What is happening to Project Online
Project Online is Microsoft’s cloud-based project portfolio management service, built on SharePoint Online. It has been running since 2013. Microsoft announced its retirement in late 2024, and the service is now on a fixed shutdown timeline.
This is not a gradual feature sunset. The entire service goes offline on a fixed date, and Microsoft has confirmed that data recovery will not be available afterwards.
- 1 October 2025 End of sale for new Project Online-only subscriptions. Existing customers unaffected.
- 1 April 2026 No new Project Online tenants can be created. Existing tenants continue to function normally.
- 30 September 2026 Project Online retires. The PWA site, OData API, and all associated data become permanently inaccessible.
The lifecycle page on Microsoft Learn confirms the retirement date. Microsoft’s recommended migration paths are Planner (their cloud-first replacement) or Project Server Subscription Edition (on-premises). Neither is relevant if you simply need the scheduling, Gantt, and resource management toolset without ongoing cloud dependency — that is where Project Professional 2024 fits.
What you lose if you do nothing
When the service shuts down, everything stored in your Project Web App instance disappears. This is not limited to project plans — it covers every data type the platform holds.
If any of this matters to your organisation — for compliance, billing records, project auditing, or simply being able to open old project files — you need to export before the deadline.
How to export your data
There are three main export routes, each capturing different parts of your Project Online data. Most organisations will need at least two of them to get complete coverage.
Method 1: MPP and XML export via the PowerShell script
Microsoft provides an ExportProjectUserContent PowerShell script that exports project data from the draft, published, and reporting schemas. For each project, you receive .mpp files (openable in Project Professional 2024, 2021, or 2019), .xml files (full project structure in Microsoft’s Project XML interchange format), and .json files containing reporting data including assignment timephased data, baseline timephased data, and task-level detail.
To run the export, you need a Project Online Premium or Professional licence, the Project Online Desktop Client connected to your PWA site, and Manage Users and Groups permission (or site collection admin access).
- Download the Project Online User Content Export and Delete script package from Microsoft. Unzip and unblock the files (right-click → Properties → Unblock on the zip before extracting).
- Open the SharePoint Online Management Shell and connect to your tenant with
Connect-SPOService -URL https://your-tenant-admin.sharepoint.com. - Find all PWA sites:
Get-SPOSite | ?{$_.PWAEnabled -eq "Enabled"} | ft -a Url,Owner. - Run the export for each PWA site:
.\ExportProjectUserContent.ps1 -Url <PWA-URL> -LoginName <user@domain> -OutputDirectory C:\ProjectExport. - Review the output: you will receive DraftProjectList.xml, PublishedProjectList.xml, and ReportingProjectList.xml listing all exported projects, plus per-project .mpp, .xml, and .json files.
Use the -Options parameter to export specific data categories: Projects, Timesheets, TaskStatus, Security, Portfolio, StatusReports, Engagements, ResourcePlans, or All for everything.
Method 2: OData API export
The OData reporting service at /_api/ProjectData exposes entity data that .mpp files cannot carry. This includes cross-project resource data, timesheet line items, enterprise custom field values (TaskCustomFields, ProjectCustomFields, ResourceCustomFields), and portfolio-level financial data.
Authentication uses Microsoft 365 OAuth. The simplest approach for non-developers is Excel Power Query: go to Data → Get Data → From OData Feed, paste your endpoint URL (https://your-tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/pwa/_api/ProjectData), and authenticate with your Microsoft 365 account.
For scripted exports, pagination is essential. Project Online returns at most 300 projects, 300 tasks, or 1,000 assignments per page. Follow the __next link in each response until no more pages remain. Add a two-second delay between requests to avoid throttling (HTTP 429 responses).
The key entities to export are Projects, Tasks, Assignments, Resources, TimesheetLines, and BaselineTasks. Query the metadata endpoint at /_api/ProjectData/$metadata to see the full entity list for your tenant.
Method 3: Direct save from the Desktop Client
Open any project from your PWA site in the Project Online Desktop Client, then use File → Save As to save a local .mpp copy. This is the fastest method for a handful of projects but does not scale to a full portfolio, and it misses timesheet data, resource pool metadata, and cross-project reporting data.
