What permissions do I need for Exchange Online PowerShell?

Most cmdlets require Exchange Administrator, Global Administrator, or specific management roles. For auditing and reporting, the Global Reader role often suffices. Some operations like mailbox creation require Exchange Administrator or higher.

Why use EXO V3 cmdlets instead of the older versions?

EXO V3 cmdlets (like Get-EXOMailbox) are optimized for performance and reliability. They use REST API instead of RPS, support modern authentication, handle throttling better, and are the recommended approach for all new scripts.

How can I audit forwarding rules across all mailboxes?

Use Get-EXOMailbox -ResultSize Unlimited followed by Get-InboxRule with Where-Object to filter for ForwardTo, ForwardAsAttachmentTo, or RedirectTo. This is an important security audit to detect unauthorized email forwarding.

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Exchange Online PowerShell Generator

Generate Exchange Online PowerShell commands for mailbox management, message tracing, distribution groups, forwarding rules audit, calendar permissions, and quarantine management.

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What Is Exchange Online PowerShell

Exchange Online PowerShell provides administrative command-line access to Microsoft Exchange Online, the cloud-based email and calendaring service in Microsoft 365. While the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) provides a web-based GUI, PowerShell enables bulk operations, automation, and access to advanced settings not available in the portal.

Exchange Online PowerShell is essential for managing mailboxes, distribution groups, mail flow rules, retention policies, and compliance features at enterprise scale. Operations that would require hours of clicking in the admin portal can be completed in seconds with the right PowerShell commands.

Common Command Categories

Category	Example Commands	Purpose
Mailbox Management	Get-Mailbox, Set-Mailbox, New-Mailbox	Create, configure, and query mailboxes
Distribution Groups	Get-DistributionGroup, Add-DistributionGroupMember	Manage email groups and membership
Mail Flow Rules	Get-TransportRule, New-TransportRule	Configure mail routing and filtering rules
Permissions	Add-MailboxPermission, Get-MailboxFolderPermission	Manage mailbox delegation and folder access
Compliance	Get-RetentionPolicy, New-ComplianceSearch	Configure retention, eDiscovery, and audit policies
Anti-Spam	Get-HostedContentFilterPolicy	Manage spam filtering and quarantine settings
Mobile Devices	Get-MobileDeviceStatistics	Manage ActiveSync and mobile device policies

Common Use Cases

Bulk mailbox operations: Set out-of-office messages, change mailbox quotas, or update properties for hundreds of mailboxes using CSV imports
Shared mailbox management: Create shared mailboxes, assign full access and send-as permissions, and configure auto-mapping for delegate access
Mail flow troubleshooting: Trace message delivery paths, review transport rules, and diagnose delivery failures
Compliance configuration: Set up retention policies, litigation holds, and eDiscovery searches for legal and regulatory requirements
Migration assistance: Export mailbox statistics, identify large mailboxes, and prepare user lists for migrations between Exchange environments

Best Practices

Use the EXO V3 module — Connect using Connect-ExchangeOnline from the ExchangeOnlineManagement module (v3+). This supports modern authentication, certificate-based auth, and REST-based cmdlets.
Limit result sets — Use -ResultSize to limit query results. Querying all mailboxes in a large tenant without limits can timeout or consume excessive resources.
Use -WhatIf for destructive operations — Before running Set- or Remove- commands on multiple objects, add -WhatIf to preview what would change without making actual modifications.
Implement error handling in scripts — Wrap bulk operations in try/catch blocks and log failures. A single failed mailbox operation should not halt processing of the remaining batch.
Disconnect sessions when finished — Always run Disconnect-ExchangeOnline when done. Exchange Online limits the number of concurrent PowerShell sessions per tenant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the Exchange Online PowerShell Generator

First install the Exchange Online PowerShell module: Install-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement. Then connect using: Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName [email protected]. You will be prompted for authentication, which supports MFA.