SharePoint Storage Explorer FAQs

4 min read

Common questions about SharePoint Storage Explorer. For deeper detail follow the cross-links.

Is it really free?

Yes. SharePoint Storage Explorer is a free Windows tool. No subscription, no per-seat licence, no usage limits, no email-wall during use, no sales-team follow-up sequence after download. Request a download from the product page and the installer arrives by email.

What permissions does it need in my tenant?

One read-only Entra ID application is registered during first-time configuration. The application has the SharePoint FullControl application permission but is used read-only by the tool - no write, modify, or delete calls are ever made against SharePoint.

You need one of: Global Administrator, Cloud Applications Administrator, or Application Administrator to register the app. This is a one-time grant; ongoing operation does not require any of those roles.

Does anything get written to my tenant?

No. SharePoint Storage Explorer reads metadata SharePoint already exposes. It does not modify any document library, site, file, or configuration in your tenant. The only persistent artefact is the registered app, which sits in your Entra ID app catalogue as a read-only client.

How long does a scan take?

Depends on tenant size, scan mode, and the file-level versions toggle. Rough orders of magnitude:

Light scan of the largest 100 sites - minutes to hours.
Light scan of the whole tenant - hours.
Deep scan of one site - minutes to hours per site, depending on file count.
Deep scan of the whole tenant - hours to days, depending on tenant size.
Deep scan with file-level versions of the whole tenant - days to weeks for large tenants.

See light vs deep scan for the trade-offs.

Do scans block users from accessing SharePoint?

No. The tool reads metadata through standard SharePoint APIs. Users continue to use SharePoint normally during scans. Microsoft's audit feed and standard rate limits apply - large deep scans may briefly increase API load on your tenant but do not affect end-user experience.

How much RAM do I need?

For small to medium tenants (up to a few TB), a standard workstation with 16 GB of RAM is adequate. For large tenants (10 TB+), Smikar recommends a fresh Windows VM with at least 32 GB of RAM. Deep scans with file-level versions are the most memory-intensive operation.

Where does it store scan results?

On the machine you installed it on. Results live in the SharePoint Storage Explorer application data folder (created automatically during install). Nothing is uploaded to Smikar; nothing is stored outside your machine.

Can multiple admins use the same install?

Yes - install once on a shared admin VM and have each admin connect to it. The scan results are visible to anyone with sign-in access to the machine. For analyst-led data review, this is the recommended pattern.

How do I remove SharePoint Storage Explorer?

Two steps:

Uninstall the application from Windows Settings → Apps, or via Control Panel → Programs.
Remove the registered Entra ID app. Open the Entra ID admin centre, go to App registrations, find the SharePoint Storage Explorer application, and delete it. This is a manual cleanup step - uninstalling the app on Windows does not automatically remove the Entra ID registration.

Why does my version storage estimate differ from the SharePoint admin centre?

When you scan without file-level versions enabled, version storage is calculated as Storage Used - File Sizes at the site level. This is an estimate, not file-exact. The SharePoint admin centre uses its own calculation that may differ slightly. For file-exact version totals, re-scan with file-level versions enabled (see light vs deep scan).