New sample script to debug search issues using crawl log

scripts/spo-crawllog-search-debugging/README.md

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+
+
+# Debugging SharePoint Search by inspecting crawllog
+
+This script helps identify files that appear in the crawl logs but are still not searchable. The underlying cause can vary, and in many cases you may need to raise a support case with Microsoft for deeper investigation.
+
+In our scenario, the issue was caused by sensitivity labels already applied to files that had been moved from another location. This created a conflict with the sensitivity label inherited from the parent library, which prevented the files from being indexed correctly.
+
+A key indicator was that the `SPItemModifiedTime` field was blank in the crawl log, a symptom that often correlates with search indexing problems. To confirm the issue, I also performed a search query to verify that the affected files were indeed not discoverable.
+
+## Summary
+
+# [PnP PowerShell](#tab/pnpps)
+
+```powershell
+cls
+
+# ===== Settings =====
+$clientId    = "xxxxxxxx"
+$dateTime    = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss"
+
+$invocation      = Get-Variable -Name MyInvocation -ValueOnly
+$directoryPath   = Split-Path $invocation.MyCommand.Path
+$csvPath         = Join-Path $directoryPath "Sites.csv"     # CSV must have a column 'SiteUrl'
+
+# Ensure output folder exists
+$outputFolder    = Join-Path $directoryPath "output_files"
+if (-not (Test-Path $outputFolder)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $outputFolder | Out-Null }
+$outputCsv       = Join-Path $outputFolder ("CrawlLog-SPItemModifiedTime-Null-" + $dateTime + ".csv")
+
+# System/ignored lists
+$ExcludedLists = @(
+    "Access Requests","App Packages","appdata","appfiles","Apps in Testing","Cache Profiles","Composed Looks",
+    "Content and Structure Reports","Content type publishing error log","Converted Forms","Device Channels",
+    "Form Templates","fpdatasources","Get started with Apps for Office and SharePoint","List Template Gallery",
+    "Long Running Operation Status","Maintenance Log Library","Images","site collection images","Master Docs",
+    "Master Page Gallery","MicroFeed","NintexFormXml","Quick Deploy Items","Relationships List","Reusable Content",
+    "Reporting Metadata","Reporting Templates","Search Config List","Site Assets","Preservation Hold Library",
+    "Site Pages","Solution Gallery","Style Library","Suggested Content Browser Locations","Theme Gallery",
+    "TaxonomyHiddenList","User Information List","Web Part Gallery","wfpub","wfsvc","Workflow History",
+    "Workflow Tasks","Pages"
+)
+
+# ===== Collect results =====
+$results = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[object]
+$sites   = Import-Csv -Path $csvPath   # expects column "SiteUrl"
+
+foreach ($s in $sites) {
+    $siteUrl = $s.SiteUrl
+    Write-Host "Connecting to site: $siteUrl" -ForegroundColor Cyan
+
+    # Connect interactively with the client ID (adjust auth as needed for your tenant)
+    Connect-PnPOnline -ClientId $clientId -Url $siteUrl -Interactive
+
+    # Get only visible document libraries
+    $lists = Get-PnPList -Includes BaseType, BaseTemplate, Hidden, Title, ItemCount, RootFolder |
+        Where-Object {
+            $_.Hidden -eq $false -and
+            $_.BaseType -eq "DocumentLibrary" -and
+            $_.Title -notin $ExcludedLists
+        }
+
+    foreach ($library in $lists) {
+        # Build library URL: e.g. https://tenant/sites/site/Shared Documents
+        $libraryUrl = ($siteUrl.TrimEnd('/')) + '/' +  $library.rootfolder.Name
+        Write-Host "Querying library: $($library.Title)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+
+        # Keep row limit reasonable to avoid huge payloads
+        $rowLimit = $library.ItemCount
+
+        # Pull crawl log entries; filter to items with null/empty SPItemModifiedTime
+        $entries = Get-PnPSearchCrawlLog -Filter $libraryUrl -RowLimit $rowLimit -RawFormat |
+            Where-Object { $_.SPItemModifiedTime -eq $null }
+
+        # Shape results for export; include FullUrl (fallback to DocumentUrl if missing)
+        $output = $entries | Where-Object {$_.FullUrl -ne $libraryUrl -and $_.FullUrl -notlike "*`/Forms/Default.aspx" -and $_.FullUrl -notlike "*.aspx*" -and $_.FullUrl -notlike "*.one*"}
+
+        foreach($result in $output)
+        {   
+            # Filter to a site/library path$result.FullUrl and select extra properties
+            try{
+            $kql = "Path:`"$($result.FullUrl)`""
+            $searchr = Submit-PnPSearchQuery -Query $kql -All -SelectProperties @(
+            "Title","Path"
+            ) -SortList @{LastModifiedTime="Descending"}
+
+            if($searchr.Rowcount -lt 1)
+            {
+            # Create a PSCustomObject row
+                    $projected = [pscustomobject]@{
+                        FullUrl            = $result.FullUrl
+                        DocumentUrl        = $libraryUrl
+                        SPItemModifiedTime = $result.SPItemModifiedTime
+                        ErrorCode          = $result.ErrorCode
+                    }        
+                $results.Add($projected)
+
+            }
+        }
+        catch{
+            Write-Error "$($_.Exception.Message) for $($result.FullUrl)"
+        }
+        }    
+    }
+   # Disconnect-PnPOnline
+}
+
+# ===== Export =====
+$results | Export-Csv -Path $outputCsv -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
+Write-Host "Export complete: $outputCsv" -ForegroundColor Green
+
+```
+[!INCLUDE [More about PnP PowerShell](../../docfx/includes/MORE-PNPPS.md)]
+
+
+## Source Credit
+
+Sample idea first appeared on [Debugging SharePoint Search with PnP PowerShell and Crawl Logs](https://reshmeeauckloo.com/posts/powershell-sharepoint-debugging-crawllog/). 
+
+## Contributors
+
+| Author(s) |
+|-----------|
+| [Reshmee Auckloo](https://github.com/reshmee011) |
+
+
+[!INCLUDE [DISCLAIMER](../../docfx/includes/DISCLAIMER.md)]
+<img src="https://m365-visitor-stats.azurewebsites.net/script-samples/scripts/spo-crawllog-search-debugging" aria-hidden="true" />

