Cleanup Orphaned Apps
This script scans the Intune app catalog for cleanup candidates: apps with no assignments at all, and Win32 apps that a newer app supersedes. Old installer versions and abandoned test apps accumulate quickly and clutter the catalog. By default the script only reports; deletion requires the -Remove switch, supports -WhatIf preview, and prompts per app. Deleting an app from Intune does not uninstall it from devices that already have it.
New to runbook deployment? Follow the step-by-step guide from the Deploy to Azure button to the first scheduled run, including granting Graph permissions to the managed identity.
// QUALITY CHECKS
Validation status
Quality checks
All checks pass- ParsePass
- LintPass
- MetadataPass
- Runbook-readyPass
- Module depsPass
Tests run automatically on every change. What does each check mean?
// REQUIRED PERMISSIONS
Microsoft Graph scopes
DeviceManagementApps.ReadWrite.AllAllows the app to read and write the properties, group assignments and status of apps, app configurations and app protection policies managed by Microsoft Intune, without a signed-in user.
Running this as an Azure Automation runbook? These scopes must be granted to the account's managed identity, which has no portal UI. The deployment walkthrough shows the exact Cloud Shell commands.
// CHANGELOG
Version history
Entry · 01
1.0 - Initial release
// CODE
Source
<#
.TITLE
Cleanup Orphaned Apps
.SYNOPSIS
Finds Intune apps that have no assignments or are superseded by newer versions, and optionally deletes them.
.DESCRIPTION
This script scans the Intune app catalog for cleanup candidates: apps with no
assignments at all, and Win32 apps that a newer app supersedes. Old installer
versions and abandoned test apps accumulate quickly and clutter the catalog. By
default the script only reports; deletion requires the -Remove switch, supports
-WhatIf preview, and prompts per app. Deleting an app from Intune does not
uninstall it from devices that already have it.
.TAGS
Apps,Operational
.MINROLE
Intune Administrator
.PERMISSIONS
DeviceManagementApps.ReadWrite.All
.AUTHOR
Ugur Koc
.VERSION
1.0
.CHANGELOG
1.0 - Initial release
.LASTUPDATE
2026-07-20
.EXAMPLE
.\cleanup-orphaned-apps.ps1
Reports unassigned and superseded apps without deleting anything
.EXAMPLE
.\cleanup-orphaned-apps.ps1 -OlderThanDays 90
Only reports apps created more than 90 days ago
.EXAMPLE
.\cleanup-orphaned-apps.ps1 -Remove -WhatIf
Shows exactly which apps would be deleted, without deleting them
.NOTES
- Requires Microsoft.Graph.Authentication module
- Superseded means another Win32 app declares a supersedence relationship to this app (supersedingAppCount > 0)
- Deleting an app does not uninstall it from devices; it removes the deployment object
- Recently created apps are excluded by default (-OlderThanDays 30) to avoid flagging work in progress
- Uses beta Graph endpoints because supersedence counts are exposed there
- Local interactive sign-in uses the MgGraphCommunity module to avoid the Graph SDK's mandatory WAM broker on Windows
#>
[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess = $true, ConfirmImpact = "High")]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Only consider apps created more than this many days ago")]
[ValidateRange(0, 3650)]
[int]$OlderThanDays = 30,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Delete the reported apps instead of only reporting")]
[switch]$Remove,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Export results to CSV")]
[switch]$ExportToCsv,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Output path for exports")]
[string]$OutputPath = ".",
[Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Force module installation without prompting")]
[switch]$ForceModuleInstall
)
# ============================================================================
# ENVIRONMENT DETECTION AND SETUP
# ============================================================================
function Initialize-RequiredModule {
param(
[string[]]$ModuleNames,
[bool]$IsAutomationEnvironment,
[bool]$ForceInstall = $false
)
foreach ($ModuleName in $ModuleNames) {
Write-Verbose "Checking module: $ModuleName"
$module = Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name $ModuleName | Select-Object -First 1
if (-not $module) {
if ($IsAutomationEnvironment) {
throw "Module '$ModuleName' is not available in Azure Automation"
}
else {
Write-Information "Module '$ModuleName' not found. Installing..." -InformationAction Continue
if (-not $ForceInstall) {
$response = Read-Host "Install module '$ModuleName'? (Y/N)"
if ($response -notmatch '^[Yy]') {
throw "Module '$ModuleName' is required but installation was declined."
