Creating SharePoint Lists Programmatically with Python - A Step-by-Step Guide

SharePoint is a powerful platform for collaboration and data management. Automating tasks like creating lists, renaming them, adding columns (individually or from a configuration file), and deleting columns can save time and effort. In this guide, you’ll learn how to create, update, manage, and delete SharePoint lists programmatically using Python with the Office365-REST-Python-Client library.

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Why Automate SharePoint List Management?

Manually managing SharePoint lists can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with multiple lists or frequent updates. By automating the process, you can:

✅ Save time with reusable scripts.
✅ Ensure consistency across different lists.
✅ Reduce human errors when adding or modifying lists.
✅ Easily integrate with other applications that interact with SharePoint.

With Python, you can efficiently create, configure, update, and delete SharePoint lists using an API-driven approach.

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Tools You Need

We’ll use the Office365-REST-Python-Client library to interact with SharePoint’s REST API.

Installation

Install the required package using:

pip install Office365-REST-Python-Client

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Workflow Overview

We’ll break the process into six steps:

1. Authenticate & Connect to SharePoint
2. Create a SharePoint List
3. Add Columns to a SharePoint List (One by One)
4. Add Multiple Columns from a Dictionary (JSON File)
5. Rename a SharePoint List
6. Delete a Column from an Existing SharePoint List

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Step 1: Authenticate & Connect to SharePoint

from office365.sharepoint.client_context import ClientContext
from office365.runtime.auth.client_credential import ClientCredential

# SharePoint site details
site_url = "https://your-tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/your-site"
client_id = "your-client-id"
client_secret = "your-client-secret"

# Authenticate and create SharePoint context
ctx = ClientContext(site_url).with_credentials(ClientCredential(client_id, client_secret))

✅ Example Usage:
Just run this script to authenticate your SharePoint session.

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Step 2: Create a SharePoint List

from office365.sharepoint.lists.creation_information import ListCreationInformation
from office365.sharepoint.lists.template_type import ListTemplateType

def create_sharepoint_list(ctx, list_title, list_description, list_template=ListTemplateType.GenericList):
    """
    Create a SharePoint list.
    """
    list_info = ListCreationInformation()
    list_info.Title = list_title
    list_info.Description = list_description
    list_info.BaseTemplate = list_template  

    new_list = ctx.web.lists.add(list_info)
    ctx.execute_query()

    print(f"List '{list_title}' created successfully!")
    return new_list

✅ Example Usage:

create_sharepoint_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "A list to track project tasks")

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Step 3: Add a Column to an Existing SharePoint List (One by One)

from office365.sharepoint.fields.field_type import FieldType

def add_column_to_existing_list(ctx, list_title, column_name, column_type, choices=None, default_value=None):
    """
    Add a column to an existing SharePoint list.
    """
    try:
        target_list = ctx.web.lists.get_by_title(list_title)
        ctx.load(target_list)
        ctx.execute_query()

        field_type = None
        if column_type == "text":
            field_type = FieldType.Text
        elif column_type == "number":
            field_type = FieldType.Number
        elif column_type == "choice":
            field_type = FieldType.Choice
        elif column_type == "datetime":
            field_type = FieldType.DateTime
        else:
            print(f"Unsupported column type: {column_type}")
            return

        field_xml = f'<Field Type="{field_type.value}" DisplayName="{column_name}" Name="{column_name}" />'
        field = target_list.fields.create_field_as_xml(field_xml)
        ctx.execute_query()

        if column_type == "choice":
            field.set_property("Choices", choices or [])
            field.set_property("DefaultValue", default_value or "")
            field.update()
            ctx.execute_query()

        print(f"Column '{column_name}' added successfully to list '{list_title}'!")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error adding column: {e}")

✅ Examples for Adding Columns One by One:

add_column_to_existing_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "TaskName", "text")
add_column_to_existing_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "TaskBudget", "number")
add_column_to_existing_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "TaskStatus", "choice", 
                            choices=["Not Started", "In Progress", "Completed"], 
                            default_value="Not Started")
add_column_to_existing_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "DueDate", "datetime")

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Step 4: Add Multiple Columns from a Dictionary (JSON File)

Example Configuration File (columns_config.json)

[
    {"name": "TaskName", "type": "text"},
    {"name": "TaskPriority", "type": "choice", "choices": ["Low", "Medium", "High"], "default_value": "Medium"},
    {"name": "TaskBudget", "type": "number"},
    {"name": "DueDate", "type": "datetime"}
]

Function to Add Columns from a JSON File

import json

def add_columns_from_config(ctx, list_title, config_file):
    """
    Add multiple columns to an existing SharePoint list using a JSON configuration file.
    """
    try:
        with open(config_file, "r") as file:
            columns_config = json.load(file)

        for column in columns_config:
            add_column_to_existing_list(ctx, list_title, column["name"], column["type"], 
                                        column.get("choices"), column.get("default_value"))

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error adding columns: {e}")

✅ Example Usage:

add_columns_from_config(ctx, "Project Tasks", "columns_config.json")

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Step 5: Rename a SharePoint List

def rename_sharepoint_list(ctx, current_title, new_title):
    """
    Rename a SharePoint list.
    """
    sharepoint_list = ctx.web.lists.get_by_title(current_title)
    sharepoint_list.set_property("Title", new_title)
    sharepoint_list.update()
    ctx.execute_query()
    print(f"List '{current_title}' has been renamed to '{new_title}'!")

✅ Example Usage:

rename_sharepoint_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "Updated Project Tasks")

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Step 6: Delete a Column from an Existing SharePoint List

def delete_column_from_list(ctx, list_title, column_name):
    """
    Delete a column from an existing SharePoint list.
    """
    target_list = ctx.web.lists.get_by_title(list_title)
    ctx.load(target_list)
    ctx.execute_query()

    field = target_list.fields.get_by_internal_name_or_title(column_name)
    field.delete_object()
    ctx.execute_query()

    print(f"Column '{column_name}' deleted successfully from list '{list_title}'!")

✅ Example Usage:

delete_column_from_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "TaskName")
delete_column_from_list(ctx, "Project Tasks", "TaskBudget")

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Conclusion

With these Python functions, you can:
✅ Add columns one by one
✅ Use a JSON configuration file to add multiple columns
✅ Easily manage SharePoint lists

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments! 🚀

Let me know if you have any questions! 🚀