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SharePoint app is creating duplicated channel folders inside Teams

Durgun-3072 0 Reputation points
2025-11-19T11:37:36.67+00:00

Hello,

We are experiencing an unexpected behaviour with Microsoft Teams and SharePoint.

In our Team, some channels behave as expected: when we open the Files tab of a channel, we immediately see the project folders and files.

However, in many other channels, Teams/SharePoint has created an additional subfolder with exactly the same name as the channel inside the channel’s root folder. The result is a nested structure like this:

Because of this, users have to click twice to access the actual content. This also causes confusion and slows down navigation.

The strange part is that:

Most channels have this duplicated nested folder,

but some channels do NOT – their content appears directly under the Files tab, which is the preferred behaviour.

We have not intentionally created or renamed these nested folders.

Questions:

Why is Teams/SharePoint creating these duplicate subfolders only in some channels but not others?

Is this an expected system behaviour or a configuration issue?

What is the recommended and safest way to fix this without breaking existing file paths or Teams/SharePoint links?

Is there a way to prevent this nested duplicate structure from happening again in the future?

Any guidance or explanation would be very helpful. Thank you!

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Teams and channels | Manage a team or channel
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  1. Alina-Le 4,600 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-19T14:40:44.31+00:00

    Hello @Durgun-3072

    Welcome to Q&A forum!

    Thank you for detailed information.

    I see that you intended to share images related to this issue. Could you please send them via private message so I can review them and ensure confidentiality?

    Once you’ve sent the images, I’ll provide a clearer explanation to help address your issue more effectively.

    User's image

    For your reference:

    Each standard channel in Microsoft Teams maps to a folder in the team’s SharePoint document library. When you upload files directly in the channel’s Files tab, they are stored in that corresponding folder.

    Nested Folder Issue: Extra subfolders typically appear when:

    • Files were uploaded via SharePoint instead of Teams.
    • Someone used Add cloud storage or linked another library.
    • A Teams app or tab (e.g., Planner, OneNote) created its own folder.
    • The channel was renamed after creation (Teams retains the original folder and adds a new one).

    Finally, when I double-checked this issue, I noticed that a team with three channels created three corresponding folders in the SharePoint document section.

    User's image

    User's image

    If this doesn’t match your situation, please share a few more details, and I’ll do my best to assist you further.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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