URL strings and tokens in SharePoint Add-ins

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.

Important

For general information about constructing URLs in SharePoint and the use of tokens in those URLs, see URLs and tokens in SharePoint. This topic describes the tokens that are available in SharePoint Add-ins.

SharePoint supports the tokens listed in the following tables for use in SharePoint Add-ins.

The tokens in the tables of this section can be used in URLs in a wide variety of situations in development of SharePoint Add-ins, such as in Custom Actions and in links on custom pages.

In some contexts, some of these tokens cannot be used. Three of the most important places where only a restricted list of tokens can be used are the start page of an add-in, a custom action on the host web, and the Src property of an add-in part. These are called out in separate columns, but this is not an exhaustive list of places where tokens can be used.

In each table:

  • The StartPage column specifies whether the token can be used in the StartPage element of an add-in manifest.
  • The Custom Action column specifies whether the token can be used in the URL of a custom action on a host web.
  • The Add-in Part column specifies whether the token can be used in the Src property of the add-in part.

Tokens that you can use at the beginning of a URL

Token Resolves to StartPage Custom Action Add-in Part Remarks
~appWebUrl The URL of the add-in web of a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes This token should be used only outside an add-in web. Within the add-in web itself, use ~site for the URL of the add-in web.
~controlTemplates The URL of the ControlTemplates virtual folder for the current website. No No No
~hostUrl The URL of the host web. No No Yes
~hostLogoUrl The URL of the logo of the host web. No No No
~layouts The URL of the Layouts virtual folder for the current website. No No No
~remoteAppUrl The URL of a remote web application in a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes, in the host web, but No in the add-in web. Yes If you are not using Microsoft Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio to develop your SharePoint Add-in, you cannot use ~remoteAppUrl in the StartPage URL. However, when you are using Visual Studio and the tools, you can use this token for any provider-hosted add-in and it is resolved when Visual Studio packages the add-in. In this usage, it is really more of a Visual Studio token than a SharePoint token. It can be used outside the add-in manifest, even when you are not using Microsoft Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio.
~site The URL of the current website. No No Yes
~sitecollection The URL of the parent site collection of the current website. No No Yes

Except where indicated otherwise, none of the tokens in the next table can be used in the path portion of the Src property value of the add-in part. The Add-in Part column refers to their use in the query string portion of the value.


Tokens that you can use inside a URL

Token Resolves to StartPage Custom Action Add-in Part Remarks
{AppContextToken} The OAuth context token for the add-in. No No No
{AppWebUrl} The URL of the add-in web in a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes This token should be used only outside an add-in web.
Within the add-in web itself, use {Site} for the URL of the add-in web.
{ClientTag} The client cache control number (client tag) for the current website. Yes Yes Yes
{HostLogoUrl} The logo for the host web of a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes
{HostTitle} The title of the host web of a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes
{HostUrl} The URL of the host web of a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes
{ItemId} The ID of an item in a list or library (an integer). No Yes No
{ItemUrl} The URL of the item being acted upon. No Yes No
{Language} The current language/culture of the host web of a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes
{ListId} The ID of the current list (a GUID). No Yes No
{ProductNumber} The full build version number of the SharePoint farm. Yes Yes Yes An example value is "15.0.4433.1011".
{RecurrenceId} The recurrence index of a recurring event. No Yes No This token is not supported for use in the context menus of list items.
{RemoteAppUrl} The URL of a remote web application in a SharePoint Add-in. Yes Yes Yes
{Site} The URL of the current website. No Yes Yes
{SiteCollection} The URL of the parent site of the current website. No Yes Yes
{SiteUrl} The URL of the current website. No Yes No
{Source} The HTTP Request URL. No Yes No
{StandardTokens} See Remarks. Yes Yes Yes This combines five other tokens. It initially resolves to... SPHostUrl={HostUrl}&SPAppWebUrl={AppWebUrl}&SPLanguage={Language}&SPClientTag={ClientTag}&SPProductNumber={ProductNumber}

...and then each of these tokens resolves. If there is no add-in web, the portion &SPAppWebUrl={AppWebUrl} is not present.

See also