A PowerShell tool that exports your Microsoft Teams policies and configurations into structured files (JSON, CSV) and a formatted Excel workbook designed for stakeholder decision meetings.

In plain terms: This tool connects to your Microsoft 365 tenant, reads every Teams policy setting, and produces a spreadsheet that shows what is configured, what the recommended settings are, where your settings differ from recommendations, how many users are affected, and gives you columns to record decisions in meetings.

• Prerequisites
• Quick Start
• Parameters Reference
• Output Structure
• Understanding the Excel Report
• Troubleshooting
• Architecture Overview
• Further Reading

You need Teams Administrator or Global Administrator rights in your Microsoft 365 tenant. If you only need to read policies (no user assignments), Teams Administrator is sufficient.

Open a PowerShell window and run:

Install-Module MicrosoftTeams -Scope CurrentUser -Force -AllowClobber
Install-Module ImportExcel    -Scope CurrentUser -Force

To verify they are installed:

Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name MicrosoftTeams
Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name ImportExcel

Both commands should return version information. If either returns nothing, the install did not work -- re-run the Install-Module command.

Open a PowerShell window. Navigate to the folder where you cloned or unzipped this tool:

cd C:\path\to\teamsexport

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1

A browser window will pop up asking you to sign in. Use your admin account. The script will:

1. Connect to Microsoft Teams
2. Discover all available policy cmdlets (typically 70-80)
3. Export each one to JSON and CSV
4. Generate the Excel workbook
5. Disconnect from Teams

When the script finishes, it prints the output path. Look for a folder named like:

Teams-Policy-Export-20260415-093000/

Open TeamsPolicies.xlsx inside that folder.

If you cannot open a browser (headless server, SSH session), use device code authentication:

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -AuthMethod DeviceCode

The script will display a code and a URL. Open https://microsoft.com/devicelogin on any device, enter the code, and sign in there.

Where to save the output. Defaults to a timestamped folder in the current directory.

# Save to a specific location
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -OutDir C:\Exports\TeamsReview

# Default behavior creates: .\Teams-Policy-Export-20260415-093000\
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1

Adds per-user and group-based policy assignment data. This shows which users have which policies assigned, enabling the user impact analysis in the Excel report.

Note: This queries every user in the tenant, which can take several minutes for large organizations.

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -IncludeAssignments

Maximum number of users to retrieve when -IncludeAssignments is used. You rarely need to change this unless your tenant has more than 500,000 users.

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -IncludeAssignments -UserResultSize 100000

How many users to process at a time in memory. Lower values use less memory but take longer. Increase if you have plenty of RAM and want faster processing.

# Lower memory usage (slower)
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -IncludeAssignments -BatchSize 1000

# Higher throughput (more memory)
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -IncludeAssignments -BatchSize 10000

Exports only the Global (org-wide default) policy row for each cmdlet. Useful for creating a baseline snapshot without all the custom policy tiers.

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -DefaultsOnly

Produces only the raw JSON and CSV files without generating the Excel workbook. Useful if you just need the data for another tool or script.

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -SkipExcel

Regenerates the Excel workbook from an existing export directory. Does not connect to Teams -- works entirely from the previously exported JSON files. This is useful when you want to tweak the config files (friendly names, categories, etc.) and see the updated Excel without re-exporting.

You must pass -OutDir pointing to an existing export folder that contains a manifest.csv.

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -ExcelOnly -OutDir .\Teams-Policy-Export-20260309-143000

How to authenticate with Microsoft Teams.

• Interactive (default): Opens a browser window for sign-in. Use this when running on your own computer.
• DeviceCode: Displays a code to enter at https://microsoft.com/devicelogin. Use this for headless/remote/SSH sessions.

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -AuthMethod DeviceCode

Reads a completed Excel workbook (with DECISION column filled in from a stakeholder meeting) and applies those decisions to the tenant's Global policies. Use with -GenerateScript or -DryRun for safety.

# Safest: generate a reviewable script
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -ApplyDecisions .\TeamsPolicies-Decisions.xlsx -GenerateScript

# Preview only (no changes made)
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -ApplyDecisions .\TeamsPolicies-Decisions.xlsx -DryRun

# Direct apply (prompts for confirmation)
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -ApplyDecisions .\TeamsPolicies-Decisions.xlsx

See docs/RUNBOOK.md for the full post-meeting workflow.

Used with -ApplyDecisions. Instead of applying changes directly, generates a standalone .ps1 script containing all Set-Cs* commands. You can review, edit, and run it on your own schedule.

Used with -ApplyDecisions. Shows what would change without applying anything. No Teams connection needed.

A successful run creates a folder with this structure:

Teams-Policy-Export-20260415-093000/
|
|-- TeamsPolicies.xlsx        The main deliverable -- formatted Excel workbook
|-- manifest.csv              Inventory of everything exported (status, counts, file paths)
|-- README.txt                Quick reference generated with each export
|
|-- raw-json/                 Full structured JSON, one file per cmdlet
|   |-- Get-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy.json
|   |-- Get-CsTeamsMessagingPolicy.json
|   |-- Get-CsTeamsCallingPolicy.json
|   |-- UserAssignments.json          (if -IncludeAssignments was used)
|   |-- GroupPolicyAssignments.json   (if -IncludeAssignments was used)
|   +-- ... (one per discovered cmdlet)
|
+-- flat-csv/                 Flattened CSV, one file per cmdlet
    |-- Get-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy.csv
    |-- Get-CsTeamsMessagingPolicy.csv
    +-- ...

