Introduction

Managing SharePoint Group permissions can become time-consuming when users are added individually. With Power Automate and the SharePoint REST API, multiple users can be added to a SharePoint Group using a single HTTP request.

This approach reduces the number of API calls and makes SharePoint permission management faster and more efficient.

Step 1: Get the SharePoint Group ID

Go to your SharePoint Site → Site Settings → People and Groups.

Select the SharePoint Group to which you want to add users.

The Group ID can be found in the URL using the MembershipGroupId parameter.

For example:

https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName/_layouts/people.aspx?MembershipGroupId=5

In this example, the SharePoint Group ID is 5.

Note down the Group ID because it will be used in the API request.

Step 2: Create a Power Automate Flow

Go to Power Automate and create a new flow.

Select Instant cloud flow and use the Manually trigger a flow trigger.

This allows you to test the API request manually before integrating it into an automated process.

Step 3: Add the HTTP Request to SharePoint

Add the Send an HTTP request to SharePoint action.

Configure the action as follows:

Method:

POST

URI:

_api/SP.Web.ShareObject

Body:

 {"url": "https://<TenantName>.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteName>","peoplePickerInput": "[{'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|<UserPricipalName>'},{'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|<UserPricipalName>'}]","roleValue": "group:5"}

Replace the following values:

  • <TenantName> – Your Microsoft 365 tenant name.

  • <SiteName> – Your SharePoint site name.

  • <UserPrincipalName1> – Email/UPN of the first user.

  • <UserPrincipalName2> – Email/UPN of the second user.

  • 5 – SharePoint Group ID obtained in Step 1.

Example

For example, if you want to add two users:

{
  "url": "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Finance",
  "peoplePickerInput": "[{'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|[email protected]'},{'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|[email protected]'}]",
  "roleValue": "group:5"
}

You can extend the peoplePickerInput value to include additional users.

For example:

[{'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|[email protected]'},
 {'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|[email protected]'},
 {'Key':'i:0#.f|membership|[email protected]'}]

This allows multiple users to be submitted in the same request.

Step 4: Run and Validate the Flow

Save the flow and select Test or manually run the flow.

After a successful execution:

  1. Go back to the SharePoint site.

  2. Open Site Settings → People and Groups.

  3. Select the SharePoint Group.

  4. Verify that the users have been added successfully.

Important Notes

  • Make sure the SharePoint Group ID is correct.

  • Verify that the Site URL matches the site where the group exists.

  • Use the users' correct User Principal Names (UPNs).

  • The account running the flow must have sufficient permissions to manage the SharePoint Group.

  • If the request fails, review the HTTP action's response for the specific SharePoint error.

  • Test the API with a small number of users before using it for bulk operations.

Benefits

Using a single API request provides several advantages:

  • Fewer API calls compared with adding users individually.

  • Faster execution for bulk user additions.

  • Simpler Power Automate implementation.

  • Better scalability for permission-management scenarios.

  • Easier automation when users are maintained in a SharePoint list or another data source.

Conclusion

Power Automate combined with the SharePoint REST API provides an efficient way to add multiple users to a SharePoint Group in a single request.

Instead of repeatedly adding users one at a time, the SP.Web.ShareObject API can submit multiple users together. This makes SharePoint Group administration more efficient and provides a scalable approach for automated permission management.