Power Automate – “Get files (properties only)” hits 200MB limit when scanning large SharePoint folders

Question

I’m building a flow that scans a SharePoint library (all nested folders) and checks:

• if a folder is older than 18 months,
• empty,
• and not named “Project 0.”

It works on smaller branches, but in larger folder structures the action fails with:

“The action ‘Get_files_(properties_only)’ has an aggregated page results size of more than 209715200 bytes…”

Pagination is on, but the connector still tries to aggregate everything and blows past the 200MB platform limit.

Question: What’s the best way to recursively scan large libraries without hitting this limit? Any proven patterns or examples would help. Thank you

Answer 1

Hi @Girma, Solyana

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.  

It looks like you’ve run into a platform limitation in Power Automate. Even when pagination is enabled, the SharePoint connector aggregates all pages into one JSON array, and if the total output exceeds 200 MB, the action fails.

From my findings, one possible approach is to use the SharePoint REST API to retrieve only folder metadata rather than files: Working with folders and files with REST | Microsoft Learn. Since each folder is returned as a single item, this helps avoid aggregation issues. You can then use a child flow to recursively process subfolders: Create child Flows - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn. 

As this forum doesn’t currently have a dedicated tag for Power Platform, you might find more targeted support by posting in the Microsoft Power Platform Community Forum Thread. It’s a great space full of helpful, knowledgeable people who are more than willing to walk you through the steps and share their experience. You’ll likely get clearer guidance and the support you need to make this work.    

I really appreciate your patience and understanding. While we can’t resolve this directly in this forum, pointing you to the right community ensures you’ll connect with people who can provide the practical support you need. 

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Answer 2

To avoid hitting the 200MB limit when using the Get files (properties only) action in Power Automate while scanning large SharePoint libraries, consider the following strategies:

1. Limit the Scope of Your Query: Instead of retrieving all files in one go, you can limit the query to specific folders or use filters to reduce the number of items returned. This can help keep the aggregated size below the limit.
2. Use Pagination Effectively: Ensure that pagination is properly configured. While you mentioned pagination is on, double-check that you are handling the paginated results correctly in your flow. You may need to implement a loop to process each page of results individually.
3. Implement Delta Queries: If your scenario allows, consider using delta queries to only retrieve changes since the last scan. This can significantly reduce the amount of data processed at any one time.
4. Batch Processing: Instead of processing all folders at once, break down the processing into smaller batches. You can create a flow that processes a limited number of folders at a time, checking each folder's criteria before moving on to the next batch.
5. Use the SharePoint API Directly: If the Power Automate actions are not sufficient, consider using the SharePoint REST API directly. This allows for more granular control over the data being retrieved and can help you manage the size of the responses more effectively.

By applying these strategies, you should be able to scan large libraries without exceeding the 200MB limit.