contenttypes

Content Types

Manage content types on a SharePoint site — create, update, delete, add and remove fields, reorder fields, and associate with lists.

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Description	Reference
Site Owner or Site Collection Administrator role	Required to create, update, and delete content types at the site level.	SharePoint admin roles
Site Columns (fields) must exist on the site	Needed when adding fields to a content type.	Field examples

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How content types work

graph TD
    subgraph Site
        CT["Content Type"]
        CT --> FL["Field Links (ordered)"]
        FL --> F1["Field: Title"]
        FL --> F2["Field: Editor"]
        FL --> F3["Field: CustomColumn"]
    end

    subgraph List
        L["Document Library"]
        L -->|has| CTs["Content Types"]
        CTs --> D["Default CT"]
        CTs --> O["Other CTs"]
    end

    CT -.->|add to| L

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A content type lives at the site level and defines a reusable set of columns (fields) with their display order (field links). It can then be associated with one or more lists.

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Examples

Workflow

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
End-to-end: create → add field → add to list → verify	basic_usage.py	Site Owner	Full workflow

Site-level content types

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
List content types (site or list scope)	list_all.py	Read access	Content type collection
Get a content type by name or id	get.py	Read access	Get content type
Create a content type	create.py	Site Owner	Create
Create a content type from a parent	create_from_parent.py	Site Owner	Create with parent
Update a content type (description, group)	update.py	Site Owner	Update
Add a site column to a content type	add_field.py	Site Owner	Add field link
Remove a field from a content type	remove_field.py	Site Owner	Remove field link
Reorder fields in a content type	reorder_fields.py	Site Owner	Reorder fields
Delete a content type	delete.py	Site Owner	Delete

List association

Operation	File	Required role	API reference
Create a content type and add it to a list	add_to_list.py	Site Owner on target list	Add to list
Add an existing site content type to a list	add_available_to_list.py	Site Owner on target list	Add available CT
Set the default content type for a list	set_default.py	Site Owner on target list	Set default

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Quick start

from office365.sharepoint.client_context import ClientContext
from office365.sharepoint.contenttypes.creation_information import ContentTypeCreationInformation

ctx = ClientContext("https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team").with_client_secret(
    "contoso.onmicrosoft.com", "client_id", "client_secret"
)

# List all content types
cts = ctx.web.content_types.get().execute_query()
for ct in cts:
    print(f"  {ct.name}  (ID: {ct.id})")

# Create a new content type
info = ContentTypeCreationInformation(Name="Project Document", Description="For Contoso projects")
ct = ctx.web.content_types.add(info).execute_query()
print(f"Created: {ct.name}")

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API reference

• Content type REST API