Permission & Access Issues

How to Automatically Set Unique Permissions on New SharePoint Folders

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to automatically break permission inheritance for every new folder created in SharePoint and restrict access exclusively to the user who created it.

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating new folders within a SharePoint document library and automatically restricting user access to the creator.
Observed behavior: SharePoint automatically inherits permissions from the parent site or library for all new folders, and there is no native out-of-the-box setting to change this behavior automatically.

Before you start

Ensure you have Site Owner or Full Control permissions on your SharePoint site, and verify that your Microsoft 365 account has an active license to create workflows in Power Automate.

Solution 1Recommended

Build a Custom Power Automate Flow

Since SharePoint does not natively support automatic unique permissions for new folders, you must use Power Automate to detect new folders, break inheritance, and assign specific access.

By configuring a Power Automate flow, you can intercept the folder creation event. The flow will remove the inherited parent permissions and selectively grant access only to the folder's creator or approved administrators.

Create a new automated flow

Log in to Microsoft Power Automate, click 'Create', and select 'Automated cloud flow'. Choose the SharePoint trigger 'When a file is created (properties only)' and point it to your specific site and library address.

Filter for folders only

Add a 'Condition' action to verify that the newly created item is a folder. You can do this by checking if the 'IsFolder' property is equal to true.

Stop sharing the folder

In the 'If yes' branch, add the SharePoint action 'Stop sharing an item or a file'. Pass the Site Address, Library Name, and the dynamic 'ID' from the trigger to break the folder's permission inheritance.

Grant access to the creator

Add the SharePoint action 'Grant access to an item or a folder'. Use the dynamic 'Created By Email' property to assign 'Can edit' or 'Can view' access exclusively to the person who created the folder.

Performance Impact: Test the workflow carefully. Generating excessive unique (item-level) permissions can severely impact SharePoint's performance, search crawl limits, and overall site administration.

Solution 2

Submit a Feature Request via the SharePoint Feedback Forum

If managing custom Power Automate flows is against your organization's policies, you can request this as a native feature directly from Microsoft.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I automatically set unique permissions in SharePoint without using Power Automate?

No, SharePoint does not provide a built-in feature to automatically break permission inheritance upon folder creation. You must use external workflows like Power Automate, PowerShell scripts, or third-party administration tools.

What are the risks of having too many unique permissions in SharePoint?

Relying heavily on unique item-level permissions can degrade site performance, increase the time it takes for search indexing, and cause you to hit SharePoint's list view threshold limits faster. It also makes auditing user access significantly more complicated for administrators.

How can I manually set unique permissions for an existing SharePoint folder?

Select the folder, click the three-dot menu, and choose 'Manage access'. Click on 'Advanced' to open the classic permissions page, then click 'Stop Inheriting Permissions' in the ribbon. You can then remove existing user groups and grant specific access manually.

Document & File Issues