Copy-PnPFile Error

[rnc3009]

I am trying to use Copy-PnPFile to copy a folder between document libraries in different site collections on SharePoint Subscription Edition. I am using a script as here

Connect-PnPOnline -Url $Source -TransformationOnPrem -CurrentCredential
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $dest -TransformationOnPrem -CurrentCredential
Copy-PnPFile -SourceUrl "/Shared Documents/Two" -TargetUrl "/sites/test/Migrated" -Overwrite -Verbose

I get this error
Copy-PnPFile: {"odata.error":{"code":"-1, Microsoft.Data.OData.ODataException","message":{"lang":"en-US","value":"The property 'SameWebCopyMoveOptimization' does not exist on type 'SP.CopyMigrationOptions'. Make sure to only use property names that are defined by the type."}}}

Is the issue with the way I am connecting to the site collections and then using the connections? or is this not possible with on-prem SharePoint.

[yhay81]

This is not a connection-selection problem; the exception shows a client/server API mismatch.

The current PnP.PowerShell module is for SharePoint Online. Copy-PnPFile uses SharePoint's modern copy/migration API for cross-site-collection copies, and the current client sends SameWebCopyMoveOptimization in SP.CopyMigrationOptions. SharePoint Subscription Edition's REST endpoint does not define that property, hence the OData deserialization error before the copy starts.

The current cmdlet documentation also describes cross-site copying as being within the same tenant and links to the SharePoint Online limits: https://pnp.github.io/powershell/cmdlets/Copy-PnPFile.html

Two extra points:

• A second plain Connect-PnPOnline replaces the current connection. If a cmdlet supports explicit connections, capture them with -ReturnConnection. That would not fix this error, though, because Copy-PnPFile accepts only one connection and relies on the server-side copy API.
• -TransformationOnPrem enables the on-prem authentication/context needed by transformation scenarios; it does not make every modern PnP.PowerShell cmdlet compatible with SharePoint Server.

So this particular cross-site-collection operation is not supported by current Copy-PnPFile against Subscription Edition. Use an SPSE-compatible route instead—for example, recursively download/read each source file with CSOM assemblies matching your farm and upload it to the destination, or use SharePoint Server's native PowerShell/server-side APIs on a farm server. If version history and metadata must be preserved, treat it as a migration job and use a migration tool that explicitly supports SPSE rather than a simple download/upload loop.

For comparison, PnP's own guidance says the current PnP.PowerShell supports SharePoint Online; the legacy on-prem modules supported SharePoint 2013/2016/2019 but are no longer maintained: https://pnp.github.io/community-docs/articles/benefits-of-using-powershell-with-sharepoint.html#pnp-powershell-patterns--practices

[rnc3009]

Thanks for getting back and confirming.