Commonly overlooked data
The PowerShell export and OData API between them cover most data categories, but these are routinely missed:
- Custom views, filters, and tables — these are embedded in .mpp files and need to be verified after export. Microsoft’s documentation includes a separate step for finding and saving customised user items.
- Project site content — documents, lists, and other SharePoint content stored on project sites live in SharePoint, not in Project Online itself. Export these separately through SharePoint migration tools.
- Draft-only projects — projects that were never published do not appear in OData entities or reporting data. They only exist in the draft schema and are captured by the PowerShell export script, but only if you run the
-Options Projectsparameter. - Project Home favourites — your favourited and recently viewed project lists are only visible when logged in to project.microsoft.com. Screenshot these before the shutdown.
When to do it
Target 1 September 2026 as your practical deadline. This gives you a full month of buffer before the 30 September cutoff and keeps you ahead of the rush of organisations that will inevitably wait until the final weeks.
A full export takes time. Large tenants with hundreds of projects and years of timesheet history can face OData throttling, long PowerShell script runtimes, and large output file sets. Plan for multiple export sessions, run them during off-peak hours, and validate your output counts against the live PWA data before declaring the export complete.
If you are still trying to pull data in October, the service may already be offline. There is no grace period and no data recovery path.
Where to store your exported data
The export is only useful if it is in a system you control. The .mpp files from the PowerShell export open directly in Microsoft Project Professional 2024, giving you full access to schedules, Gantt charts, resources, and baselines in the desktop application — no cloud service required.
For the OData export (CSV or JSON), store these in your own file server, SharePoint, or database. If you have Power BI reports that currently read from the Project Online OData endpoint, those will break on 30 September — you will need to redirect them to your exported data or a replacement data source.
Why a perpetual licence makes more sense now
Project Online’s retirement is a concrete example of the risk that comes with subscription-dependent project management. The service launched in 2013 and is shutting down thirteen years later, taking your data access with it unless you act in advance.
A one-time-purchase desktop licence avoids this problem entirely. Microsoft Project Professional 2024 installs on your PC, works offline, stores files locally, and does not depend on any cloud service remaining operational. You pay once, you own it, and it keeps working regardless of Microsoft’s service roadmap.
The .mpp files from your Project Online export open directly in Project Professional 2024, which means you can pick up exactly where you left off — same schedules, same Gantt charts, same resource assignments — without any subscription.
For a detailed feature-by-feature comparison with the subscription alternative, see our guide to Project Professional 2024 vs Project Plan 3.
5-year cost: Project Professional 2024 (one-time purchase) vs Project Plan 3 (subscription at £23.10/month).
- Gantt charts, task dependencies, and milestones
- Resource scheduling and budget tracking
- Opens .mpp files from Project Online export
- Works fully offline after activation
- Perpetual licence with lifetime warranty
Frequently asked questions
No. Microsoft has confirmed that Project Online will become permanently inaccessible after the retirement date. Data recovery will not be available. You must export everything you need before 30 September 2026.
Use the PowerShell export script to get .mpp files — these are the native Microsoft Project format and give you the most complete project data. The script also produces .xml and .json files as secondary formats. For timesheet history and cross-project data that .mpp files do not carry, export via the OData API to CSV or JSON.
Yes. The .mpp files produced by the export script open directly in Project Professional 2024. You get full access to schedules, Gantt charts, task dependencies, resource assignments, and baselines — exactly as they were in Project Online, but running locally on your PC with no cloud dependency. See our activation guide if you need help getting started.
Planner is Microsoft’s recommended cloud replacement, but it is a fundamentally different product. It is designed for lightweight task management, not the detailed scheduling, resource levelling, and Gantt chart capabilities that Project Online and Project Professional provide. If you rely on those features, Planner is not a like-for-like replacement. A perpetual desktop licence for Project Professional 2024 gives you the full toolset without a subscription.
It depends on the size of your tenant. A small organisation with a dozen projects can complete the PowerShell export in under an hour. Larger tenants with hundreds of projects and extensive timesheet history may need several hours, especially if OData throttling kicks in. Run exports during off-peak hours and build in time for validation.
Gary Walsh is the Head of Tech Support at Software Supplies, with more than 20 years in the IT industry. Fully Microsoft-certified and experienced across the full business software stack — from Windows and Office to cloud infrastructure and device management — Gary delivers practical, no-nonsense advice that helps users and businesses get the most from their technology.
