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How to Skip Missing SharePoint Items in Power Automate Flows

Phi Hung Vo Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to prevent a Power Automate flow from failing when attempting to update a deleted or non-existent SharePoint list item.

How to Skip Missing SharePoint Items in Power Automate Flows

Product: Microsoft Power Automate
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Automating list updates across multiple SharePoint lists where some matching items may have been deleted in the target list.
Observed behavior: The flow stops completely and throws an 'Item not found' error upon encountering a deleted record, preventing remaining items from being processed.

Before you start

Ensure you have edit permissions for the Power Automate flow and the associated SharePoint lists before modifying the error-handling logic.

Solution 1Recommended

Use 'Configure Run After' to Bypass Errors

Adjust the flow's error-handling settings to ensure subsequent actions run even if the SharePoint update action fails due to a missing item.

By default, Power Automate stops executing if a step fails. By modifying the 'Configure run after' setting, you can instruct the flow to ignore the 'Item not found' error and proceed with the next actions in your loop.

Locate the update action

Open your flow in Edit mode and locate the 'Update item' SharePoint action that is causing the error.

Access action settings

Click the three dots (ellipsis) on the action immediately following the 'Update item' step and select 'Configure run after'.

Modify run conditions

Check the boxes for 'has failed' and 'is skipped', in addition to the default 'is successful' option.

Save the flow

Click 'Done' to apply the changes, then save and test your flow. It will now continue running when it encounters a missing SharePoint item.

Use 'Configure Run After' to Bypass Errors

Community Support: For more complex expressions and custom error-handling patterns, consider consulting the Microsoft Power Automate Community forums.

Solution 2

Check Item Existence with a Condition Control

Verify if the item exists in the SharePoint list using a 'Condition' step before attempting to update it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my flow stop when an item is not found?

By default, Power Automate actions are configured to run only if the preceding action is successful. If an action fails—such as when SharePoint throws an 'Item not found' error—the flow halts unless you explicitly modify the 'Configure run after' settings.

Can I log which SharePoint items were skipped during the flow?

Yes. You can add a 'Compose' action or an 'Add a row into a table' action in the 'If no' branch of a Condition (or configured to run after a failed update) to record the ID or details of the item that was missing.

How do I filter out deleted items before running a loop?

You can use the 'Get items' action with an OData filter query to fetch only active records from your target SharePoint list. This ensures your 'Apply to each' loop only processes items that currently exist, avoiding missing item errors entirely.

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