Microsoft Graph Search SDK Skill

When asked to search OneDrive, Teams, Outlook, or other Microsoft 365 services, use Python with the requests library for clean, simple API calls.

🔒 Security-First Design

ONE CRITICAL RULE: Claude NEVER displays your token back to you.

Simple workflow:

1. Claude opens Graph Explorer for you
2. You paste token in chat (it’s fine)
3. Claude uses it but never echoes it back

Step 1: Install Dependencies (Auto)

Check and install if needed:

pip3 install -q requests

Step 2: Get Access Token

Simple 3-Step Process:

1. Claude opens Graph Explorer (automatically)

   # macOS: open "https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer"
   # Linux: xdg-open "https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer"
   # Windows: start "https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer"
   

2. You get token from browser:

   • Sign in with Microsoft account
   • Click “Access token” tab
   • Copy the token
   • Paste it in chat (it’s fine to paste)

3. Claude uses it silently:

   • Stores in Python variable
   • Makes API calls
   • Never displays it back

Token Notes:

• Expires in 69-90 minutes, just get a new one when needed
• Claude will store it for the session

Step 3: Search Using Python

Simple Token Usage

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import requests

# User pastes token in chat, Claude uses it
TOKEN = "user_provided_token_here"  # Claude replaces with actual token

# ✅ CORRECT: Use it silently
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"}
response = requests.get("https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me", headers=headers)

# ❌ WRONG: NEVER display the token
# print(f"Using token: {TOKEN}")  # DON'T DO THIS

Timezone Handling (Central Time)

IMPORTANT: Always convert dates/times to Central Time Zone for display.

from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo

def to_central_time(iso_datetime_str):
    """Convert ISO datetime string to Central Time"""
    if not iso_datetime_str or iso_datetime_str == 'Unknown':
        return 'Unknown'

    # Remove trailing zeros and parse
    dt_str = iso_datetime_str.rstrip('0').rstrip('.')

    # Parse the datetime (assume UTC if no timezone)
    if 'Z' in dt_str or '+' in dt_str or dt_str.endswith('-'):
        dt = datetime.fromisoformat(dt_str.replace('Z', '+00:00'))
    else:
        dt = datetime.fromisoformat(dt_str).replace(tzinfo=ZoneInfo('UTC'))

    # Convert to Central Time
    central = dt.astimezone(ZoneInfo('America/Chicago'))

    # Format nicely
    return central.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %I:%M %p CST')

# Example usage:
# start_time = to_central_time("2026-01-06T15:00:00.0000000")
# print(start_time)  # "2026-01-06 09:00 AM CST"

Common Operations

All examples below assume:

import os
import requests
from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo

TOKEN = os.getenv('MS_GRAPH_TOKEN')
if not TOKEN:
    print("Error: MS_GRAPH_TOKEN not set", file=sys.stderr)
    sys.exit(1)

HEADERS = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"}

Get Current User

response = requests.get("https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me", headers=HEADERS)
user = response.json()
print(f"Name: {user.get('displayName')}")
print(f"Email: {user.get('userPrincipalName')}")

Search OneDrive Files

query = "report"
url = f"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/drive/root/search(q='{query}')"
response = requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
files = response.json().get('value', [])

for file in files[:10]:
    print(f"📄 {file['name']}")
    print(f"   Modified: {to_central_time(file.get('lastModifiedDateTime', 'Unknown'))}")
    print(f"   Size: {file.get('size', 0):,} bytes")

List OneDrive Files

response = requests.get("https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/drive/root/children", headers=HEADERS)
files = response.json().get('value', [])

for file in files[:10]:
    print(f"📁 {file['name']}")
    print(f"   Type: {file.get('@microsoft.graph.downloadUrl', 'Folder' if 'folder' in file else 'File')}")

Files Shared With Me

response = requests.get("https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/drive/sharedWithMe", headers=HEADERS)
files = response.json().get('value', [])

for item in files[:10]:
    remote_item = item.get('remoteItem', {})
    shared_by = item.get('shared', {}).get('sharedBy', {}).get('user', {}).get('displayName', 'Unknown')
    print(f"📤 {remote_item.get('name', 'Unknown')}")
    print(f"   Shared by: {shared_by}")

Search Emails

query = "budget"
url = f"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search=\"{query}\"&$top=10"
response = requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
messages = response.json().get('value', [])

for msg in messages:
    print(f"✉️  {msg.get('subject', 'No subject')}")
    sender = msg.get('from', {}).get('emailAddress', {}).get('address', 'Unknown')
    print(f"   From: {sender}")
    print(f"   Date: {to_central_time(msg.get('receivedDateTime', 'Unknown'))}")

List Inbox Messages

url = "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$top=10&$select=subject,from,receivedDateTime"
response = requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
messages = response.json().get('value', [])

for msg in messages:
    sender = msg.get('from', {}).get('emailAddress', {}).get('name', 'Unknown')
    print(f"📧 {msg.get('subject', 'No subject')}")
    print(f"   From: {sender}")
    print(f"   Date: {to_central_time(msg.get('receivedDateTime', 'Unknown'))}")

