Answer in brief
SharePoint file versions can consume substantial storage because every retained version contributes to the file’s overall storage footprint. Changing version limits can help control future growth, but existing version history may still require review and trimming. Administrators can report on and remove versions with PowerShell, or use SProbot to identify version-heavy files and complete targeted trimming through a guided interface.
- Review version consumption before deleting anything.
- Prioritise large files with a significant difference between latest-version size and all-version size.
- Decide how many versions the organisation needs to retain.
- Confirm applicable retention, restore and owner requirements.
- Trim only after the report and intended scope have been reviewed.
If version trimming is one part of a wider storage project, begin with the SharePoint cleanup checklist for IT admins to prioritise cleanup work across the tenant.
Not sure which versions are safe to remove? Use SharePoint version history cleanup: what to remove, what to keep before starting a bulk trim.
Requirements
Roles & Licensing
- SharePoint Administrator – Setting org-wide settings via PowerShell and via the SharePoint admin center.
- M365 Business or Enterprise License – Any Microsoft Business or Enterprise license that includes SharePoint P1 or P2.
Apps & Modules – Update setting via PowerShell
- PowerShell – There are several versions and ways to access PowerShell, in our guide we will use PowerShell ISE.
- PnP PowerShell module – This module is used to report on and delete the file versions. You will need the latest version installed and authorized for your user.
What is versioning?
Versioning in SharePoint is the automatic creation of a new copy of a file each time the file is edited. Each copy is considered a version and is stored within the original file. This enables users to track, manage and restore previous versions of files stored within OneDrive and SharePoint.
The default number of versions stored in a SharePoint Online document library is 500. Version bloat is usually worst on large files (especially media-heavy Office docs).
Why do versions consume so much storage?
Versioning doesn't just store incremental changes - it generates a complete duplicate with every save.
This results in consistent storage growth regardless of whether the actual content modifications are minor or substantial between versions.
Consider a PPTX file that weighs in at 120MB for version 1. When a few high-resolution videos are embedded in version 2, the file balloons to 2.2GB. From that point forward, the marketing team only makes small adjustments and annotation updates - no new videos.
You might expect the storage impact to increase modestly from 2.2GB to perhaps 2.5GB over subsequent edits, but since each version produces a complete replica, every single save operation consumes another 2.2GB of space. With a team of 6 marketers making revisions twice weekly, this single file can exceed 1TB of storage consumption within 12 months!
How to prevent exorbitant version creation
SharePoint enables setup of automated version limits which uses an algorithmic approach to determine how many versions are reasonable for the specific library.
🔗Read more in our article How to save SharePoint storage with automated versioning.
What's the catch?
When configuring version history limits at a tenant level, only new SharePoint libraries will inherit the settings by default. Existing libraries are not affected by the tenant-level changes.
This means if you want to free up storage space on existing SharePoint sites, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and eliminate unnecessary versions. To do this manually would be far too labor intensive and prone to error. Below are ways to perform this cleanup in bulk.
How to trim versions in bulk
What should you check before trimming versions?
Version trimming can permanently remove historical copies that users may rely on for recovery, audit or business context. Before using either method below, confirm the intended retention level, review the affected files and make sure the proposed action is consistent with your organisation’s retention and approval requirements. Start with a report, validate the scope and test the process on a limited set of suitable files.
Method 1 – PnP PowerShell
To be able to report on and trim versions using PnP PowerShell, you will need to ensure the following:
- Access – The account performing the reporting and trimming will need to have a minimum of Member level access to the SharePoint site.
- Enable the Adding and Customize Pages – In the site where the library is hosted, the DenyAddAndCustomizePages property needs to be set to $false.
Step 1- Report on a file and its versions
To report on a file and its versions use the following command:
Get-PnPFileVersion -URL <File URL example: /shared documents/document.docx>
For a full report for your library, download the PowerShell script: Report on File Versions.ps1
Step 2 - Trim file versions
To trim specific file file versions use the following command:
Remove-PnPFileVersion -URL <File URL example: /shared documents/document.docx> -Id <Version ID>
*Note: This will remove a single version at a time and only move it to the recycle bin. If you want to skip the confirmation prompt and recycle bin, add the following at the end of the line:
-Recycle:$false -Force
To bulk trim file versions in a library without sending them to the recycle bin, download the PowerShell script: Bulk trim File Versions.ps1. The list of versions to be trimmed will be the reviewed output file from the Report on File Versions.ps1 script.
