Automatically share a Canvas App and SharePoint lists when a new user email is added to Excel

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Posted on by CU17071421-1

Hi everyone,

I am looking to automate the onboarding process for a Canvas App ecosystem.

My Goal: > Whenever a new user's email address is added to a specific row in a Microsoft Excel Online sheet as the different members cannot be added to a security group, I want a Power Automate flow to automatically handle two permission tasks:

Share the Power App canvas application with that specific user (as a User).
Grant them read/write permissions to all the underlying SharePoint lists that act as the data sources for that app.

Current Setup:

Trigger: Excel Online - When a row is added or modified
Data Source: SharePoint Online Lists

I know I can use the Power Apps for Admins connector to share the app itself, but I am struggling with the cleanest way to simultaneously grant permissions to the multiple SharePoint lists without managing them entirely manually one by one.

Has anyone built a similar workflow? Should I be using standard SharePoint permission groups, or handles this directly via HTTP requests to SharePoint inside the flow? Any screenshots or step-by-step guidance would be massively appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

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Valantis 6,233 on at

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Hi @CU17071421-1,

try this for both tasks.

Share the Canvas App:
Use the Power Apps for Admins connector > Share canvas app with user action. Pass the app ID and the user email. This is confirmed and works without manual intervention.

Grant SharePoint list permissions:
The cleanest way is a SharePoint HTTP request per list. Add a Send an HTTP request to SharePoint action for each list:

- Site Address: your SharePoint site
- Method: POST
- Uri: _api/web/lists/getbytitle('YourListName')/roleassignments/addroleassignment(principalid=@p,roledefid=@r)?@p=[USER_ID]&@r=[ROLE_ID]

But getting the user's SharePoint principal ID from their email requires an extra call first:
_api/web/siteusers/getbyemail('[email]')

A simpler alternative: add the user to an existing SharePoint group that already has the right permissions on all lists. Use the HTTP action:
- POST to _api/web/sitegroups([groupId])/users
- Body: {"LoginName":"i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"}

This single call grants access to all lists at once if your SharePoint groups are set up correctly. This is the most maintainable approach.

For the trigger: the Excel "When a row is added or modified" trigger can be unreliable at high frequency. If onboarding accuracy matters, consider a SharePoint list instead of Excel as the trigger source.

Best regards,

Valantis

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Kalathiya 2,358 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hello @CU17071421-1,

I would suggest using a SharePoint Group instead of granting permissions to each SharePoint list individually.

When a new email is added in Excel, your flow can:

#1. Edit App Role Assignment as Admin from Power Apps from Admin - for share the Powerapps

#2. SharePoint - Send an HTTP request to SharePoint for add user in sharepoint site group

Reference link:

Add user in SharePoint Site Group: https://tomriha.com/how-to-add-user-to-a-sharepoint-group-with-a-power-automate-flow/

Share PowerApps with User: https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/automate-powerapps-app-sharing/

This way, when a new user is onboarded it will automatically share the app and grant the SharePoint site access when automate is triggered.

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11manish 2,782 on at

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For a scalable and maintainable solution:

Keep the onboarding trigger in Excel (or preferably a SharePoint list).

Use Power Automate to detect new users.

Add the user to a dedicated SharePoint group that already has permissions on all required lists.

Share the Canvas App using the Power Apps for Admins connector.

Optionally send a welcome email or Teams notification.

This approach minimizes maintenance, follows SharePoint security best practices, and avoids having to manage individual permissions on multiple SharePoint lists every time a new user is onboarded.

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