About limits in SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online has specific limits and recommendations for file and folder counts to ensure optimal performance. These recommendations are based on ensuring smooth user experience and performance while interacting with the content. Here are the key limits and recommendations:

1. List and Library View Threshold:

   • Limit: 5,000 items.
   • This is the limit for the number of items that a query or view can retrieve at once. While a list or library can contain up to 30 million items/documents, any view or query that exceeds 5,000 items will be blocked unless it's appropriately managed using indexed columns and filtered views.
   • A list can have up to 30 million items and a library can have up to 30 million files and folders. When a list, library, or folder contains more than 100,000 items, you can't break permissions inheritance on the list, library, or folder. You also can't re-inherit permissions on it. However, you can still break inheritance on the individual items within that list, library, or folder, up to the maximum number of unique permissions in the list or library (see the next section). To learn more about other restrictions for viewing large lists, see Manage large lists and libraries in Office 365.

2. Sync Limits:

   • For optimum performance, we recommend storing no more than 300,000 files in a single OneDrive or team site library.
   • Additionally, relevant to OneDrive Sync, the same performance issues can occur if you have 300,000 items or more across all libraries you're syncing, even if you aren't syncing all items in those libraries. The 300K file “soft” limit for OneDrive Sync also applies to shortcut folders. For more information, see Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint (microsoft.com).

3. Moving and copying across sites

   Copying/Moving multiple files in a single operation has three requirements:

   • No more than 100 GB total file size
   • No more than 30,000 files
   • Each file must be less than 15 GB

4. File Count in a Single Folder:

   • Recommended: 5,000 files.
   • While you can have up to 30 million items/documents in a list or library, it's a best practice to organize files into folders in such a way that no folder contains more than 5,000 items.

5. Total Number of Items/Documents in a List or Library:

   • Limit: 30 million items/documents.
   • While you can store up to 30 million items in a list or library, remember the view threshold of 5,000 items. Organize and manage content using folders, indexing, and filtering to ensure smooth navigation and performance.

6. Number of Versions:

   • Limit: 50,000 major versions.
   • If versioning is enabled, a single document can have up to 50,000 major versions.

7. File Size:

   • Limit: 250 GB per file.
   • This is the maximum size for a single file that can be uploaded to SharePoint Online.

8. Folder Count:

   • While there isn't a strict limit on the number of folders, the total number of list items (which includes files and folders) should not exceed 30 million.

For a document library in SharePoint, here's what counts towards the list view items:

1. Files: Every individual file in the document library, regardless of its location or the folder it's in, counts as a single list view item.

2. Folders: Every folder, whether it contains items or is empty, counts as a single list view item. This includes sub-folders at any level.

3. Metadata: Although metadata (the data about the data, like created date, modified date, etc.) is associated with each file or folder, it doesn't add to the count of list view items. However, it's worth noting that excessive metadata columns can affect performance, but they won't count towards the list view threshold.

For example:

• If you have a document library with 100 files and 20 folders, you have 120 list view items.
• If one of those folders has an additional 50 files and 10 sub-folders, your total list view items would be 180 (100 original files + 20 original folders + 50 new files + 10 sub-folders).

In the context of the list view threshold (commonly 5,000 items in SharePoint Online), this means that if the combined total of files and folders exceeds this number in a single view or query, you may run into performance issues or limitations unless you use filtered views, indexed columns, or other best practices to manage large libraries.

It's essential to note that while these are technical limits, best practices might dictate more conservative numbers, especially when considering usability. For example, even if you can have thousands of items in a folder, doing so might make it hard for users to find what they're looking for. Regularly monitoring and optimizing the organization of content can greatly enhance user experience and performance.

For more personalized assistance with SharePoint Online or any other IT-related concerns, contact IT Solver, your trusted support provider. Explore our IT support services and sign up today for tailored solutions that fit your business needs.