The Ultimate Guide to SharePoint REST API Query Parameters in Power Automate

When working with SharePoint and Power Automate, you may have used the action “Send an HTTP request to SharePoint”. It’s one of the most powerful tools in the connector, allowing you to call the SharePoint REST API directly and perform operations far beyond the standard “Get items” or “Create item” actions.

To unlock its full potential, you need to understand the query parameters — the hidden gems that control what data you fetch, how it’s filtered, and how it’s shaped in the response.

This post walks you through every usable query parameter with examples you can copy straight into your flow.

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🔍 1. $select — Return Only the Fields You Need

The $select parameter lets you specify exactly which fields to return. This improves performance and makes your flow easier to parse.

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Employees')/items?$select=ID,Title,Department,Created

✅ Returns only ID, Title, Department, and Created.

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🎯 2. $filter — Filter Items Based on Conditions

Use $filter to return only records that match your criteria.

Syntax:

?$filter=FieldName operator 'value'

Common operators:
eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le, and, or, startswith(), substringof()

Examples:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Projects')/items?$filter=Status eq 'Active'

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Employees')/items?$filter=Salary gt 60000 and Department eq 'HR'

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Customers')/items?$filter=startswith(Title,'A')

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📅 3. $orderby — Sort Results

Sort data ascending (asc) or descending (desc).

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Tasks')/items?$orderby=DueDate desc

➡️ Returns latest tasks first.

You can sort by multiple columns:

?$orderby=Priority asc,Created desc

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🔢 4. $top — Limit How Many Items Are Returned

Restrict results to avoid performance hits.

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Orders')/items?$top=5

➡️ Returns only 5 items.

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⏭️ 5. $skiptoken — Pagination for Large Lists

If your list exceeds 5000 items, SharePoint adds a $skiptoken in the response. Use it to get the next page.

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Orders')/items?$skiptoken=Paged=TRUE%26p_ID=101

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🔗 6. $expand — Retrieve Lookup and User Details

Use $expand to fetch details from lookup or person fields.

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Tasks')/items?$select=Title,AssignedTo/Title,AssignedTo/EMail&$expand=AssignedTo

➡️ Returns task title plus the user’s name and email.

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🧾 7. $format — Set Response Format

Optional — defines how the API returns data.

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Employees')/items?$format=json

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🔢 8. $count — Include Total Count in Results

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Orders')/items?$count=true

Combine with $filter:

?$filter=Status eq 'Pending'&$count=true

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⚡ 9. Combine $orderby, $filter, and $top

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Projects')/items?$select=Title,StartDate,Status&$filter=Status eq 'Active'&$orderby=StartDate desc&$top=3

➡️ Returns the 3 most recent active projects.

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🧩 10. $expand + $select for Lookup Fields

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Tasks')/items?$select=Title,Project/Title,AssignedTo/Title&$expand=Project,AssignedTo

➡️ Returns task name, project name, and assigned user.

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🔍 11. $search — Modern Search API

Used only in the Search endpoint:

_api/search/query?querytext='Project Alpha'&selectproperties='Title,Path,Author'

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🧮 12. $inlinecount — Legacy Version of $count

Older systems may use this:

?$inlinecount=allpages

Prefer $count=true for modern usage.

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🧠 Combine Parameters Like a Pro

You can chain parameters using &.

Example:

_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Employees')/items?$select=ID,Title,Department&$filter=Department eq 'IT'&$orderby=Created desc&$top=10

➡️ Fetches the 10 most recent IT employees.

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💡 Pro Tips for Efficient Queries

Tip	Description
✅ Use $select	Always limit fields for performance
🎯 Use $filter early	Filter on the server, not in Power Automate
🔄 Combine $expand wisely	Fetch only necessary lookup details
📉 Avoid large pulls	Use $top + $skiptoken for paging
🧪 Test in browser	You can test queries at: /sites/yoursite/_api/...

