Microsoft SharePoint
Glean connects to Microsoft SharePoint for indexed and real-time search, scoped to each user's permissions. All content access operates under the shared Microsoft 365 parent connector app registration. Client secrets are not supported for SharePoint or OneDrive. Microsoft retired Azure ACS on April 2, 2026, so certificate authentication is the only supported method.
SharePoint is a child connector of the Microsoft 365 parent connector, which provides shared authentication and identity crawling. Set up Microsoft 365 first; SharePoint then inherits its credentials (client ID, tenant ID, and certificate) and needs only SharePoint-specific configuration.
Connection options
The indexed connector is the foundation; real-time search and read and write tools are optional add-ons.
Which option do you need?
You can use the options independently or together, and many organizations enable all three.
| What you get | Indexed connector | Real-time search | Read and write tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Org-wide: everything crawled is searchable by anyone with permission | Per-user: only content the querying user can access | — |
| Freshness | Near real-time (webhook-driven updates) | Always live (fetched at query time) | — |
| AI ranking (activity signals) | ✓ Full ranking | ✗ Not available | — |
| Fetch unindexed content by URL (for example, sharing links) | ✗ (only documents already in the index) | ✓ (fetched live, even if never indexed) | — |
| Agents read and summarize documents | ✓ | ✓ | Through read tools |
| Agents can move, update, or share files | — | — | ✓ |
| Content stored in Glean's index | Yes (crawled and indexed) | No (nothing stored) | No |
| Separate app registration | No (inherits Microsoft 365) | No (inherits Microsoft 365) | Only for custom OAuth |
| Separate tool configuration | No | No | Yes (Admin console → Platform → Tools) |
| Best for | Broad, ranked, everyday search | Volatile or sensitive content kept current and unindexed | Agentic file management |
Set up SharePoint
- Set up the indexing connector: The foundation — crawls SharePoint sites, pages, lists, and document libraries into Glean's index for permission-aware, ranked, org-wide search. Covers required permissions, what gets indexed, and setup steps.
- Real-time search: An optional layer that fetches content live from SharePoint at query time — for content that must always be current, or that you'd rather not store in Glean's index.
- Read and write tools: Configured separately — lets Glean agents act on SharePoint document libraries.
Permissions and security
Glean reads all user access permissions from SharePoint and enforces them at query time, so users only see results they have access to. For details, see permission enforcement and the activity signals used for ranking. All authentication uses certificate-based application permissions with admin consent; no delegated user privileges are used for indexing.