scripts/spo-crawllog-search-debugging/assets/sample.json

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+[
+  {
+    "name": "spo-crawllog-search-debugging",
+    "source": "pnp",
+    "title": "Debugging SharePoint Search by inspecting crawllog",
+    "shortDescription": "Debugging SharePoint Search by inspecting crawllog",
+    "url": "https://pnp.github.io/script-samples/spo-crawllog-search-debugging/README.html",
+    "longDescription": [
+      "Debugging SharePoint Search by inspecting crawllog for files not searched despite present in crawl log without errors"
+    ],
+    "creationDateTime": "2025-12-14",
+    "updateDateTime": "2025-12-14",
+    "products": [
+      "SharePoint",
+      "Search",
+      "Crawl Log"
+    ],
+    "metadata": [
+      {
+        "key": "PNP-POWERSHELL",
+        "value": "3.1.0"
+      }
+    ],
+    "categories": [
+      "Search",
+      "Crawl Log"
+    ],
+    "tags": [
+      "Connect-PnPOnline",
+      "Get-PnPList",
+      "Get-PnPSearchCrawlLog",
+      "Submit-PnPSearchQuery"
+    ],
+    "thumbnails": [
+      {
+        "type": "image",
+        "order": 100,
+        "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pnp/script-samples/main/scripts/spo-crawllog-search-debugging/assets/example.png",
+        "alt": "Preview of the issue"
+      }
+    ],
+    "authors": [
+      {
+        "gitHubAccount": "reshmee011",
+        "company": "",
+        "pictureUrl": "https://github.com/reshmee011.png",
+        "name": "Reshmee Auckloo"
+      }
+    ],
+    "references": [
+      {
+        "name": "Want to learn more about PnP PowerShell and the cmdlets",
+        "description": "Check out the PnP PowerShell site to get started and for the reference to the cmdlets.",
+        "url": "https://aka.ms/pnp/powershell"
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+]