The Excel workbook contains several sheets, each designed for a different purpose.

The first sheet you see. Provides an executive summary for the start of a meeting.

Header block (top-left): Tenant name, export date, total users, policies exported.

Executive summary (top-right): Key metrics at a glance:

• Action Items -- settings needing a decision (drifted or high-risk without guidance). Shown in red if > 0.
• Already Aligned -- settings where your current value matches the recommendation. Shown in green.
• High Risk / Medium Risk -- total counts across all categories.

Quick Links row: Clickable hyperlinks to "Action Required" and "All Decisions" sheets.

Start here during the meeting. This sheet shows only settings that need attention: drifted from recommendation, or high-risk with no recommendation. Sorted by priority (highest first).

The complete flat list of every policy setting across all categories. Sorted by priority (highest first). The first four columns (Priority, Risk, Setting, DECISION) are frozen so they stay visible while scrolling.

One sheet per policy category. Similar to All Decisions but adds a column for each custom policy tier, so you can see the value side-by-side across all tiers (Global, Restricted, IT-Department, Admin, etc.).

Shows how users are distributed across policy tiers for each policy type.

You need to install the module first:

Install-Module MicrosoftTeams -Scope CurrentUser -Force -AllowClobber

If you get a permissions error, make sure you are using -Scope CurrentUser (does not require admin rights on the machine).

Install-Module ImportExcel -Scope CurrentUser -Force

If you do not need the Excel report, you can skip it:

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -SkipExcel

On a remote or headless server: Use device code authentication:

.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -AuthMethod DeviceCode

Browser opens but sign-in fails: Make sure you are signing in with an account that has Teams Administrator or Global Administrator rights.

Token expired mid-run: The MicrosoftTeams module session can expire during long exports. If you see authentication errors partway through, try running with -IncludeAssignments disabled first (it is faster), then do a second run for assignments only.

You pointed -OutDir to a folder that does not contain a previous export. Make sure the path is correct and contains manifest.csv, raw-json/, and flat-csv/.

# Check that the folder has the right contents
Get-ChildItem .\Teams-Policy-Export-20260309-143000\

This is normal. Some cmdlets fail because:

• The feature is not licensed in your tenant (e.g., education policies in a non-education tenant)
• The cmdlet requires specific licensing (audio conferencing, calling plans)
• The cmdlet was deprecated in your version of the MicrosoftTeams module

The script continues past failures and reports them in manifest.csv. Check the Error column for details.

Without -IncludeAssignments: A typical run exports 70-80 cmdlets and takes 2-5 minutes.

With -IncludeAssignments: Retrieving user data is the slow part. For a 2,000-user tenant, expect 5-10 minutes. For larger tenants (50,000+), it can take 30+ minutes. You can reduce -UserResultSize to export fewer users:

# Only retrieve the first 10,000 users
.\Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1 -IncludeAssignments -UserResultSize 10000

If your tenant has many custom policy tiers, the category sheets can get wide. Try opening the file in Excel desktop rather than Excel Online. If you only need the raw data, use the CSV files in flat-csv/.

The tool is organized into a main script and six modules, each handling a specific part of the pipeline:

Export-TeamsPolicies.ps1          Main script -- orchestrates everything
        |
        |--- Config/                    Configuration files (baselines, categories, names)
        |       |-- ImportantPolicies.psd1     Recommended values per setting
        |       |-- PolicyCategories.psd1      Groups cmdlets into categories
        |       |-- FriendlyNames.psd1         Human-readable setting labels
        |       |-- PropertyExclusions.psd1    Noise fields to hide
        |       +-- PolicyDefaults.psd1        (Optional) offline defaults baseline
        |
        +--- Modules/
                |
                |-- Utilities     Shared helpers: logging, object flattening,
                |                 manifest entries, sheet name generation
                |
                |-- Discovery     Finds all Get-CsTeams* cmdlets in the
                |                 MicrosoftTeams module and invokes them safely
                |
                |-- Export        Saves data to JSON + CSV, filters Global rows,
                |                 writes the manifest file
                |
                |-- Assignments   Retrieves per-user and group policy assignments
                |                 using batched processing for large tenants
                |
                |-- Analysis      Computes user impact, risk levels, drift detection,
                |                 friendly names, value distributions, decision rows
                |
                +-- Excel         Builds the multi-sheet Excel workbook with
                                  formatting, conditional coloring, and dropdowns

Microsoft Teams APIs
        |
        v
  [Discovery]  Discover cmdlets --> list of Get-Cs* commands
        |
        v
  [Discovery]  Invoke each cmdlet safely --> raw policy objects
        |
        v
  [Export]     Save to JSON + CSV, extract Global rows
        |
        v
  [Assignments]  (optional) Retrieve user + group assignments
        |
        v
  [Analysis]   Compute user counts, risk levels, drift,
               build decision rows with friendly names
        |
        v
  [Excel]      Generate workbook: Overview, All Decisions,
               Category sheets, User Impact
        |
        v
  TeamsPolicies.xlsx  <-- ready for the meeting

• docs/CONFIGURATION.md -- How to customize the config files (add your own baselines, friendly names, categories)
• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md -- Technical deep-dive into how each module works
• docs/RUNBOOK.md -- Step-by-step operational guide for running exports and using the output in meetings

The project includes Pester tests for the core modules. To run them:

# Install Pester if you don't have it
Install-Module Pester -Scope CurrentUser -Force -SkipPublisherCheck

# Run all tests
Invoke-Pester -Path .\Tests\ -Output Detailed

Apache 2.0. See LICENSE for the full text.