List Teams

response = requests.get("https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/joinedTeams", headers=HEADERS)
teams = response.json().get('value', [])

for team in teams:
    print(f"👥 {team.get('displayName', 'Unknown')}")
    print(f"   Description: {team.get('description', 'No description')}")

List Calendar Events

response = requests.get("https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/calendar/events?$top=10", headers=HEADERS)
events = response.json().get('value', [])

for event in events:
    # Get start/end times and convert to Central Time
    start = event.get('start', {}).get('dateTime', 'Unknown')
    end = event.get('end', {}).get('dateTime', 'Unknown')

    print(f"📅 {event.get('subject', 'No subject')}")
    print(f"   Start: {to_central_time(start)}")
    print(f"   End: {to_central_time(end)}")
    print(f"   Location: {event.get('location', {}).get('displayName', 'No location')}")

Unified Search (Multiple Services)

search_body = {
    "requests": [{
        "entityTypes": ["driveItem", "message"],
        "query": {"queryString": "quarterly report"},
        "from": 0,
        "size": 25
    }]
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/search/query",
    headers={**HEADERS, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
    json=search_body
)
results = response.json()

# Parse results
for request_result in results.get('value', []):
    for hit_container in request_result.get('hitsContainers', []):
        for hit in hit_container.get('hits', []):
            resource = hit.get('resource', {})
            print(f"🔍 {resource.get('name') or resource.get('subject', 'Unknown')}")
            print(f"   Type: {resource.get('@odata.type', 'Unknown')}")

Error Handling Template

def handle_response(response, reopen_browser=False):
    """Handle API response with proper error messages"""
    if response.status_code == 401:
        print("❌ Token expired or invalid", file=sys.stderr)
        print("", file=sys.stderr)
        print("To get a new token:", file=sys.stderr)
        print("1. Open https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer", file=sys.stderr)
        print("2. Sign in and click 'Access token' tab", file=sys.stderr)
        print("3. Run: export MS_GRAPH_TOKEN=\"<your-token>\"", file=sys.stderr)

        if reopen_browser:
            import platform
            import subprocess
            system = platform.system()
            url = "https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer"

            try:
                if system == "Darwin":
                    subprocess.run(["open", url])
                elif system == "Linux":
                    subprocess.run(["xdg-open", url])
                elif system == "Windows":
                    subprocess.run(["start", url], shell=True)
                print("\n✅ Opened Graph Explorer in browser", file=sys.stderr)
            except Exception as e:
                print(f"\n⚠️  Could not open browser: {e}", file=sys.stderr)

        return None

    elif response.status_code == 403:
        print("❌ Permission denied. Grant consent in Graph Explorer.", file=sys.stderr)
        return None

    elif response.status_code == 429:
        print("❌ Rate limited. Wait a moment and try again.", file=sys.stderr)
        return None

    elif response.status_code == 200:
        return response.json()

    else:
        print(f"❌ Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}", file=sys.stderr)
        return None

# Usage:
# data = handle_response(response, reopen_browser=True)
# if data:
#     # Process data

Complete Example Script Template

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Microsoft Graph Search - Simple & Secure

Searches OneDrive and Outlook using Microsoft Graph API.

Security:
    - User pastes token in chat (it's fine)
    - Claude uses it but never displays it back
"""

import requests
from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo

# User pastes token in chat, Claude replaces this
TOKEN = "user_provided_token_here"

def to_central_time(iso_datetime_str):
    """Convert ISO datetime string to Central Time"""
    if not iso_datetime_str or iso_datetime_str == 'Unknown':
        return 'Unknown'

    dt_str = iso_datetime_str.rstrip('0').rstrip('.')

    if 'Z' in dt_str or '+' in dt_str or dt_str.endswith('-'):
        dt = datetime.fromisoformat(dt_str.replace('Z', '+00:00'))
    else:
        dt = datetime.fromisoformat(dt_str).replace(tzinfo=ZoneInfo('UTC'))

    central = dt.astimezone(ZoneInfo('America/Chicago'))
    return central.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %I:%M %p CST')

def handle_response(response):
    """Handle API response with error checking"""
    if response.status_code == 401:
        print("❌ Token expired. Get new token from Graph Explorer.")
        return None
    elif response.status_code == 403:
        print("❌ Permission denied.")
        return None
    elif response.status_code == 429:
        print("❌ Rate limited. Wait and retry.")
        return None
    elif response.status_code == 200:
        return response.json()
    else:
        print(f"❌ Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}")
        return None

def search_onedrive(query):
    """Search OneDrive files"""
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"}
    url = f"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/drive/root/search(q='{query}')"
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
    data = handle_response(response)

    if data:
        files = data.get('value', [])
        print(f"\n📁 Found {len(files)} files matching '{query}':\n")
        for i, file in enumerate(files[:10], 1):
            print(f"{i}. {file['name']}")
            print(f"   Modified: {to_central_time(file.get('lastModifiedDateTime', 'Unknown'))}")
            print(f"   Size: {file.get('size', 0):,} bytes\n")

def search_emails(query):
    """Search Outlook emails"""
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"}
    url = f"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search=\"{query}\"&$top=10"
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
    data = handle_response(response)

    if data:
        messages = data.get('value', [])
        print(f"\n✉️  Found {len(messages)} emails matching '{query}':\n")
        for i, msg in enumerate(messages, 1):
            sender = msg.get('from', {}).get('emailAddress', {}).get('address', 'Unknown')
            print(f"{i}. {msg.get('subject', 'No subject')}")
            print(f"   From: {sender}")
            print(f"   Date: {to_central_time(msg.get('receivedDateTime', 'Unknown'))}\n")

