Content Types¶

Manage content types on a SharePoint site — create, update, delete, add and remove fields, reorder fields, and associate with lists.

Prerequisites¶

Requirement	Description	Reference
Site Owner or Site Collection Administrator role	Required to create, update, and delete content types at the site level.	SharePoint admin roles
Site Columns (fields) must exist on the site	Needed when adding fields to a content type.	Field examples

How content types work¶

graph TD
    subgraph Site
        CT["Content Type"]
        CT --> FL["Field Links (ordered)"]
        FL --> F1["Field: Title"]
        FL --> F2["Field: Editor"]
        FL --> F3["Field: CustomColumn"]
    end

    subgraph List
        L["Document Library"]
        L -->|has| CTs["Content Types"]
        CTs --> D["Default CT"]
        CTs --> O["Other CTs"]
    end

    CT -.->|add to| L

A content type lives at the site level and defines a reusable set of columns (fields) with their display order (field links). It can then be associated with one or more lists.

Examples¶

Workflow¶

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
End-to-end: create → add field → add to list → verify	`basic_usage.py`	Site Owner	Full workflow

Site-level content types¶

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
List content types (site or list scope)	`list_all.py`	Read access	Content type collection
Get a content type by name or id	`get.py`	Read access	Get content type
Inspect a content type / export schema	`inspect_ct.py`	Read access	Get content type
Create a content type	`create.py`	Site Owner	Create
Create a content type from a parent	`create_from_parent.py`	Site Owner	Create with parent
Update a content type (description, group)	`update.py`	Site Owner	Update
Add an existing field to a content type	`add_field.py`	Site Owner	Add field link
Remove a field from a content type	`remove_field.py`	Site Owner	Remove field link
Reorder fields in a content type	`reorder_fields.py`	Site Owner	Reorder fields
Delete a content type	`delete.py`	Site Owner	Delete

List association¶

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
Create a content type and add it to a list	`add_to_list.py`	Site Owner on target list	Add to list
Add an existing site content type to a list	`add_available_to_list.py`	Site Owner on target list	Add available CT
Set a list's default content type	`set_default.py`	Site Owner on target list	Default content type
Find which lists use a content type	`find_usage.py`	Read access	Usage check

REST restrictions: a content type references fields through field links. SharePoint Online's REST API cannot attach a brand-new column to a content type: POST .../FieldLinks only succeeds for a column that is already reachable from the content type's parent (and SchemaXml supplied when creating a content type is ignored). Use CSOM or PnP PowerShell to attach a new column — the examples here detect and report the refusal instead of failing silently. A field link inherited from the parent is likewise not removed by a REST DELETE (the server accepts the call but the link remains). A list's default content type is the first entry of the list root folder's UniqueContentTypeOrder; ContentType.set_default() rewrites that order for you (it is not a property of SP.ContentType).

Migration¶

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
Clone a content type (with fields) to another site	`copy_to_site.py`	Site Owner on both sites	Provisioning

Quick start¶

from office365.sharepoint.client_context import ClientContext
from office365.sharepoint.contenttypes.creation_information import ContentTypeCreationInformation

ctx = ClientContext("https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team").with_client_certificate(
    "contoso.onmicrosoft.com", client_id="client_id", thumbprint="thumbprint", cert_path="./cert.pem"
)

# List all content types
cts = ctx.web.content_types.get().execute_query()
for ct in cts:
    print(f"  {ct.name}  (ID: {ct.id})")

# Create a new content type
info = ContentTypeCreationInformation(Name="Project Document", Description="For Contoso projects")
ct = ctx.web.content_types.add(info).execute_query()
print(f"Created: {ct.name}")

API reference¶

Content type REST API