Advantages
- Bulk actions – You are able to report on and trim versions in bulk.
Disadvantages
- Manual Reporting – Each list you want to report on, you will need to have the details of.
- Reports – The CSV reports generated are not user friendly and may cause issues when confirming the files and versions that need to be trimmed.
- Time Intensive – Using the bulk PowerShell scripts is quicker than manually trimming versions but is still time intensive.
- Technical – Requires someone with technical skills to perform the reporting and version trimming.
PowerShell remains a viable option when an administrator has the access, technical knowledge and review process needed to control the scope. For tenants already under capacity pressure, SharePoint storage limit exceeded? 6 proven ways to reclaim space provides a wider set of recovery actions so version trimming can be prioritised alongside other storage-saving measures.
Method 2 – SProbot
Using the SProbot Sites with large files review enables you to identify sites on your tenant in which the crawl has found files >50MB, and for which versioning information has been automatically retrieved. You can then use the detailed large file report in each site to action items and instantly free up space.
Step 1 - View the total tenant-wide version consumption by large files
In the storage section of the Health Check, you can how much space is consumed by large files across all sites in the tenant, and what proportion of this space is latest vs all other versions.
Step 2 - Open the sites with large files review
To see which sites host the largest version spread of files, click through to it from Health Check, or select it from the list of available Reviews.
The default sort order highlights sites which contain the most versioning data, the All versions (GB) column.
To drill into detailed information for a specific site, open its preview and select to Manage this workspace.
Step 3 - View the detailed file report
Open the site's content tab to see the large, inactive and trivial file summaries. You can then use the detailed large file report to delete or trim versions.
Viewing the report shows that:
- There are 1362 files with a latest version over 50 MB
- The total latest version size of these 1362 files is 177.19 GB
- The total size of all versions of these files is 768.72 GB
- There is an individual file with 39 versions which has a latest version size of 353MB, but an all versions size of over 57GB!
Step 4 - Trim versions
- Select the file(s) you want to trim versions for.
- Select Cleanup and the number of versions to keep.
- Confirm the number of versions you want to keep and that all others will be permanently deleted by typing in DELETE and then pressing the Delete button.
Your trimming action will be added to the queue and processed, and you can always go back to Reports > Activity history and view an audit trail of all previous trims.
* Note: Trimmed versions are not sent to the recycle bin, they are permanently deleted to make additional storage immediately available.
*Also note: You can alternately choose to delete the file entirely.
Advantages of version trimming with SProbot
- Report filters – The report filters target only the largest files to maximise the impact.
- Bulk actions – You are able to report on and trim versions in bulk, even targeting all files across all libraries in a site, its subsites and private/shared channel sites.
- User Interface – The user interface is easy to use and gives unique insights into which files are using the most storage.
- Quick Actions – Quickly action unneeded versions.
- Downloadable – Download a detailed report which can be used to identify files before actioning them.
Conclusion
Version trimming can release SharePoint capacity when retained histories have grown well beyond practical recovery needs, particularly on large and frequently edited files. The safest process is to report first, review the likely impact, confirm retention requirements and then trim only the versions that are no longer required. PowerShell offers technical control, while SProbot provides a guided way to identify and review version-heavy files across the tenant.
FAQ
Does changing SharePoint version limits delete existing versions?
Changing the default for new libraries does not by itself clean up accumulated version history in existing libraries. Existing version histories should be reported on and reviewed separately when the objective is to reclaim storage.
Can SharePoint file versions be deleted in bulk?
Yes, you can report on and remove versions in bulk using PowerShell. Before you do so, you should review any potential impacts onteams using versions actively for collaboration, as well as how/whether your organisation's retention policy deals with versioning.
Are trimmed versions sent to the SharePoint recycle bin?
The outcome depends on the method used. Some version-cleanup approaches permanently remove version history (such as the bulk deletion script in this article, and SProbot's version trimming action). Always verify the behaviour of the specific cleanup method you plan to use before trimming versions, and review any retention or recovery requirements first.
How many SharePoint file versions should you keep?
There is no single appropriate number for every library or team. The decision should reflect recovery needs, how frequently files change, business requirements and applicable retention controls. Review version usage and file importance before selecting a limit, rather than applying an arbitrary low value across every library.
What files should be prioritised for version trimming?
Start with large, frequently edited files where the total size of all versions is substantially greater than the latest version. Use reporting to prioritise high-impact opportunities and avoid spending time on files whose older versions consume little storage.
