Claude-SharepointLists/.claude/skills/sharepoint-lists/references/setup.md

# Setup: Azure AD app registration for app-only SharePoint access

This skill authenticates as an **application** (no user sign-in) using the OAuth2
client-credentials flow. You create an Entra (Azure AD) app registration once,
grant it permission to SharePoint, and hand the skill three secrets.

You need an Entra **admin** (or someone who is) to grant admin consent and, for
the least-privilege option, to grant the app access to specific sites.

## 1. Register the application

1. Go to <https://entra.microsoft.com> → **Identity** → **Applications** →
   **App registrations** → **New registration**.
2. Name it something recognizable, e.g. `claude-sharepoint-lists`.
3. Supported account types: **Accounts in this organizational directory only**
   (single tenant) is correct for app-only.
4. Leave **Redirect URI** blank — client-credentials doesn't use one.
5. **Register**.

On the app's **Overview** page, copy:
- **Application (client) ID** → `SP_CLIENT_ID`
- **Directory (tenant) ID** → `SP_TENANT_ID`

## 2. Create a client secret

1. App → **Certificates & secrets** → **Client secrets** → **New client secret**.
2. Set an expiry (e.g. 6–12 months — note when it expires; you'll have to rotate).
3. Copy the secret **Value** immediately (it's only shown once) → `SP_CLIENT_SECRET`.
4. Record the expiry date in `.env` as `SP_SECRET_EXPIRES=YYYY-MM-DD` — the CLI
   and MCP server use it to warn you 30 days ahead instead of failing cold with
   a 401 (AADSTS7000222) when the secret lapses.

> Certificates are more secure than secrets for production. This skill uses a
> secret for simplicity; swapping to a certificate is a future enhancement.

## 3. Grant a Microsoft Graph application permission

App → **API permissions** → **Add a permission** → **Microsoft Graph** →
**Application permissions**. Pick **one** of:

| Permission | Scope | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| **`Sites.Selected`** | Only sites an admin explicitly grants (see step 4) | **Preferred.** Least privilege — the app can touch only the sites you allow. |
| `Sites.ReadWrite.All` | Read/write items in **all** site collections | Simpler, but broad. Use only if `Sites.Selected` isn't workable. |

Then click **Grant admin consent for &lt;tenant&gt;** and confirm the status shows
a green check. Without consent, every call returns `401`/`403`.

## 4. (Only for `Sites.Selected`) Grant the app access to a site

`Sites.Selected` grants nothing until an admin authorizes the app on each site.
Do this per site you want the skill to use. Two ways:

**Option A — PnP PowerShell (simplest for admins):**

```powershell
Install-Module PnP.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser   # once
Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing" -Interactive
Grant-PnPAzureADAppSitePermission `
  -AppId "<SP_CLIENT_ID>" `
  -DisplayName "claude-sharepoint-lists" `
  -Site "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing" `
  -Permissions Write     # Read | Write | Manage | FullControl
```

**Option B — Microsoft Graph REST** (e.g. via Graph Explorer signed in as an
admin with `Sites.FullControl.All` delegated). First get the site id, then grant:

```http
GET  https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/contoso.sharepoint.com:/sites/Marketing
POST https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{siteId}/permissions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "roles": ["write"],
  "grantedToIdentities": [
    { "application": { "id": "<SP_CLIENT_ID>", "displayName": "claude-sharepoint-lists" } }
  ]
}
```

Use `read` instead of `write` for read-only access to that site.

## 5. Give the skill the credentials

Copy `.env.example` to `.env` in the skill directory and fill in the three
values (and optionally `SP_SITE_URL`). The CLI loads `.env` automatically, and
`.env` is git-ignored so secrets aren't committed. Alternatively, export them as
environment variables.

## 6. Verify

```bash
node scripts/sp.mjs test --site "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing"
```

Expected: `{ "ok": true, "siteId": "...", "listCount": N, "lists": [...] }`.

Troubleshooting:
- **Token request failed (401)** — wrong tenant id, client id, or secret (or the
  secret expired). Re-copy from the portal.
- **403 accessDenied** — admin consent not granted (step 3), or with
  `Sites.Selected` the site wasn't granted to the app (step 4).
- **Works for `test` (no site) but 403 with `--site`** — classic `Sites.Selected`
  signal: token is fine, site grant is missing.

---

## Note: graduating to an MCP server

When you want this available across all sessions as native tools rather than a
CLI, build a small MCP server that imports `scripts/lib/graph.mjs`:

```js
import { SharePointListsClient } from "./graph.mjs";
const client = new SharePointListsClient({
  tenantId: process.env.SP_TENANT_ID,
  clientId: process.env.SP_CLIENT_ID,
  clientSecret: process.env.SP_CLIENT_SECRET,
});
// Expose client.listItems / getItem / createItem / updateItem / deleteItem
// as MCP tools. The Graph + auth logic is already done.
```

The client is dependency-free and stateless apart from an in-memory token cache,
so it drops straight into an MCP server (`@modelcontextprotocol/sdk`) or any
other host.