompting for confirmation.
EXAMPLE 4 (same site, non-recursive)
Copy-PnPFileMetadata -SourceUrl "Shared Documents/Archives" -TargetUrl "Shared Documents/Archives" -Recursive:$false
Synchronizes metadata only for the Archives folder itself, without processing its subfolders and files.
EXAMPLE 5 (cross site, two connections)
$src = Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/archives -ReturnConnection
$dst = Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/projects -ReturnConnection
Copy-PnPFileMetadata -SourceUrl "Shared Documents/MyProject" -TargetUrl "Shared Documents/MyProject" -SourceConnection $src -TargetConnection $dst -Verbose
Synchronizes metadata across two different site connections.
PARAMETERS
-Force
If provided, no confirmation will be requested and the action will be performed
Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Fields
Specifies which metadata fields to synchronize. Default fields are Created, Modified, Author, and Editor.
Type: String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: @("Author", "Editor", "Created", "Modified")
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Recursive
If provided, processes folders recursively including all subfolders and files. This is enabled by default.
Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: $true
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-SourceUrl
Site or server relative URL specifying the file or folder to copy metadata from. Must include the file name if it is a file or the entire path to the folder if it is a folder.
Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: ServerRelativeUrl
Required: True
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-TargetUrl
Site or server relative URL specifying the file or folder to copy metadata to. Must include the file name if it is a file or the entire path to the folder if it is a folder.
Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: TargetServerRelativeUrl
Required: True
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-SourceConnection
Optional connection to be used for accessing the source file or folder. If not provided, the current connection is used.
Type: PnPConnection
Parameter Sets: (All)
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-TargetConnection
Optional connection to be used for accessing the target file or folder. If not provided, the current connection is used.
Type: PnPConnection
Parameter Sets: (All)
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False