Triggering Out of Box User Invitations for a SharePoint Site Using SPFx and REST API.docx

Discover how to trigger out-of-the-box user invitations in SharePoint using SPFx (SharePoint Framework) and the REST API — a practical solution for automating external user access and simplifying collaboration in Microsoft 365 environments. This detailed guide walks you through each step of setting up, customizing, and executing SharePoint invitations without relying on manual sharing or admin-heavy processes.

In this pin, you’ll explore how SharePoint developers can use SPFx extensions and web parts to build a seamless invitation system that automatically sends user invites to guests or external collaborators. The visuals demonstrate the workflow structure, showing how REST API calls interact with SharePoint’s native invitation endpoints to grant secure site access. You’ll also see code snippets, configuration examples, and permission setup guides that make implementation straightforward and scalable.

The guide explains how this solution integrates directly with Microsoft 365, ensuring compliance and maintaining SharePoint’s built-in access control mechanisms. It’s an excellent resource for developers looking to streamline external user onboarding, especially for environments where frequent guest access is required — such as partner portals, client project sites, or vendor collaboration spaces.

You’ll also learn how to manage invitation responses, verify user acceptance, and monitor invitation statuses programmatically. By using SPFx and REST API together, you can build a reliable automation system that saves time, reduces manual errors, and enhances your SharePoint site’s overall security and user experience.

The pin also highlights best practices for implementing this approach, including handling permissions, error responses, and security tokens when calling SharePoint’s invitation endpoints. You’ll see how to manage access roles dynamically, ensuring that each invited user receives appropriate permissions without compromising site governance.

This tutorial is ideal for SharePoint developers, Microsoft 365 consultants, and IT admins who want to extend SharePoint’s native capabilities using modern development techniques. It demonstrates how combining SPFx with REST API can deliver smarter automation and better control over user management workflows.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly how to create a fully functional, automated invitation process that keeps your SharePoint environment secure, efficient, and user-friendly.

Transform how you manage guest access — start using SPFx and REST API to trigger out-of-the-box SharePoint invitations effortlessly and enhance collaboration across your digital workplace.

1. Triggering Out of Box User Invitations
for a SharePoint Site Using SPFx and
REST API
SharePoint Services
Managing permissions and user access in SharePoint is a
critical aspect of site administration, especially when
onboarding new users. SharePoint's REST API offers so
many functionalities, including the ability to share files and
send invitations. Here, in this blog, we will focus on how to
use this API to add users to a SharePoint site and send
them customized body invitations.
By using SharePoint Framework (SPFx) and the SharePoint
REST API, you can automate this process, ensuring users
are added to groups and send invitations link to the site. In
this blog, we’ll walkthrough how to build a function in SPFx

2. that adds users to a site group by their email, Azure Active
Directory (AAD) ID, and SharePoint group ID, and sends a
personalized email invitation automatically.
Step-by-Step Solution to Add Users and Send
Invitations
We’ll break down the steps in implementing this
functionality below,
1. Writing the Function to Send Email
Invitations
Below is the code for the function that adds users to a
SharePoint site's group and sends them an email invitation.
It accepts parameters to specify the user’s email, Azure AD
ID (aadId), and SharePoint group ID. The email content is
predefined within the function.
public addUserAndSendInvitation = async (
context: WebPartContext,
userEmail: string, // Email of the user
groupId: string, // SharePoint group ID to which the
user will be added
aadId: string // Azure Active Directory (AAD) ID for the
user
) => {
// Get the current SharePoint site URL

3. const siteUrl: string =
context.pageContext.web.absoluteUrl;
// API request URL to add the user and send the invitation
const requestUrl = `${siteUrl}/_api/SP.Web.ShareObject`;
// Construct People Picker input for the REST API request,
including AAD ID
const peoplePickerInput = [
{
Key: userEmail,
IsResolved: true,
EntityData: { ObjectId: aadId }, // Include Azure AAD ID here
PeopleType: "Person",
PeopleSubtype: "OrganizationUser",
},
];
// Predefined email body content
const emailBody = `
Welcome to the SharePoint site!

4. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our
team.
`;
// Email properties including user role and invitation
const emailProperties = {
emailBody: emailBody,
includeAnonymousLinkInEmail: false, // Disable
anonymous links in the invitation
peoplePickerInput: JSON.stringify(peoplePickerInput), //
Serialize the people picker input
roleValue: `group:${groupId}`, // Add the user to the
specified group ID
sendEmail: true, // Send the email invitation
url: siteUrl, // SharePoint site URL
useSimplifiedRoles: true, // Simplify the role assignment
process
};
// HTTP request options for SPFx's spHttpClient
const spHttpClientOptions: any = {
headers: {
Accept: "application/json;odata=nometadata",

5. "Content-Type": "application/json;odata=nometadata",
"odata-version": "",
},
body: JSON.stringify(emailProperties),
};
try {
// Sending the POST request to SharePoint API
const response: Response = await
context.spHttpClient.post(
requestUrl,
SPHttpClient.configurations.v1,
spHttpClientOptions
);
if (response.ok) {
console.log("Email invitation sent successfully.");
} else {
const errorText = await response.text();
console.error("Error sending email invitation:",
errorText);
}

6. } catch (error) {
console.error("Error sending email invitation:", error);
}
};

2. Key Function Parameters Explained
This function accepts the following key parameters:
context: WebPartContext: Provides the context of the
current SharePoint site or page. It’s used to obtain the
site URL and to make HTTP requests using
spHttpClient.
userEmail: string: The email address of the user you
want to invite.
groupId: string: The SharePoint group ID to which the
user will be added.
aadId: string: The unique Azure Active Directory (AAD)
ID of the user, which ensures that the correct user is

7. resolved in SharePoint, especially when email
addresses or display names may not be unique.
3. How the Function Works
3.1 Constructing the API Request
The core part of this function is sending a POST request to
SharePoint’s REST API endpoint /SP.Web.ShareObject,
which handles sharing and adding users.
The peoplePickerInput is where the user’s email and Azure
AD ID are included, which helps SharePoint resolve the
correct user.
const peoplePickerInput = [
{
Key: userEmail,
IsResolved: true,
EntityData: { ObjectId: aadId }, // Azure AD ID is included
here
PeopleType: "Person",
PeopleSubtype: "OrganizationUser",
},
];

3.2 Customizing the Invitation

8. The emailProperties object allows you to configure the
content and behavior of the invitation. For instance,
the roleValue field specifies the SharePoint group to which
the user will be added by using groupId, and
the emailBody is predefined to send a welcoming message
to new users.
const emailProperties = {
emailBody: emailBody,
includeAnonymousLinkInEmail: false,
peoplePickerInput: JSON.stringify(peoplePickerInput),
roleValue: `group:${groupId}`, // Specify the group by ID
sendEmail: true,
url: siteUrl,
useSimplifiedRoles: true,
};

3.3 Sending the API Request
Once everything is configured, the function
uses spHttpClient.post() to send the request to SharePoint.
It handles both adding the user to the group and sending
the email invitation.

9. const response: Response = await
context.spHttpClient.post(
requestUrl,
SPHttpClient.configurations.v1,
spHttpClientOptions
);

The response is checked for success, and any errors
encountered during the process are logged.
4. Additional Improvements and Best Practices
Here are a few suggestions to further enhance the solution:
Dynamic Group Assignment: Modify
the groupId parameter to dynamically select different
SharePoint groups based on the user's role or other
conditions.
Bulk Invitations: Extend the functionality to handle
bulk user invitations by passing an array of emails and
looping through them.

10. Automation with Power Automate : Further
automate this API using Power Automate, enabling
seamless integration with SharePoint workflows.
Conclusion
The process of adding users to SharePoint groups and
sending personalized invitations using SPFx and the
SharePoint RESTAPI can significantly streamline your
SharePoint site management tasks. It saves time, improves
the user onboarding experience, and ensures consistency.
Moreover, by integrating this solution with Power Automate,
you can trigger these invitations automatically based on
specific events or workflows, making the process even more
efficient.
Stay tuned for future blogs where we'll explore more ways
to automate and enhance SharePoint site management!