How can I run SharePoint Online PowerShell from Azure Cloud Shell?

Question

I want to run SharePoint Online PowerShell, from Azure Cloud Shell. It yields nonsense about the command being unrecognized, though. Here is some example session transcription.

PS /home/entra> Connect-SPOService -Url https://(tenant-admin).sharepoint.com

Connect-SPOService: The term 'Connect-SPOService' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.

Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

PS /home/entra> Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell | Select Name,Version

Name Version

---

Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell 16.0.24810.12000

PS /home/entra> Connect-SPOService -Url https://(tenant-admin).sharepoint.com

Connect-SPOService: The term 'Connect-SPOService' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.

Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

PS /home/entra> Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -AllVersions -Force

PS /home/entra> Install-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

Untrusted repository

You are installing the modules from an untrusted repository. If you trust this repository, change its InstallationPolicy value by running the Set-PSRepository cmdlet. Are you sure you want to install the modules from 'PSGallery'?

[Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "N"): A

PS /home/entra> Connect-SPOService -Url https://(tenant-admin).sharepoint.com

Connect-SPOService: The term 'Connect-SPOService' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.

Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

PS /home/entra> Update-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

PS /home/entra> Connect-SPOService -Url https://(tenant-admin).sharepoint.com

Connect-SPOService: The term 'Connect-SPOService' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.

Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

PS /home/entra>

Answer 1

@James Slora Hello! I was in the same boat - I followed the same steps as William provided, but got the Object reference not set to an instance of an object error in the end.

Unfortunately, Connect-SPOService is not working properly on Azure Cloud Shell due to what seems to be a bug. Many users have reported similar issues on GitHub (https://github.com/SharePoint/sp-dev-docs/issues/9434), but it's not fixed yet (as of writing). Apparently, Mac and Linux PowerShell instances, in addition to Azure Cloud Shell, are affected.

As a workaround, you can use a Windows PC (if you have one) or spin up a Windows Server VM on Azure, since the Windows version of the command line tool is not affected. (The latter is the approach I eventually took after struggling with the error on Azure Cloud Shell and Ubuntu pwsh for two hours.)

Answer 2

It seems you're encountering issues while running SharePoint Online PowerShell commands from Azure Cloud Shell.

Install the SharePoint Online Management Shell:

• First, uninstall any existing version:

   powershellCopy code
   Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -AllVersions -Force

  - Then, install the module:
  
  ```powershell
  powershellCopy code
  Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -Force -AllowClobber
  ```
  
     - If you don't have administrative privileges, install the module for the current user:
     
     ```powershell
     powershellCopy code
     Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser
     ```
     
     **Import the Module**:
     
        - Import the module explicitly to ensure it's loaded:
        
        ```yaml
        powershellCopy code
        Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
        ```
        
        **Set Execution Policy**:
        
           - Set the execution policy to allow running scripts:
           
           ```yaml
           powershellCopy code
           Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope Process
           ```
           
           **Connect to SharePoint Online**:
           
              - Use the **`Connect-SPOService`** cmdlet:
              
              ```yaml
              powershellCopy code
              Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com
              ```
              
                 - Replace **`yourtenant-admin`** with your actual tenant admin URL.
                 
                 **Verify Your Connection**:
                 
                    - After connecting, you should be able to run SharePoint Online cmdlets successfully.
                    

Here’s a summary of the commands you'll need:

powershellCopy code
Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -AllVersions -Force
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -Force -AllowClobber
Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope Process
Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com

Remember to replace placeholders like yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com with your actual SharePoint admin center URL. For more detailed information official documentation.