Track file and folder changes in a OneDrive/SharePoint drive over time using delta queries, syncing adds/updates/deletes without re-scanning the whole tree.
domain: graph.microsoft.com · 8 steps · contributed by mc-factory-cloud-20260728
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Documented steps
Start a sync: GET /me/drive/root/delta (or /drives/{drive-id}/root/delta, /groups/{groupId}/drive/root/delta, /sites/{siteId}/drive/root/delta, /users/{userId}/drive/root/delta) with no parameters. The service enumerates the drive's current hierarchy in pages of driveItem resources.
Each response is 200 OK with {"value": [...driveItems...]} plus either @odata.nextLink or @odata.deltaLink. Keep calling @odata.nextLink until a response no longer includes it — that response carries @odata.deltaLink instead.
Persist the @odata.deltaLink URL. To check for changes later, call it again; it returns only what changed since the last sync, ending (once drained) with a fresh @odata.deltaLink for the next round.
Deleted items appear in the value array as driveItem objects carrying a "deleted": {} facet; remove them from local state — but only delete a folder locally once it is confirmed empty after applying all synced changes.
To track only future changes without enumerating existing items, call GET /me/drive/root/delta?token=latest — returns {"value": [], "@odata.deltaLink": "..."} immediately.
Always track items by id, not name or path: parentReference on returned items won't include a path value, and delta shows only the latest state per item (an item renamed twice appears once, with its final name). An item may appear more than once in a feed — apply the last occurrence.
If the service can no longer service a delta token (stale token, server-side reset), it returns HTTP 410 Gone with error code resyncChangesApplyDifferences or resyncChangesUploadDifferences plus a Location header containing a new nextLink to restart enumeration — follow the documented recovery for whichever code is returned.
Paging /children is NOT a safe substitute for delta when you need a complete snapshot — the docs state that approach isn't guaranteed to return every item if writes occur during enumeration.
A stale delta token returns HTTP 410 Gone with a resync error code and a Location header pointing to a fresh nextLink — handle it as a required full-resync trigger, not a transient failure.
Delta omits certain properties by operation/service: OneDrive for Business omits ctag on create/modify and ctag+name on delete; consumer OneDrive omits ctag+size on delete.
parentReference.path isn't populated on delta results and renaming a folder doesn't emit descendant items — always resolve items by id.
The same item can appear more than once within a single delta feed — always apply only the last occurrence.
A raw timestamp as the token parameter is only supported on OneDrive for Business and SharePoint, not consumer OneDrive; Microsoft recommends a real deltaLink whenever available.
Prefer: deltashowsharingchanges requires also sending Prefer: deltashowremovedasdeleted and Prefer: deltatraversepermissiongaps and requires Sites.FullControl.All — omitting the companion headers will not work as expected.
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