}
}
try {
$isAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator")
$scope = if ($isAdmin) { "AllUsers" } else { "CurrentUser" }
Install-Module -Name $ModuleName -Scope $scope -Force -AllowClobber -Repository PSGallery
Write-Information "✓ Successfully installed '$ModuleName'" -InformationAction Continue
}
catch {
throw "Failed to install module '$ModuleName': $($_.Exception.Message)"
}
}
}
Import-Module -Name $ModuleName -Force -ErrorAction Stop
}
}
# Detect execution environment
$IsAzureAutomation = $null -ne $PSPrivateMetadata.JobId.Guid
# Initialize required modules
$RequiredModules = @("Microsoft.Graph.Authentication")
# MgGraphCommunity gives WAM-free interactive sign-in for local runs
if (-not $IsAzureAutomation) {
$RequiredModules += "MgGraphCommunity"
}
try {
Initialize-RequiredModule -ModuleNames $RequiredModules -IsAutomationEnvironment $IsAzureAutomation -ForceInstall $ForceModuleInstall
Write-Verbose "✓ All required modules are available"
}
catch {
Write-Error "Module initialization failed: $_"
exit 1
}
# ============================================================================
# AUTHENTICATION
# ============================================================================
try {
if ($IsAzureAutomation) {
Write-Output "Connecting to Microsoft Graph using Managed Identity..."
Connect-MgGraph -Identity -NoWelcome -ErrorAction Stop
}
else {
Write-Information "Connecting to Microsoft Graph..." -InformationAction Continue
$Scopes = @(
"DeviceManagementApps.ReadWrite.All"
)
Connect-MgGraphCommunity -Scopes $Scopes -NoWelcome -ErrorAction Stop
}
Write-Information "✓ Successfully connected to Microsoft Graph" -InformationAction Continue
}
catch {
Write-Error "Failed to connect to Microsoft Graph: $($_.Exception.Message)"
exit 1
}
# ============================================================================
# HELPER FUNCTIONS
# ============================================================================
function Get-MgGraphAllPage {
param(
[string]$Uri,
[int]$DelayMs = 100
)
$allResults = @()
$nextLink = $Uri
do {
try {
if ($allResults.Count -gt 0) {
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds $DelayMs
}
$response = Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Uri $nextLink -Method GET
if ($response.value) {
$allResults += $response.value
}
else {
$allResults += $response
}
$nextLink = $response.'@odata.nextLink'
}
catch {
if ($_.Exception.Message -like "*429*") {
Write-Information "Rate limit hit, waiting 60 seconds..." -InformationAction Continue
Start-Sleep -Seconds 60
continue
}
Write-Warning "Error fetching data: $($_.Exception.Message)"
break
}
} while ($nextLink)
return $allResults
}
# ============================================================================
# MAIN SCRIPT LOGIC
# ============================================================================
try {
Write-Information "Retrieving app catalog with assignments..." -InformationAction Continue
$apps = Get-MgGraphAllPage -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/deviceAppManagement/mobileApps?`$expand=assignments"
Write-Information "✓ Found $(@($apps).Count) apps" -InformationAction Continue
$cutoffDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$OlderThanDays)
[System.Collections.Generic.List[Object]]$report = @()
$deleted = 0
$deleteFailed = 0
foreach ($app in $apps) {
$created = if ($app.createdDateTime) { [DateTime]::Parse($app.createdDateTime.ToString()) } else { $null }
# Recently created apps are probably still being set up
if ($created -and $created -gt $cutoffDate) {
continue
}
$isUnassigned = (@($app.assignments).Count -eq 0)
$isSuperseded = ([int]$app.supersedingAppCount -gt 0)
if (-not $isUnassigned -and -not $isSuperseded) {
continue
}
$reason = if ($isUnassigned -and $isSuperseded) { "Unassigned + Superseded" }
