Modernization guidance for existing SharePoint Add-In model implementations in Microsoft 365

The SharePoint Add-In model was introduced as part of the SharePoint 2013 timeframe and it was also provided as an extensibility option for SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365).

Important

The SharePoint Add-In model in SharePoint Online has been deprecated as of November 27th 2023, checkout the full retirement announcement to learn more.

Deprecation means that the feature will not get any new investments, but it's still supported. SharePoint add-in model is retired fully on April 2nd, 2026 and is no longer available after that time. Primary replacement technology for the SharePoint add-in model is SharePoint Framework (SPFx) which continues to be supported also in future.

While SharePoint Add-In model is currently still supported in SharePoint Online, the model and patterns are outdated and aren't recommended to be used.

Note

This upcoming deprecation announcement will impact SharePoint Online. There are no changes on the Add-In model supportability within the SharePoint on-premises versions.

These upcoming changes are impacting SharePoint Add-In model and also authentication patterns using the classic SharePoint Online hosted Microsoft Azure Access Control Service (ACS) authentication patterns, used with the provided hosted Add-Ins and potentially with other unattended services connecting to SharePoint Online.

Important

Using Azure ACS (Access Control Services) for SharePoint Online has been retired as of November 27th 2023, checkout the full retirement announcement to learn more. Using Azure ACS outside of the context of SharePoint was already retired on November 7th, 2018 and is end-of-life now.

Retirement means that the feature will not get any new investments, but it's still supported. End-of-life means that the feature will be discontinued and is no longer available for use.

Transformation technologies

Here's a high level table of the feature mapping as the Add-In model implementation is transformed to use other long term supported features:

Classic technology	New technology
SharePoint Add-In	SharePoint Framework
Provider hosted Add-In	Azure AD registered apps
App registration using ACS	Azure AD registered apps
JSOM	Graph JS SDK & PnPjs library
SharePoint Workflow	Power Automate Flows

Transformation guidance for the Add-In techniques

Here's a list of all articles for the transformation guidance when moving away on using SharePoint Add-In model, grouped based on the covered topic:

• Modern Authentication and Authorization
  • Understanding Azure Active Directory and OAuth 2.0 in the context of SharePoint Online modern development
  • From Access Control Service applications to Azure Active Directory applications
  • Building Multi-tenant applications for SharePoint Online
  • Understanding Resource Specific Consent (RSC)
• Customizing the modern UI
  • From App Parts and classic Web Parts to modern client-side SPFx Web Parts
  • From UI Extensions to SPFx List View Command Set
  • From status bars and notifications to SPFx Application Customizers
  • From classic dialogs to modern dialogs with SharePoint Framework
• Building modern SharePoint Online or Microsoft 365 solutions
  • From SharePoint JavaScript Object Model to Client-side code and PnPjs
  • From Client Side Object Model (CSOM) to PnP Framework and PnP Core SDK
  • From XSLT rendering to List Formatting
  • From Remote Event Receivers to SharePoint Online Webhooks and Microsoft Graph Webhooks
  • From SharePoint-hosted apps to client-side applications
  • From provider-hosted apps to AAD applications
  • From SharePoint Add-In model Workflow Apps to Microsoft Power Automate
  • Publishing modern SharePoint applications on Microsoft AppSource
• Modern Provisioning
  • Modern provisioning of artifacts and Information Architecture

If some essential guidance isn't included, open an issue at the SharePoint developer documentation and we'll help you as fast as possible with your specific question.