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🧰 Common Use Cases

Scenario	Query Example
Get today’s items	?$filter=Created ge datetime'2025-11-03T00:00:00Z'
Items modified by user	?$filter=Editor/Title eq 'John Doe'&$expand=Editor
Latest item	?$orderby=Created desc&$top=1
Between two dates	?$filter=Created ge datetime'2025-10-01T00:00:00Z' and Created le datetime'2025-10-31T23:59:59Z'
Not null field	?$filter=FieldName ne null

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🧱 Bonus: Use Clean JSON Metadata

In headers (for cleaner responses):

Accept: application/json;odata=nometadata

or

Accept: application/json;odata=minimalmetadata

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🏁 Final Thoughts

Mastering these query parameters transforms how you interact with SharePoint through Power Automate. Instead of relying on multiple “Get Items” and “Filter array” steps, you can do it all directly in one HTTP call — faster, cleaner, and more professional.

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💡 Pro Tip:
If you often use REST queries in flows, create a SharePoint REST Cheatsheet for your team. It saves hours of trial and error when writing or debugging advanced queries.

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🧭 SharePoint REST API Cheatsheet

🔹 Base URL

https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteName>/_api/

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🧾 Common Endpoints

Purpose	Endpoint Example
Site info	_api/web
List info	_api/web/lists/getbytitle('MyList')
List items	_api/web/lists/getbytitle('MyList')/items
Single item	_api/web/lists/getbytitle('MyList')/items(1)
File details	_api/web/getfilebyserverrelativeurl('/sites/site/Shared Documents/test.docx')
Folder details	_api/web/getfolderbyserverrelativeurl('/sites/site/Shared Documents')
Users	_api/web/siteusers
Groups	_api/web/sitegroups
Search	_api/search/query?querytext='keyword'

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⚙️ Common HTTP Methods

Method	Action	Notes
GET	Read	Use $filter, $select, $expand
POST	Create	Needs JSON body with __metadata
PATCH	Update	Requires header IF-MATCH: *
DELETE	Delete	Requires IF-MATCH: * or eTag

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💡 Key Headers

Header	Purpose
Accept: application/json;odata=nometadata	Clean JSON output
Content-Type: application/json;odata=verbose	For POST/PATCH
IF-MATCH: *	Ignore concurrency
X-HTTP-Method: DELETE	Used for delete via POST

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🧮 Query Parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
$select	Choose fields	?$select=ID,Title,Status
$filter	Filter results	?$filter=Status eq 'Active'
$orderby	Sort results	?$orderby=Created desc
$top	Limit results	?$top=5
$expand	Include lookup/person fields	?$expand=Author,Editor
$count	Include total count	?$count=true
$format	Response format	?$format=json
$skiptoken	Pagination	?$skiptoken=Paged=TRUE%26p_ID=101

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🔍 Filter Operators

Operator	Meaning	Example
eq	Equal	Status eq 'Active'
ne	Not equal	Department ne 'HR'
gt	Greater than	Salary gt 50000
lt	Less than	Age lt 30
ge	Greater or equal	Created ge datetime'2025-01-01T00:00:00Z'
le	Less or equal	DueDate le datetime'2025-12-31T00:00:00Z'
and / or	Combine conditions	Status eq 'Active' and Priority eq 'High'
startswith()	Begins with	startswith(Title,'A')
substringof()	Contains	substringof('HR',Department)
endswith()	Ends with	endswith(Title,'Ltd')

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📋 Common Examples

Task	Example
Get all active projects	_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Projects')/items?$filter=Status eq 'Active'
Get top 3 recent tasks	_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Tasks')/items?$orderby=Created desc&$top=3
Get user details	_api/web/siteusers?$filter=Title eq 'John Doe'
Get file metadata	_api/web/getfilebyserverrelativeurl('/sites/site/Shared Documents/test.docx')/ListItemAllFields
Get items created this month	?$filter=Created ge datetime'2025-11-01T00:00:00Z'

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🧠 Pro Tips

• ✅ Always use $select to reduce response size.
• ⚡ Use $filter for server-side filtering (faster than Filter Array).
• 📄 Pagination: handle $skiptoken in large lists.
• 👤 For user fields, use $expand=Author,Editor.
• 🚀 Test in browser first — try: https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/<site>/_api/web/lists/getbytitle('ListName')/items

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