Sharing

Share files, folders, and sites with specific people, the whole organization, or anonymous users via sharing links and direct permission grants.

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Description	Reference
Contribute or higher on the item being shared	Required to create sharing links. Site Owner to change site-level sharing policy.	SharePoint admin roles

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How sharing works

Every sharing operation creates a sharing link that encodes the access level and audience. SharePoint supports these link types:

Link kind	Access level	Scope
Anonymous view	Anyone with the link can view	External (no sign-in)
Anonymous edit	Anyone with the link can edit	External (no sign-in)
Organization view	Everyone in your org can view	Internal
Organization edit	Everyone in your org can edit	Internal
Specific people	Only named users can access	Internal or external
Direct	Canonical URL (no sharing link)	Inherits permissions

Sharing is also controlled at the site level — admins can restrict or disable external sharing entirely, and specific users can be granted access via role assignments on the item.

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Examples

Sharing links

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
Share a file (anonymous link lifecycle)	share_file.py	Contribute on file	Sharing REST API
Share a file (org-wide link)	share_file_organizational.py	Contribute on file	Sharing REST API
Share a file with a password	share_file_with_password.py	Contribute on file	Sharing REST API
Share a folder (tokenized link + guest URL)	share_folder.py	Contribute on folder	Sharing REST API
Share a folder (org-wide link)	share_folder_organizational.py	Contribute on folder	Sharing REST API
Update a sharing link (expiration)	update_sharing_link.py	Contribute on item	Sharing REST API
Remove a sharing link	remove_sharing_link.py	Contribute on item	Sharing REST API
Get file sharing info	get_file_sharing_info.py	Read access	Sharing REST API
Get folder sharing info	get_folder_sharing_info.py	Read access	Sharing REST API

Permissions & site policy

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
Grant a user a role on a file (break inheritance, list assignments, reset)	permissions.py	Contribute on item	Sharing REST API
Share a site with a user (by group)	share_web.py	Site Owner	Sharing REST API
Get site external sharing capability	get_site_sharing.py	Site Owner	Sharing REST API
Set site external sharing capability	set_site_sharing.py	Site Owner	Sharing REST API

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Quick start

from office365.sharepoint.client_context import ClientContext

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

# Create an anonymous view link for a file
from office365.sharepoint.sharing.links.kind import SharingLinkKind

file = ctx.web.get_file_by_server_relative_url("Shared Documents/report.docx")
result = file.share_link(SharingLinkKind.AnonymousView).execute_query()
print(f"Share link: {result.value.sharingLinkInfo.Url}")

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API reference

• SharePoint sharing REST API