How to back up a SharePoint document library

A SharePoint document library stores critical business files along with their metadata, version history, and permissions. Backing up a document library safeguards your organization against accidental deletion, ransomware attacks, compliance risks, and migration errors. Native recovery options are limited to a 93-day retention period. If a document library is permanently deleted, corrupted, or no longer available in either stage of the Recycle Bin, it can only be restored from a backup, making a well-defined backup strategy essential.

You can back up a SharePoint document library using native sync capabilities, PowerShell, or third-party solutions depending on your environment.

Method 1: Manual local copy workflow

This is ideal for quick, manual backup of document libraries and other files in SharePoint. Ensure you have the OneDrive sync client installed before you start.

1. Sign in to SharePoint Online and navigate to the site.
2. Open the document library you want to back up.
3. Click Sync from the command bar.
4. The library will sync to your local machine using OneDrive.
5. Once synced, copy the library folder from your OneDrive directory to an external drive or backup location.

Limitations to consider

• It's not a true backup. Syncing mirrors changes, so deletions or corruption can propagate to the local copy.
• Syncing is not a substitute for a backup and does not provide point-in-time recovery or long-term retention.
• It's a manual process that requires users to copy files to a separate backup location.
• There's no centralized interface for visibility, control, or reporting.

Method 2: Back up a document library using PowerShell

PowerShell allows you to download library content programmatically and automate backups.

Prerequisites

1. Before using PowerShell, ensure that:
   • You have SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator rights.
   • You have Read access to the library and Write access to the drive folder.
   • The PnP.PowerShell module is installed.
2. Install and connect to SharePoint Online using the script below:
   Copy

   Install-Module PnP.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser
                       Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/ProjectSite -Interactive

Backing up a single document library

This script downloads all files from the specified document library to a local folder.

# This preserves your folders locally
$items = Get-PnPListItem -List "Project Documents" -PageSize 1000
foreach ($item in $items) {
    # Get the relative path to recreate folders locally
    $fileUrl = $item["FileRef"]
    $localPath = "C:\SPBackup\ProjectDocuments" + ($item["FileDirRef"] -replace "/sites/ProjectSite/Project Documents","")
    # Create the folder if it doesn't exist
    if (!(Test-Path $localPath)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $localPath }
    # Download the file
    Get-PnPFile -Url $fileUrl -Path $localPath -AsFile -Force
}

Supported parameters

The following parameters can be used to back up SharePoint document libraries.

Limitations to consider

• This requires advanced scripting knowledge.
• It also requires elevated administrative privileges.
• Manual setup and maintenance are needed for scheduling, logging, and error handling.

Method 3: Automate backups using third-party tools

Native SharePoint recovery options are limited to a 93-day retention window. If a document library is permanently deleted, corrupted, or no longer available in either stage of the Recycle Bin, restoration must be performed from a backup.

Third-party tools like SharePoint Manager Plus provide full site backup and restoration capabilities, automated scheduling, and long-term retention beyond native limits.

1. In SharePoint Manager Plus, navigate to Backup > Backup Schedules and select + Create Backup.
2. Enter the backup name, and select the farm and required sites to backup.
3. Select the repository in which the backup should be stored.
4. Choose the frequency at which you want the backup to be performed.
5. Click Save. To view and enable or disable the backup, navigate to Backup Schedules.

   After backing up SharePoint data, easily restore to a previous version at any time.

How SharePoint Manager Plus helps safeguard your SharePoint environment

Protecting SharePoint requires more than just periodic backups. Administrators must continuously monitor activity, control permissions, and ensure rapid recovery from accidental deletion and security incidents. SharePoint Manager Plus provides a centralized, web-based console to help you secure, monitor, and manage your entire SharePoint environment efficiently.

Important tips

Frequently asked questions