Install and connect to SharePoint Online Management Shell by using Windows PowerShell

SharePoint Online is the cloud-based version of SharePoint that's included as part of Microsoft 365. You can use SharePoint Online to create sites for user collaboration and file storage. However, SharePoint Online is also used as storage for other Microsoft 365 services. For example, Microsoft Teams uses SharePoint Online as a location for file storage.

You can manage many SharePoint Online features by using the web-based SharePoint admin center. However, it doesn't provide full management access to SharePoint Online. For some advanced operations, you need to use SharePoint Online Management Shell. The SharePoint Online Management Shell is a Windows PowerShell module that you can install.

Installing SharePoint Online Management Shell

You install the SharePoint Online Management Shell from the PowerShell Gallery by running the following command:

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

The SharePoint Online Management Shell doesn't update automatically. To update the module, run the following command:

Update-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

Connecting to SharePoint Online

All of the cmdlet nouns in the SharePoint Online Management Shell begin with SPO. You can connect to SharePoint Online by using the Connect-SPOService cmdlet as in the following example:

Connect-SPOService -Url https://adatum-admin.sharepoint.com

When you connect to SharePoint Online, you need to provide the URL for your SharePoint Online instance. This URL is based on your Microsoft 365 tenant name. For example, if your Microsoft 365 tenant name is adatum.onmicrosoft.com, then the URL for administering SharePoint Online is adatum-admin.sharepoint.com. You can also find this URL when you sign in to SharePoint admin center.