How to Copy a SharePoint List: With or Without Items

How to copy a SharePoint list

To copy a list's structure, select + New list in the Lists app (or + New, then List, on a site), choose From existing list, pick the source list and create it. To copy the items as well, use Save list as template with Include Content, which works only on sites that allow custom script. From existing list copies columns, views and formatting but not the items, and it can read a list from another site.

Which route you need depends on whether the items have to come with the list.

Method	What is copied	Items
From existing list	The entire list structure, including views, formatting and columns. You can pick a source list on another site	No. Microsoft states the actual content of the original list isn't copied
Save list as template	Fields, formulas and formatting. Needs custom script allowed on the site	Optional, with the Include Content checkbox, up to a default 50 MB
Export, then create from a file	Whatever the file holds: rows and column headings	Yes, as rows
PnP PowerShell	Rows written into a PnP provisioning template	Yes, filtered by a query if you want

Copy the structure: From existing list

1. In the Lists app in Microsoft 365, select + New list. On a SharePoint site, select + New, then List.
2. On the Create a list page, select From existing list.
3. Choose the site that contains the source list, select the list and select Next.
4. Enter a name and, if you want one, a description. To show the new list in the site navigation, select Show in site navigation.
5. Select Create.

Microsoft's own page lists what this does and does not do:

• Copied: the entire list structure, including views, formatting and columns.
• Not copied: the actual content of the original list. The new list starts empty.
• Automation: only the first two automated rules carry over, so add any others by hand.
• Limit: you cannot create a new list from an existing list that has more than 80 views.
• Permissions: set them on the new list yourself. SharePoint permission levels explains the choices.

This is the right method for a second tracker with the same shape, such as a new year's version of a register, or a copy to test column changes before you make them on the live list. How to create a SharePoint list covers the other creation options.

Copy the items too: Save list as template

A list template can carry the items with the structure.

1. Open the list. Select the gear icon, then List settings.
2. Under Permissions and Management, select Save list as template.
3. Enter a file name, a template name and a description. SharePoint adds the .stp extension for you.
4. To bring the current items along, select Include Content.
5. Select OK. A confirmation appears, with a link to the template gallery.

Microsoft states that a template saves fields, formulas and formatting, and optionally data as well. To use it, create a list from the template as you would from any other: list templates are stored in the template gallery and appear with other apps and templates.

What to know before you rely on it:

• The default limit when saving a template with data is 50 MB.
• Security settings are not saved. Microsoft's page advises keeping the template file somewhere secure, and you set permissions again on the new list.
• Ten or more Managed Metadata columns break Include Content. Microsoft documents an error in SharePoint Online when a list has 10 or more, because the list view threshold enforces a limit of 10 Managed Metadata columns. Save the template without content, or bring the count below 10.
• Group-connected team sites do not support list templates. Microsoft states this on its list templates page.

Why "Save list as template" is missing

The option disappears when custom script is blocked, and custom script is blocked by default on modern team sites, communication sites, sites users create themselves and sites made in the SharePoint admin center. Microsoft's table of affected features lists Save list as template as no longer available in List Settings, while lists built from templates created earlier still work.

A SharePoint administrator can allow custom script on one site:

Set-SPOSite <SiteURL> -DenyAddAndCustomizePages 0

The same setting is in the SharePoint admin center: Active sites, select the site, then Settings and Custom scripts. Microsoft states that changes to allow custom scripts are overridden to Not allowed within 24 hours, so save the template in that window.

Treat that step with care. Microsoft's guidance is that when custom script is allowed, everyone with Add and Customize Pages permission on the site can add any script they want, and site owners have that permission by default. Allow it, save the template, and let it lapse.

Copy items from a file

If you only need the rows, export the source list and build a new one from the file.

1. Export the source list. Export a SharePoint list to Excel or CSV covers the steps, including the 30,000-row limit on CSV.
2. On the Create a list page, choose From Excel or From CSV.

A spreadsheet holds rows and headings, not the original's views, conditional formatting or column settings, so rebuild those. Combine the two methods when you need both: copy the structure with From existing list, then bring the items in by import or with a flow.

Copy items with PowerShell

For large lists or repeated copies, the PnP PowerShell cmdlet Add-PnPDataRowsToSiteTemplate adds the rows of a list to a PnP provisioning template. Its documented parameters are -Path for the template file, -List for the source list, -Query to filter the items with CAML, -Fields to choose which fields to retrieve and -IncludeSecurity to include permission information. Without a query, all items are used.

To page through a big list rather than load it in one request, Get-PnPListItem takes -PageSize. Microsoft's PnP documentation shows Get-PnPListItem -List Tasks -PageSize 1000, which retrieves all items in pages of 1,000. SharePoint Online PowerShell covers connecting.

After you copy, check these

• Item count: compare the source and the copy.
• Views and formatting: open each view you rely on.
• Automation: with From existing list, rules beyond the first two did not come across.
• Permissions: set them on the copy. A template does not save security settings.
• Lookup and person columns: confirm they point at the right list and people on the destination site.
• Size: the copy is a second set of items on the destination site, and the SharePoint Online limits apply to it as to any list.

Frequently asked questions

How do I copy a SharePoint list?

Select + New, then List, choose From existing list, pick the source list and select Create. That copies the columns, views and formatting. To copy the items too, use Save list as template with Include Content.

Can I copy a SharePoint list with the data?

Yes, with Save list as template and the Include Content checkbox, up to the default 50 MB, on a site that allows custom script. From existing list copies the structure only.

How do I copy a SharePoint list to another site?

Start from the destination site or the Lists app, choose From existing list, and at step 3 pick the site that contains the source list. That copies the columns, views and formatting. To bring the items, export the source list and create from the file, or use PowerShell.

How do I duplicate a list in Microsoft Lists?

In the Lists app, select + New list, then From existing list, and pick the list. Name the copy and select Create.

Why can't I see Save list as template?

Custom script is blocked on the site, which is the default for modern sites. Microsoft's documentation lists Save list as template among the features that are unavailable when custom script is blocked. Group-connected team sites do not support list templates.

Does copying a list copy its permissions?

Set permissions on the new list. A list template does not save security settings.

Is there a size limit on a list template?

The default limit when saving a list template with data is 50 MB.

Why does Include Content fail?

In SharePoint Online it fails when the list or library has 10 or more Managed Metadata columns. Save without content, or reduce the number of those columns.

Related reading

• How to create a SharePoint list - blank, Excel, CSV, existing list or template.
• Export a SharePoint list to Excel or CSV - steps, the one-way link and the 30,000-row limit.
• SharePoint calculated columns - formulas that carry across in a template.
• SharePoint site templates - templates for whole sites.
• SharePoint admin center - where custom script is set per site.
• SharePoint Online limits - list and library numbers.