SharePoint Designer 2013 End of Life: What Happens to Old Workflows

According to Microsoft, SharePoint Designer 2013 officially loses support on July 14, 2026, and receives no security updates thereafter. The tool is not automatically shut down but continues running unpatched as long as the underlying SharePoint farm allows it. Importantly, it must be distinguished from another deadline: the SharePoint 2013 workflow engine itself will be completely removed on April 2, 2026, regardless of which tool was used to build the workflows. Confusing the two deadlines leads to planning on the wrong date. Status: August 2026.

What exactly ends on July 14, 2026?

On July 14, 2026, support ends for the locally installed client SharePoint Designer 2013, as Microsoft in the official retirement notice confirms. This affects exclusively the design and editing tool, not directly the server components. After this date, there are no more security updates and no official support for the program.

What's the difference from the SharePoint 2013 workflow engine?

The workflow engine on which workflows built with SharePoint Designer actually run follows its own, stricter timeline: since April 2, 2024, no new SharePoint 2013 workflows can be created on newly provisioned tenants, and by April 2, 2026, they will be completely removed from all existing tenants without extension options. According to Microsoft, this applies to all environments including government clouds and defense agencies. After the shutdown, affected users see a message that custom workflows have been disabled by the SharePoint administrator, and existing workflows can only be viewed as raw XML. This engine shutdown is the actually critical deadline; the end of support for SharePoint Designer itself is rather a footnote.

Does SharePoint Designer 2013 still work after end of support?

Yes, in all probability it will, but without a safety net. In response to a corresponding user question in the official Microsoft forums a Microsoft moderator answered that no official announcement exists to actively block the client or remove server-side endpoints as long as SharePoint Server SE maintains backward compatibility. This aligns with a historical precedent: when SharePoint 2010 workflows were officially retired on August 1, 2020 for new tenants and November 1, 2020 for existing tenants, the authoring tool similarly remained usable longer than the engine behind it. Nevertheless, real risks remain: compatibility issues with future cumulative updates from SharePoint Server SE, difficulties with tightened authentication requirements that the outdated client does not support, and compliance concerns because many organizations fundamentally exclude production use of unsupported software.

How do you migrate existing workflows in time?

Microsoft primarily recommends Power Automate as a replacement, which connects to Microsoft 365 and over 700 other services, supplemented by simpler approval functions built directly into lists and document libraries for pure approval processes. For more complex legacy workloads, solutions from ISV partners and Microsoft solution providers are also worth considering. In practice, it's best to start with an inventory: which SharePoint 2013 workflows are still actively running, and which are orphaned artifacts from old projects? Only the active processes need to be rebuilt in Power Automate by April 2, 2026; after that, there's no time left for follow-up work. If you don't want to handle this migration yourself, a Power Automate consultation offers a way to plan the transition without production downtime.

Frequently asked questions about SharePoint Designer 2013

Do I need to uninstall SharePoint Designer 2013 immediately?

No, there's no immediate requirement. After July 14, 2026, the program receives no more updates but continues to work, to the best of our knowledge, as long as your SharePoint Server environment allows it. For production deployments with compliance requirements, you should nevertheless assess the unpatched state as a risk and shut it down in a timely manner.

What happens to my SharePoint 2013 workflows after April 2, 2026?

They will be removed from all existing tenants without extension options. Affected users see a deactivation message, and the workflow can subsequently only be viewed as raw XML, not executed or edited. Migration after this deadline is not possible without reconstructing the original process from documentation.

Is Power Automate the only replacement for SharePoint Designer workflows?

No, for simple approval processes, the built-in approval functions in lists and document libraries are often sufficient without needing a separate flow. For very complex or highly customized legacy processes, solutions from Microsoft solution providers or ISV partners are also worth considering.

Does the shutdown also affect government and special environments like GCC or DoD?

Yes, according to Microsoft, the timeline applies to all environments worldwide, including Government Community Cloud, GCC High, and defense environments. There is no separate deadline extension for these environments.