Connecting SharePoint

Last updated: February 20, 2026

Metal integrates with Microsoft SharePoint to let you browse, import, and sync files from your SharePoint sites and document libraries. Once connected, you can bring individual files into Metal as a one-time import, or sync entire folders for continuous, automatic tracking of changes.

Setting Up the Connection

Prerequisites

  • Your organization must have the SharePoint integration enabled by a Metal administrator.

  • You will need to invite integrations@metal.ai as a guest user to all sites that you want to sync to Metal.

    • You can add guest users by navigating to Settings > Site Permissions > Add members > Share site only

    • See this post for more guidance if necessary

  • Ensure that guest users have full read access to the site and that your organization does not require guest access to expire.

    • if this is not possible, Metal will need a SharePoint seat to manage the integration

Connecting Your Account

  1. Navigate to the Connections page from the sidebar.

  2. Find the SharePoint card and click Connect.

  3. You will be redirected to Microsoft to sign in and authorize Metal.

    1. If this is the first time someone from your organization is connecting SharePoint to Metal, you will need a Microsoft Admin to approve the integration on behalf of you organization.

    2. Admins can review the consent request by going to the Microsoft Entra Admin Center and navigating to Enterprise apps > Admin consent requests

  4. After authorization, you are redirected back to Metal. A success message confirms the connection.

Your organization can have multiple SharePoint connections, allowing different users to connect their own Microsoft accounts.

Connection Status

Once connected, the SharePoint card on the Connections page shows:

  • A Connected badge (green)

  • Your connection details

If your connection expires, Metal shows a reconnect dialog prompting you to re-authorize. This can happen when your Microsoft access token expires. Click Reconnect to re-authorize -- your existing synced files remain in Metal during this process.

Browsing SharePoint Files

You can browse your SharePoint files in two ways:

Dedicated SharePoint Page

Navigate to the SharePoint section in the sidebar to open the SharePoint file browser. This page provides:

  • A site selector dropdown at the top -- search and select from your available SharePoint sites

  • Breadcrumb navigation showing your current path within the selected site

  • A file and folder table with sync status indicators

  • Search to find files by name within the selected site

File Importer Dialog

When uploading files anywhere in Metal, the File Importer dialog includes a SharePoint tab that offers:

  • A site selector to choose your SharePoint site

  • Folder navigation with breadcrumbs

  • File selection with multi-select support

  • File size validation (200 MB per file)

Import vs. Sync

There are two ways to bring SharePoint content into Metal, and understanding the difference is important:

  • Importing a file is a one-time snapshot. The file is copied into Metal, but Metal does not monitor it for future changes. If the file is updated in SharePoint, or if new files are added to the same folder, those changes will not appear in Metal.

  • Syncing a folder imports all of its files and subfolders and enables continuous tracking. After a folder is synced, Metal checks for changes every 5 minutes and automatically reflects additions, deletions, moves, and content updates.

When to Import vs. Sync

  • Import individual files when you need a specific document in Metal but do not need the rest of the folder or ongoing updates.

  • Sync a folder when you want Metal to stay up to date with everything in that folder automatically.

Importing Individual Files

To import a single file from the SharePoint file browser, click the sync button next to the file. Metal downloads the file and makes it available for search and analysis.

What happens behind the scenes:

  • The file is downloaded from SharePoint and stored in Metal.

  • Parent folders along the path are created in Metal as structural placeholders (shown as "Partial" in sync status). These maintain the folder hierarchy for navigation but are not actively tracked.

Important: Importing a file does not enable ongoing tracking. If the file is later updated in SharePoint, Metal will not know about the change. To enable ongoing tracking, sync the parent folder instead.

Syncing a Folder

To sync an entire folder, click the sync button next to the folder in the SharePoint file browser. A confirmation dialog appears -- click Confirm to proceed.

What happens behind the scenes:

  • Metal imports all files and subfolders within the folder recursively.

  • The folder is marked as Synced, enabling continuous tracking of changes via Microsoft's Delta API.

  • Imported files appear in the SharePoint folder in Metal, preserving the original folder hierarchy.

After syncing, Metal checks for changes every 5 minutes. Unlike Egnyte (which uses real-time webhooks), there may be a short delay of up to 5 minutes between a change in SharePoint and its reflection in Metal.

Large Folder Imports

Folders containing a very large number of files may require assistance from the Metal support team. If you encounter a message about folder size when attempting to sync, please contact support.

What Changes Are Tracked After Syncing

Once a folder is synced, the following changes in SharePoint are automatically detected every 5 minutes:

  • New files added to the synced folder (or any subfolder within it) are automatically imported.

  • Deleted files are removed from Metal.

  • Moved files are updated to reflect their new location. If a file is moved out of any synced folder into an unsynced location, it is removed from Metal.

  • File content changes are detected via checksum. If a file's content has changed, Metal removes the old version and re-imports the updated file.

  • Renamed files have their display name updated.

  • New subfolders created inside a synced folder are automatically imported along with their contents.

  • Deleted subfolders are removed along with all of their contents.

  • File renames are detected and reflected in Metal.

Working with Multiple Sites and Drives

SharePoint organizes content into sites, and each site can have multiple drives (document libraries). In Metal:

  • Use the site selector at the top of the SharePoint browser to switch between sites.

  • Each site's files and folders are browsable independently.

  • You can sync folders from multiple sites -- all content lands in the same SharePoint folder in Metal, organized by its original structure.

Sync States Explained

Each file and folder in the SharePoint browser shows one of the following sync states:

Not Synced

The file or folder has not been brought into Metal. It exists only in SharePoint.

  • Shown as a gray cloud icon in the file browser.

  • No data is stored in Metal for this item.

Partial

The folder exists in Metal as a structural placeholder, but its contents are not being tracked.

  • Created automatically when you import an individual file -- the parent folders along the path become Partial to maintain the folder hierarchy.

  • Changes to files in a Partial folder are not detected by Metal. New files, deletions, and moves within Partial folders are not tracked.

  • You can upgrade a Partial folder to Synced at any time by clicking its sync button.

Synced

The folder is fully imported and actively tracked. Changes are detected every 5 minutes.

  • Shown as a green checkmark in the file browser.

  • New files, deletions, moves, content changes, and renames are all tracked.

  • Once a folder is Synced, it stays Synced -- it does not revert to Partial.

  • Subfolders within a Synced folder are automatically covered by the same tracking -- you do not need to sync each subfolder individually.

Restrictions

  • ZIP files cannot be imported through SharePoint. To upload ZIP archives, use the direct upload feature instead.

  • All standard file type and file size limits apply to SharePoint imports.

  • Files that fail validation (unsupported type, exceeds size limit) are marked with an error status.

  • Permissions are not currently supported in Metal so when a user syncs a SharePoint folder, it will be discoverable by all Metal users