Power Automate Flow Does Not Trigger on File Upload: Root Cause and Fix

You created a Power Automate flow that should start automatically when a file is uploaded to a SharePoint document library. But the flow does not run after you add a file. This problem stops document processing workflows, approval chains, and notification systems from working. The root cause is usually a mismatch between the trigger configuration and the actual event that SharePoint sends. This article explains why the trigger fails and gives you step-by-step fixes to get your flow running again.

Why the Power Automate Trigger Does Not Fire on File Upload

Power Automate uses SharePoint webhooks to detect file changes. When you upload a file, SharePoint sends an event to the webhook. But the flow trigger only responds to specific event types. The most common trigger is “When a file is created or modified (properties only).” This trigger fires when SharePoint detects a change in the file’s metadata — not the file content itself. If the metadata does not change, the trigger may not fire.

Another common cause is the trigger condition setting. The “When a file is created or modified (properties only)” trigger includes both create and modify events. But if you use the “When a file is created (properties only)” trigger, it only fires for new files. Mixing up these triggers can cause confusion. Also, the flow must be saved and turned on. A disabled flow cannot trigger at all.

SharePoint library settings also affect triggering. If the library has versioning turned off, some file types — like images or PDFs — may not generate the expected event. The webhook may still fire, but Power Automate may ignore the event if it does not match the trigger schema. Finally, the flow might be in a “suspended” or “failed” state due to a previous error. You must check the flow run history to see if the trigger fired but the action failed.

Steps to Diagnose and Fix the Trigger Problem

1. Check the flow status in Power Automate
   Open Power Automate at make.powerautomate.com. Go to My flows. Find your flow. Look for the status badge. If it says “Off” or “Suspended,” turn it on by selecting the flow and clicking Turn on. If the flow is “Failed,” review the error message and fix the action that caused the failure.
2. Review the trigger type
   Open your flow in edit mode. Click the trigger card. Look at the trigger name at the top of the card. If it says “When a file is created or modified (properties only),” it will fire for both new and changed files. If it says “When a file is created (properties only),” it fires only for new files. If you want the flow to run on every upload (including overwrites of existing files), use the first trigger. To change it, delete the trigger and add the correct one.
3. Verify the trigger condition
   In the trigger card, click the three dots (…) and select Settings. Look for the Trigger Conditions section. If there is a condition, it must evaluate to true for the flow to run. For example, a condition like “@equals(triggerBody()?[‘{Identifier}’],’SpecificValue’)” can block the trigger. Remove or edit any condition that does not match your upload scenario.
4. Test with a simple file upload
   Upload a new text file (.txt) to the document library. Wait 30 seconds. Go to the flow run history (click the flow name, then the Run history tab). If you see a run, the trigger worked. If you see no run, the trigger did not fire. If you see a run that failed, the trigger fired but the actions failed. Fix the actions.
5. Check SharePoint library versioning settings
   Go to the SharePoint document library. Click Settings (gear icon) > Library settings. Under General settings, click Versioning settings. Ensure “Create major versions” or “Create major and minor versions” is selected. If versioning is off, turn it on. This ensures SharePoint sends proper events for all file types.
6. Recreate the trigger connection
   In the trigger card, click the three dots (…) and select Settings. Under Connection, click the connection name. Click Remove. Then add a new connection to the same SharePoint site. Save the flow. Test again.
7. Reset the webhook
   In some cases, the webhook between Power Automate and SharePoint gets stuck. To reset it, turn off the flow, wait 10 seconds, then turn it back on. This forces Power Automate to re-register the webhook with SharePoint.

If the Flow Still Does Not Trigger After the Main Fix

Power Automate Flow Shows “Skipped” in Run History

If the run history shows a “Skipped” status, the trigger fired but the trigger condition evaluated to false. Go back to step 3 and remove or adjust the condition. Also check if the trigger uses a filter query. In the trigger card, expand “Show advanced options.” Look for “Filter Query.” If it contains a condition like “Title eq ‘Test’,” remove it or change it to match your files.

Power Automate Flow Does Not Trigger for Certain File Types

Some file types, such as .tmp or .lnk, do not trigger SharePoint events. Also, files uploaded via sync (OneDrive sync client) may not trigger the event if the sync client uses a different API. To fix this, use the “When a file is created or modified (properties only)” trigger and ensure versioning is on. If the file is uploaded via sync, ask users to upload directly through the SharePoint browser interface.

Power Automate Flow Triggers but Runs on the Wrong File

The trigger may fire on a file that was modified, not created. If you only want new files, use the “When a file is created (properties only)” trigger. If you still see runs on modified files, check the trigger condition to filter by “@equals(triggerBody()?[‘{IsFolder}’],false)” and “@equals(triggerBody()?[‘{IsCheckedOut}’],false).” This ensures the flow runs only on files, not folders or checked-out items.

Power Automate Trigger Types for SharePoint File Upload

Item	When a file is created (properties only)	When a file is created or modified (properties only)
Fires on new file upload	Yes	Yes
Fires on file modification (metadata change)	No	Yes
Fires on file content change only	No	No
Best use case	One-time processing for new files	Continuous processing that includes updates
Trigger condition support	Yes	Yes

Use the “When a file is created (properties only)” trigger if you need the flow to run exactly once per file upload. Use the “When a file is created or modified (properties only)” trigger if you need the flow to run every time the file metadata changes — for example, when a user updates the file title or description after upload.

Now you can diagnose why your Power Automate flow does not trigger on file upload. Start by checking the flow status and trigger type. Then verify the trigger condition and SharePoint library settings. If the problem persists, reset the webhook or recreate the connection. For advanced control, use trigger conditions to filter out unwanted events. This ensures your flow runs reliably for every file upload.