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M365 PowerShell

Email Private Archived Teams Report Using Graph PowerShell

In large Microsoft Teams environments, administrators often archive inactive private teams to maintain workspace hygiene and reduce clutter. However, keeping track of which private teams are archived can quickly become a challenge. This Graph PowerShell script automates the process — fetching all private archived Teams, generating a detailed report, and emailing it directly to the administrator.

i) The Script


Import-Module Microsoft.Graph -ErrorAction Stop
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Group.Read.All","Team.ReadBasic.All","Mail.Send"

$FromUser  = "admin@contoso.com"
$ToList    = "it-ops@contoso.com;teams-admin@contoso.com"
$Subject   = "Private Archived Teams Report"
$CsvOutDir = "$env:TEMP"

$teamsGroups = Get-MgGroup -All -Property Id,DisplayName,Visibility,CreatedDateTime,ResourceProvisioningOptions `
  -Filter "resourceProvisioningOptions/Any(x:x eq 'Team')"

$privateArchived = @()

foreach ($g in $teamsGroups) {
    if ($g.Visibility -ne "Private") { continue }

    $team = Get-MgTeam -TeamId $g.Id -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -ne $team -and $team.IsArchived -eq $true) {
        $ownerObjs = Get-MgGroupOwner -GroupId $g.Id -All -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        $ownerNames = @()
        $ownerMails = @()
        foreach ($o in ($ownerObjs | Where-Object { $_ })) {
            $name = $o.AdditionalProperties['displayName']
            $mail = $o.AdditionalProperties['mail']
            if ($name) { $ownerNames += $name }
            if ($mail) { $ownerMails += $mail }
        }

        $privateArchived += [PSCustomObject]@{
            TeamId       = $g.Id
            DisplayName  = $g.DisplayName
            Visibility   = $g.Visibility
            IsArchived   = $team.IsArchived
            CreatedDate  = $g.CreatedDateTime
            Owners       = ($ownerNames -join "; ")
            OwnerEmails  = ($ownerMails -join "; ")
        }
    }
}

if (-not (Test-Path -Path $CsvOutDir)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $CsvOutDir | Out-Null }
$ts      = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd_HHmmss"
$csvPath = Join-Path $CsvOutDir ("Private_Archived_Teams_{0}.csv" -f $ts)
$privateArchived | Sort-Object DisplayName | Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8 -Path $csvPath

$total = $privateArchived.Count
$summaryHtml = @"
<html>
  <body style='font-family:Segoe UI,Arial,sans-serif'>
    <h3>Private Archived Teams Report</h3>
    <p>Total private archived teams: <b>$total</b></p>
    <p>Attached CSV includes: TeamId, DisplayName, Visibility, IsArchived, CreatedDate, Owners, OwnerEmails.</p>
  </body>
</html>
"@

$fileBytes     = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($csvPath)
$base64Content = [System.Convert]::ToBase64String($fileBytes)
$attachment    = @{
  "@odata.type" = "#microsoft.graph.fileAttachment"
  name          = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileName($csvPath)
  contentBytes  = $base64Content
  contentType   = "text/csv"
}

$recipients = @()
$ToList.Split(@(';', ','), [System.StringSplitOptions]::RemoveEmptyEntries) | ForEach-Object {
  $addr = $_.Trim()
  if ($addr) { $recipients += @{ emailAddress = @{ address = $addr } } }
}

$mail = @{
  message = @{
    subject = "$Subject"
    body    = @{ contentType = "HTML"; content = $summaryHtml }
    toRecipients = $recipients
    attachments  = @($attachment)
  }
  saveToSentItems = $true
}

Send-MgUserMail -UserId $FromUser -BodyParameter $mail

Write-Host "Done. CSV saved at: $csvPath" -ForegroundColor Green

ii) How the Script Works

Connection & Permissions:

The script connects to Microsoft Graph using the required scopes — Group.Read.All, Team.ReadBasic.All, and Mail.Send — to access Teams data and send mail.

Fetches Teams:

It retrieves all Microsoft 365 groups with Teams provisioned using the resourceProvisioningOptions filter.

Filters Private & Archived Teams:

The script checks for Teams with Visibility set to Private and IsArchived equal to True.

Gathers Owner Information:

For each archived team, it fetches owner details, including their display names and email addresses.

Generates and Emails Report:

A CSV file is created in the temp directory containing the details. The script then composes a brief HTML email with the CSV attached and sends it to the administrators listed in $ToList.

iii) Further Enhancements

Include team member counts to assess engagement before archiving.
Add last activity date from Teams usage reports for richer insights.
Integrate with SharePoint or Power BI for centralized visualization.
Schedule automated runs via Azure Automation for periodic reports.
Extend script to auto-notify team owners before archival actions.

iv) Possible Errors and Solutions

Error	Cause	Solution
Access Denied	Insufficient Graph permissions	Use Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Group.Read.All, Team.ReadBasic.All, Mail.Send"
Empty CSV File	No private archived teams found	Verify if any private teams have been archived in your tenant.
Request_UnsupportedQuery	Query syntax issue	Ensure the resourceProvisioningOptions filter syntax matches the Graph schema.
Send-MgUserMail fails	Sender lacks mailbox	Make sure $FromUser is a licensed mailbox-enabled account.
Owners missing	Owners not assigned	Encourage ownership assignment before archiving to avoid orphaned Teams.

v) Conclusion

This Graph PowerShell script offers administrators a streamlined approach to monitor and report archived private Teams in Microsoft 365. Automating this task helps maintain governance, ensures compliance readiness, and simplifies lifecycle management. By emailing the report directly to stakeholders, it keeps IT teams informed and proactive about workspace hygiene.

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