# Run searches
search_onedrive("report")
search_emails("budget")

Output Format

Present results clearly with dates/times in Central Time:

📁 OneDrive Search Results for "quarterly report"

Found 3 files:

1. Q4-2024-Report.xlsx
   Modified: 2024-12-15 04:30 AM CST
   Size: 45,231 bytes
   Path: /Documents/Reports

2. Quarterly-Summary.docx
   Modified: 2024-12-10 08:22 AM CST
   Size: 23,450 bytes
   Path: /Documents/Reports

3. Q4-Presentation.pptx
   Modified: 2024-12-05 03:15 AM CST
   Size: 1,234,567 bytes
   Path: /Shared/Team

Common Queries & Workflows

“Find my Excel files in OneDrive”

1. Check if MS_GRAPH_TOKEN is set
2. If not, open Graph Explorer and instruct user
3. Run search: q='.xlsx'
4. Display results with file names, dates, sizes

“Search my emails for X”

1. Check token (reuse if already set)
2. Use $search="X" parameter
3. Display subject, sender, date in Central Time

“Show files shared with me”

1. Use /me/drive/sharedWithMe endpoint
2. Parse remoteItem for file details
3. Show who shared each file

“What meetings do I have today?”

1. Use /me/calendar/events
2. Filter by date
3. Convert times to Central Time using to_central_time()
4. Display subject, time, location

Best Practices

Security

• Always read token from MS_GRAPH_TOKEN environment variable
• Never pass token as command-line argument
• Never print token to stdout or stderr
• Never log token to files
• Store token in memory only during script execution

API Usage

• Use $top parameter to limit results (avoid large responses)
• Use $select to request only needed fields
• Handle pagination for large result sets
• Implement exponential backoff for rate limits

Time Handling

• Always convert dates/times to Central Time for display
• Use the to_central_time() function consistently
• Handle missing or invalid datetime strings gracefully

Error Handling

• Check response status codes before parsing JSON
• Provide helpful error messages to stderr
• Re-open browser on 401 errors (expired token)
• Exit with non-zero code on errors

Code Quality

• Use descriptive function names
• Add docstrings to functions
• Pretty-print JSON with json.dumps(data, indent=2) when debugging
• Use f-strings for formatting

Platform Detection for Browser Opening

import platform
import subprocess

def open_graph_explorer():
    """Open Graph Explorer in default browser"""
    system = platform.system()
    url = "https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer"

    try:
        if system == "Darwin":  # macOS
            subprocess.run(["open", url])
        elif system == "Linux":
            subprocess.run(["xdg-open", url])
        elif system == "Windows":
            subprocess.run(["start", url], shell=True)
        print("✅ Opened Graph Explorer in browser")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"⚠️  Could not open browser: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
        print(f"Please open manually: {url}", file=sys.stderr)

Advantages Over curl

• Cleaner code – No complex escaping or quoting
• Better error handling – Native Python exceptions
• Easier parsing – Direct dict access vs JSON strings
• Token security – Claude never displays it back
• Type safety – Python type hints and linting
• Maintainability – Easier to read and modify

Troubleshooting

Token Expired

❌ Token expired or invalid

Solution:

• Get new token from Graph Explorer (token expires after 69-90 minutes)
• Paste new token in chat

Permission Denied

❌ Permission denied

Solution:

• In Graph Explorer, grant consent for required scopes
• Check Permissions Reference

Module Not Found

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'requests'

Solution:

pip3 install requests

Timezone Issues

ZoneInfoNotFoundError: 'America/Chicago'

Solution:

# Install tzdata
pip3 install tzdata

Resources

Microsoft Graph

Python Libraries

• requests: https://requests.readthedocs.io/
• datetime: https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html
• zoneinfo: https://docs.python.org/3/library/zoneinfo.html

Important Notes

• Simple approach – Uses requests library for direct API calls
• Token flow – You paste token in chat (it’s fine), Claude never displays it back
• Screen protection – Token never echoed or printed
• Token reuse – Claude stores it in memory for the session
• Auto-install – Claude Code can install requests automatically
• Graph Explorer – Uses Graph Explorer for token generation
• Central Time – All dates/times converted to America/Chicago timezone

Last Updated: 2026-01-11

Security Notice: The ONE rule: Claude never displays your token back to you. Paste it in chat, Claude uses it silently.