Issue: Creating a SharePoint List Item Inside a Folder (Custom List) via Microsoft Graph

Question

Issue: Creating a SharePoint List Item Inside a Folder (Custom List) via Microsoft Graph

Abhishek-Kr Singh 0

When working with a custom SharePoint list that uses folders (not a document library), creating a new item directly inside a folder using Microsoft Graph does not work as expected.

What I Tried:

Developers commonly attempt:

Setting parentReference.id to the folder’s list item ID
Setting parentReference.path
Using ETags
Creating the item via /lists/{list-id}/items

All of these approaches create the item at the root of the list, not inside the target folder.

I have used below code:

public async Task CreateListItemInFolderAsync(string folderName)

{

 // Step 1: Get the folder item

 var folderItems = await _graph.Sites[_siteId].Lists[_listInfo.ListId].Items

     .GetAsync(requestConfiguration =>

     {

         requestConfiguration.QueryParameters.Expand = new[] { "fields" };

         requestConfiguration.QueryParameters.Filter = $"fields/Title eq '{folderName}'";

     });

 var folderItem = folderItems.Value.FirstOrDefault();

 if (folderItem == null)

 {

     throw new Exception($"Folder '{folderName}' not found");

 }



 // Step 2: Create the list item at the root level

 var newItem = new ListItem

 {

     Fields = new FieldValueSet

     {

         AdditionalData = new Dictionary<string, object>

         {

             { "Title", "New Record 6" },

             // Add other custom fields here

             // { "YourColumnName", "Your Value" }

             }

         },

 };

 var createdItem = await _graph.Sites[_siteId].Lists[_listInfo.ListId].Items

     .PostAsync(newItem);

 Console.WriteLine($"Item created with ID: {createdItem.Id}");

 // Step 3: PATCH the item to set its parentReference to the folder

 var itemToUpdate = new ListItem

 {

     

     ParentReference = new ItemReference

     {

         Name = folderItem.Id,

     }

 };

 var updatedItem = await _graph.Sites[_siteId].Lists[_listInfo.ListId].Items[createdItem.Id]

     .PatchAsync(itemToUpdate);

 Console.WriteLine($"Item moved to folder '{folderName}' successfully");

 Console.WriteLine($"Updated item ID: {updatedItem.Id}");

}

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1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Creating a list item inside a folder of a custom (non-document-library) SharePoint list is not supported via the Microsoft Graph listItem APIs in the same way that moving driveItems between folders is supported in document libraries.

The behavior observed is expected:

POST /sites/{site-id}/lists/{list-id}/items always creates the item at the root of the list.
Updating parentReference on a listItem does not move it into a folder.
The parentReference move pattern shown in Microsoft Graph applies to driveItem resources (files/folders in drives), not to list items in custom lists.

The move semantics demonstrated in Graph are for driveItem:

PATCH https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/drive/items/{item-id}
Content-type: application/json

{
  "parentReference": {
    "id": "{new-parent-folder-id}"
  },
  "name": "new-item-name.txt"
}

and in JavaScript:

const driveItem = {
  parentReference: {
    id: '{new-parent-folder-id}'
  },
  name: 'new-item-name.txt'
};

await client.api('/me/drive/items/{item-id}').update(driveItem);

These examples apply to OneDrive/SharePoint document libraries (drives), not to custom list items.

For custom lists that use folders, Microsoft Graph documentation in the provided context only covers:

Creating list items at the list root:

  POST https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/lists/{list-id}/items
  Content-Type: application/json
  
  {
    "fields": {
      "Title": "Widget",
      "Color": "Purple",
      "Weight": 32
    }
  }

Creating folders and items as driveItem resources under a drive (document library) using:

  POST /drives/{drive-id}/items/{parent-item-id}/children
  POST /groups/{group-id}/drive/items/{parent-item-id}/children
  POST /me/drive/items/{parent-item-id}/children
  POST /sites/{site-id}/drive/items/{parent-item-id}/children
  POST /users/{user-id}/drive/items/{parent-item-id}/children

There is no supported pattern in the provided documentation for targeting a folder within a custom list as the parent of a new listItem via Graph, nor for moving an existing listItem into such a folder via parentReference.

References: