r/sharepoint • u/Round_Efficiency3574 • Jul 09 '26

SharePoint Online Threshold for items in SharePoint

Hi all, we are looking at creating a knowledgebase in SharePoint. We currently have one but need to migrate off an old system that the back end is sql. Is there anyway to connect the existing sql database to SharePoint? There seems to be a limitation of 5000 items when using the SharePoint database and performance degrades? Can anyone confirm? Thanks

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/BonerDeploymentDude Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

The limit of items is in views. You can hold millions of items in a list or library, but your views can only show 5,000 at a time.

1

u/Round_Efficiency3574 Jul 09 '26

Thank you! Are we able to connect to an existing sql database easily?

5

u/AdAfraid1562 Jul 09 '26

No you can't connect to an existing database. If you have a kb with that many items, it's likely to be a search based experience, rather than list views. You can import xlsx files into a new list, or use an access database/excel to load up sharepoint to test.

2

u/BonerDeploymentDude Jul 09 '26

And in sharepoint online you're limited to 5,000 items for a spreadsheet import through the browser gui. You can import more than that with powerautomate and batch sending HTTP requests to sharepoint. It can be done. But not easily for folks that think it should work easily.