Microsoft announced the retirement SPFx field customizers in June 2026, eliminating a key extensibility option developers have relied on for nearly eight years.

by Andrew Connell

UPDATE: Maybe They Aren’t Retired Yet…

I received the following comment on Thursday, June 18 ~2p ET from Microsoft after this article was published… looks like they’re taking a step back and re-evaluating their decision

Microsoft: “We are evaluating deprecating FieldCustomizer. We are working with you all to understand the impact. We don’t have a date to share for this deprecation. When we do announce a date, it will be at least a year in the future from that announcement.”

Microsoft announced they’re retiring SharePoint Framework field customizers in June 2026, eliminating a key extensibility option developers have relied on for nearly eight years.

In a buried message center announcement on June 13, 2025, Microsoft revealed that SharePoint Framework (SPFx) field customizers will stop working on June 30, 2026. This decision removes critical functionality that thousands of organizations depend on for customizing SharePoint list columns with business logic and interactive elements.

In this article, you’ll lea
what field customizers are, the details of Microsoft’s announcement, the recommended alte
atives, and why this retirement represents a significant loss for SharePoint developers and organizations.

Field customizers are one of three extension types supported by the SharePoint Framework. Microsoft created this feature to bridge the functionality gap left when they moved from SharePoint’s classic mode to the mode
experience.

In classic SharePoint, developers used JSLink or Client Side Rendering (CSR) to customize how columns appeared in lists and forms using JavaScript. This allowed for rich customizations including business logic, validation, and interactive elements that went far beyond simple formatting.

Microsoft released field customizers in 2017, several months after the initial SPFx release. Initially, they only supported read-only scenarios in lists, but Microsoft promised to add write operations for forms within a few months. While they never delivered on that promise for field customizers, they eventually introduced list form customizers years later, though without proper deployment mechanisms.

Field customizers gave developers the power to customize column rendering using JavaScript, add custom business logic, and trigger actions that extended beyond SharePoint’s boundaries. This made them invaluable for creating sophisticated user experiences within SharePoint lists and document libraries.

On Friday, June 13, 2025, Microsoft quietly published announcement MC1094051 in the Microsoft 365 Message Center titled “Support Update for SharePoint Framework Field Customizers in Lists and Document Libraries.”[MC1094051] SPFx Field Customizer RetirementSupport Update for SharePoint Framework Field Customizers in Lists and Document Librarieshttps://admin.microsoft.com/AdminPortal/home#/MessageCenter/:/messages/MC1094051

The announcement states that SharePoint Framework field customizers will be retired from SharePoint lists and document libraries on June 30, 2026. As of the announcement date, field customizers are officially deprecated but continue to function normally.

When the retirement date arrives, the field customizer JavaScript bundles will no longer load on pages. SharePoint Online will revert to using the default rendering defined by each column’s underlying data type. Microsoft emphasizes that other SPFx extensions, including app customizers, list form customizers, and command set extensions, will continue functioning normally.

Microsoft suggests two primary alte
atives to replace field customizer functionality:

• Declarative column formatting: This JSON-based approach allows visual customization of columns without custom code. While useful for basic formatting and simple conditional logic, it cannot execute custom JavaScript or implement complex business logic.
• Power Apps: Microsoft recommends using Power Apps for scenarios requiring more sophisticated functionality. However, this represents a fundamental shift from embedded customizations to separate applications.

This retirement creates significant challenges for organizations and developers who have invested in field customizer solutions over the past eight years.

Custom business logic in list & column rendering no longer possible 

The most critical loss is the inability to implement custom business logic within column rendering. Declarative column formatting simply cannot replace JavaScript-based field customizers that perform calculations, call exte
al APIs, or implement complex validation logic.

Reliable and secure deployment at scale no longer possible 

Organizations also lose the ability to deploy column customizations in a secure, reliable way at enterprise scale. Field customizers packaged within SharePoint solution packages (*.sppkg) could be deployed through app catalogs using automated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) processes. Declarative column formatting and Power Apps lack this deployment sophistication – they’re limited to manual one-time customizations.

This retirement adds to an already substantial list of Microsoft 365 platform retirements scheduled for 2026:

• Azure Access Control Service (ACS): April 2, 2026
• SharePoint 2013 Workflows: April 2, 2026
• SharePoint Add-ins: April 2, 2026
• SPFx Isolated Web Parts: April 2, 2026

This announcement represents more than just a feature retirement; it signals troubling patte
s in Microsoft’s M365 management approach.

Microsoft provided zero advance notice to the developer community, failed to solicit input from MVPs and insiders who could have provided valuable feedback, and showed no consideration for the impact on existing solutions that organizations have relied on for years.

The timing and manner of this announcement erodes trust in the SharePoint Framework as a reliable development platform.

When Microsoft introduced SPFx in 2016, they positioned it as the future of SharePoint development with long-term support and commitment. This sudden retirement contradicts those assurances.

I suspect this decision stems from inte
al conflicts between the SharePoint Framework team and the SharePoint Lists team. In 2024, the Lists team launched a new user experience that initially broke all SPFx customizations because they failed to test compatibility with existing extensions. While they quickly patched the issue by falling back to the old rendering when customizations were present, the subsequent fixes have been slow, problematic, and poorly executed.

This raises legitimate conce
s about the future of other SPFx extensions. If field customizers can be retired due to incompatibility with new list experiences, what prevents the same fate for command set extensions or other SPFx features?

Coupled with the retirement of SPFx field customizers and combined with other recent news and decisions in the Microsoft 365 development and SPFx space, while it pains me to say this, I can’t shake the feeling that they’ve betrayed not just my trust, but the trust in the SPFx developer community.

Frankly, my confidence in the Microsoft 365 development ecosystem and SPFx in general is at an all time low.

Andrew Connell

Microsoft MVP, Full-Stack Developer & Chief Course Artisan – Voitanos LLC.

Organizations using field customizers should begin planning their transition strategy immediately. Start by auditing existing field customizers to understand their functionality and determine which features can be replicated using declarative column formatting.

For customizations requiring business logic or exte
al integrations, evaluate whether Power Apps provides adequate alte
atives or if custom solutions using other Microsoft 365 extensibility options might work better. But, strongly consider the limitations and baggage with these alte
atives. Are they worth it?

Consider this retirement when making future platform decisions. The precedent it sets should factor into your organization’s long-term SharePoint development strategy and technology investment decisions.

The retirement of SharePoint Framework field customizers represents a significant loss of functionality and flexibility for SharePoint developers and organizations. While Microsoft offers alte
atives, none fully replace the capabilities that SPFx field customizers provide.

This decision highlights the importance of understanding platform risks when building mission-critical customizations. It also underscores the need for Microsoft to improve communication and collaboration with the developer community on decisions that affect existing investments.

What’s your experience with field customizers?

How will this retirement impact your organization’s SharePoint solutions?

Share your thoughts and conce
s in the comments below!

I’d love to hear how the community plans to navigate this transition.

About the Author

Andrew Connell

Founder of Voitanos · 21 year Microsoft MVP · I help you become an expert developer in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem & irreplaceable in your organization through articles, videos, courses, live accelerators, and coaching.

Reference:

Connell, A (2025). Microsoft retires SharePoint Framework field customizers [Accessed: 11th October 2025].