elseif ($isSuperseded) { "Superseded" }
else { "Unassigned" }
$appType = ([string]$app.'@odata.type') -replace "#microsoft.graph.", ""
$action = "Reported"
if ($Remove) {
if ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess("$($app.displayName) ($appType, $reason)", "Delete Intune app")) {
try {
Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/deviceAppManagement/mobileApps/$($app.id)" -Method DELETE
Write-Information "✓ Deleted: $($app.displayName)" -InformationAction Continue
$action = "Deleted"
$deleted++
}
catch {
Write-Warning "Failed to delete '$($app.displayName)': $($_.Exception.Message)"
$action = "DeleteFailed"
$deleteFailed++
}
}
else {
$action = "Skipped"
}
}
$report.Add([PSCustomObject]@{
AppName = $app.displayName
AppType = $appType
Publisher = $app.publisher
Reason = $reason
Created = if ($created) { $created.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") } else { "" }
Superseded = $isSuperseded
AppId = $app.id
Action = $action
})
}
# ----- Display results -----
Write-Information "`nORPHANED APP REPORT" -InformationAction Continue
Write-Information ("=" * 50) -InformationAction Continue
Write-Information "Age filter: created more than $OlderThanDays days ago" -InformationAction Continue
Write-Information "Generated: $(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')" -InformationAction Continue
Write-Information ("=" * 50) -InformationAction Continue
if ($report.Count -eq 0) {
Write-Information "`nNo orphaned or superseded apps found." -InformationAction Continue
}
else {
foreach ($reasonGroup in ($report | Group-Object -Property Reason | Sort-Object Name)) {
Write-Information "`n$($reasonGroup.Name) ($($reasonGroup.Count) apps)" -InformationAction Continue
foreach ($row in ($reasonGroup.Group | Sort-Object AppName)) {
Write-Information " $($row.AppName) [$($row.AppType)] created $($row.Created) - $($row.Action)" -InformationAction Continue
}
}
}
# Summary
Write-Information "`n" -InformationAction Continue
Write-Information ("=" * 50) -InformationAction Continue
Write-Information "Summary: $($report.Count) cleanup candidates of $(@($apps).Count) total apps" -InformationAction Continue
if ($Remove) {
Write-Information "Deleted: $deleted | Failed: $deleteFailed" -InformationAction Continue
}
elseif ($report.Count -gt 0) {
Write-Information "Run again with -Remove to delete (add -WhatIf for a dry run). Deleting does NOT uninstall from devices." -InformationAction Continue
}
Write-Information ("=" * 50) -InformationAction Continue
# Export to CSV if requested
if ($ExportToCsv) {
$timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss"
$csvPath = Join-Path $OutputPath "Orphaned_Apps_$timestamp.csv"
$report | Export-Csv -Path $csvPath -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
Write-Information "✓ CSV report saved: $csvPath" -InformationAction Continue
}
}
catch {
Write-Error "Script execution failed: $($_.Exception.Message)"
exit 1
}
finally {
try {
$null = Disconnect-MgGraph
Write-Information "✓ Disconnected from Microsoft Graph" -InformationAction Continue
}
catch {
Write-Verbose "Graph disconnection completed"
}
}
// NOTES
Author notes
- Requires Microsoft.Graph.Authentication module - Superseded means another Win32 app declares a supersedence relationship to this app (supersedingAppCount > 0) - Deleting an app does not uninstall it from devices; it removes the deployment object - Recently created apps are excluded by default (-OlderThanDays 30) to avoid flagging work in progress - Uses beta Graph endpoints because supersedence counts are exposed there - Local interactive sign-in uses the MgGraphCommunity module to avoid the Graph SDK's mandatory WAM broker on Windows
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