Error when trying to create folder in SharePoint list

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Posted on by rpersad

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I am trying to create a folder in a SharePoint list with the variable name varEmpID

Got the error, BadGateWay: "Object reference not set to an instance of an object", for the "Create new Folder" action.

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Vahid Ghafarpour 817 on at

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Did you check invalid characters in folder name like /\?*

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Kalathiya 2,456 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hello @rpersad,

Could you please confirm below things?

#1.If you are creating the folder in a SharePoint list then

Make sure that you have enabled the folder in list setting

- Go to list setting

- Open Advanced Setting

- Ensure "Make ‘New Folder’ command available" is set to Yes

#2. Please confirm that the variable value (varEmpID) is not empty.

#3. If you are using the variable in the folder path, make sure it does not contain any special characters like . , ' , " , \ , # , $ , %

You can refer to this guide to remove special characters if needed:

https://www.matthewdevaney.com/power-automate-remove-characters-from-a-string/

#4. Update the new connection and try, might be temporary issue.

If this response resolves your issue, please mark it as the Verified Answer so it can help other community members as well.

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Haque 3,653 on at

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Hi @rpersad,

I am sure you are using PowerAutomate to create folder in "SharePint" list. I am not sure what the requirement is but from the basic ground - Create Folder or folder creation in SP list is only for a capability to organize list items hierarchically. To me, there is nothing you can store in this folder after creating it like files, media etc.

One other thing is, Create new folder action in PowerAutomate is designed for libraries where we can create folders and nested folders.

It would be better if could share the signature of endpoint call. However, I have assumed you have used Create new folder action, let's use HTTP request instead.

Probably HTTP action ( SharePoint → Send an HTTP request to SharePoint) will work with this endpoint call.

POST /_api/web/lists/getbytitle('YourListName')/items

{ "__metadata": { "type": "SP.ListItem" }, "FileLeafRef": varEmpID, "FSObjType": 1 }

FileLeafRef: the folder name (your variable, e.g., variables('varEmpID')). FSObjType: 1 means folder, 0 means item.

Besides, I would suggest if you check the permission stuff mention here.

I am sure some clues I tried to give. If these clues help to resolve the issue brought you by here, please don't forget to check the box Does this answer your question? At the same time, I am pretty sure you have liked the response!

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rpersad 831 on at

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@Vahid Ghafarpour I can confirm there are no invalid characters and the variable "varEmpID" is a string.

@Kalathiya
#1 I have confirmed that the "Make ‘New Folder’ command available" is set to Yes
#2 varEmpID is not empty
#3 no special characters are in the folder path

@Haque I have used the "Create New Folder" action to create folders in another SharePoint list. The purpose is to organize records by Employee ID into folders. Will try your suggestion to see if that works.

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Kalathiya 2,456 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hello @rpersad,

Thanks for confirming. Could you please try to change the connection and try again then?

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Valantis 6,735 on at

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Hi @rpersad,

The Create New Folder action is designed for SharePoint document libraries, not lists.

That is what is causing the BadGateway error.

The fix is to replace it with SharePoint → Send an HTTP request to SharePoint using this call:

POST /_api/web/lists/getbytitle('YourListName')/items

{
"__metadata": { "type": "SP.ListItem" },
"FileLeafRef": "variables('varEmpID')",
"FSObjType": 1
}

FSObjType set to 1 tells SharePoint to create a folder. Replace YourListName with your actual list name.

Let me know if it works.

Best regards,

Valantis

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rpersad 831 on at

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Hi @Valantis,

Thank you for the suggestion. Had to update the Send HTTP request to SharePoint action to get it to work for me. The variable varEmpID store the employee ID as a string from the SP list.

POST /_api/web/lists/getbytitle('SPListName')}')/items

Headers:
{
"Accept": "application/json;odata=verbose",
"Content-Type": "application/json;odata=verbose"
}

Body:
{
"__metadata": { "type": "outputs('varInternalType')" },
"Title": "variables('varEmpID')",
"FileLeafRef": "variables('varEmpID')",
"ContentTypeId": "0x0120"
}

The variable varInternalType store the SharePoint List's Internal name, which is not always the same as the SharePoint list name.

Code to retrieve a SharePoint lists internal name.

1. Using the Send HTTP request to SharePoint action:

GET /_api/web/lists/getbytitle('SPListName)}')?$select=ListItemEntityTypeFullName

2. Using the Parse JSON action:

{

"type": "object",

"properties": {

"d": {

"type": "object",

"properties": {

"__metadata": {

"type": "object"

},

"ListItemEntityTypeFullName": {

"type": "string"

}

},

"required": [

"ListItemEntityTypeFullName"

]

}

}

}

3. Retrieve the ListItemEntityTypeFullName:
body('Parse_JSON')?['d']?['ListItemEntityTypeFullName']

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