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.

AppsOperational
49 views14 downloadsVersion 1.2By Ugur Koc
View on GitHub

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.All

Allows 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

  1. Entry · 01

    1.2 - Added Azure Automation contract validation, portal-safe boolean parameters, beta Graph endpoints, and terminating paging errors

  2. Entry · 02

    1.1 - Azure Automation now records script progress, outcomes, and summaries in job history

  3. Entry · 03

    1.0 - Initial release

// CODE

Source

cleanup-orphaned-apps.ps1
<#
.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    Finds Intune apps that have no assignments or are superseded by newer versions, and optionally deletes them.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
    1.2

.CHANGELOG
    1.2 - Added Azure Automation contract validation, portal-safe boolean parameters, beta Graph endpoints, and terminating paging errors
    1.1 - Azure Automation now records script progress, outcomes, and summaries in job history
    1.0 - Initial release

.LASTUPDATE
    2026-07-30

.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 "true" -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 = $false, HelpMessage = "Delete the reported apps instead of only reporting")]
    [ValidateSet("true", "false", "1", "0", '$true', '$false')]
    [string]$Remove,

    [Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Export results to CSV")]
    [ValidateSet("true", "false", "1", "0", '$true', '$false')]
    [string]$ExportToCsv,

    [Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Output path for exports")]
    [string]$OutputPath = ".",

    [Parameter(Mandatory = $false, HelpMessage = "Force module installation without prompting")]
    [ValidateSet("true", "false", "1", "0", '$true', '$false')]
    [string]$ForceModuleInstall
)

# Normalize the local module-install override for Azure Automation parameter binding.
$forceModuleInstallRaw = [string]$ForceModuleInstall
Remove-Variable -Name ForceModuleInstall
if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($forceModuleInstallRaw)) {
    $ForceModuleInstall = $false
}
elseif ($forceModuleInstallRaw.Trim().ToLowerInvariant() -in @("true", "1", '$true')) {
    $ForceModuleInstall = $true
}
elseif ($forceModuleInstallRaw.Trim().ToLowerInvariant() -in @("false", "0", '$false')) {
    $ForceModuleInstall = $false
}
else {
    throw "Parameter 'ForceModuleInstall' accepts only true, false, 1, 0, $true, or $false."
}

# Azure Automation supplies portal parameter values as strings. Normalize the
# public boolean parameters once so local and runbook execution use real booleans.
foreach ($runbookBooleanParameter in @('Remove', 'ExportToCsv')) {
    $runbookBooleanRaw = [string](Get-Variable -Name $runbookBooleanParameter -ValueOnly)
    Remove-Variable -Name $runbookBooleanParameter

    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($runbookBooleanRaw)) {
        Set-Variable -Name $runbookBooleanParameter -Value $false
        continue
    }

    switch ($runbookBooleanRaw.Trim().ToLowerInvariant()) {
        { $_ -in @("true", "1", '$true') } {
            Set-Variable -Name $runbookBooleanParameter -Value $true
        }
        { $_ -in @("false", "0", '$false') } {
            Set-Variable -Name $runbookBooleanParameter -Value $false
        }
        default {
            throw "Parameter '$runbookBooleanParameter' accepts only true, false, 1, 0, $true, or $false."
        }
    }
}

# ============================================================================
# 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-Output "Connecting to Microsoft Graph..."
        $Scopes = @(
            "DeviceManagementApps.ReadWrite.All"
        )
        Connect-MgGraphCommunity -Scopes $Scopes -NoWelcome -ErrorAction Stop
    }
    Write-Output "✓ Successfully connected to Microsoft Graph"
}
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 ($null -ne $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
            }
            throw "Error fetching data: $($_.Exception.Message)"
        }
    } while ($nextLink)

    return $allResults
}

# ============================================================================
# MAIN SCRIPT LOGIC
# ============================================================================

try {
    Write-Output "Retrieving app catalog with assignments..."
    $apps = Get-MgGraphAllPage -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/deviceAppManagement/mobileApps?`$expand=assignments"
    Write-Output "✓ Found $(@($apps).Count) apps"

    $cutoffDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$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-Output "✓ Deleted: $($app.displayName)"
                    $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-Output "`nORPHANED APP REPORT"
    Write-Output ("=" * 50)
    Write-Output "Age filter: created more than $OlderThanDays days ago"
    Write-Output "Generated: $(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')"
    Write-Output ("=" * 50)

    if ($report.Count -eq 0) {
        Write-Output "`nNo orphaned or superseded apps found."
    }
    else {
        foreach ($reasonGroup in ($report | Group-Object -Property Reason | Sort-Object Name)) {
            Write-Output "`n$($reasonGroup.Name) ($($reasonGroup.Count) apps)"
            foreach ($row in ($reasonGroup.Group | Sort-Object AppName)) {
                Write-Output "  $($row.AppName) [$($row.AppType)] created $($row.Created) - $($row.Action)"
            }
        }
    }

    # Summary
    Write-Output "`n"
    Write-Output ("=" * 50)
    Write-Output "Summary: $($report.Count) cleanup candidates of $(@($apps).Count) total apps"
    if ($Remove) {
        Write-Output "Deleted: $deleted | Failed: $deleteFailed"
    }
    elseif ($report.Count -gt 0) {
        Write-Output "Run again with -Remove to delete (add -WhatIf for a dry run). Deleting does NOT uninstall from devices."
    }
    Write-Output ("=" * 50)

    # 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-Output "✓ CSV report saved: $csvPath"
    }
}
catch {
    Write-Error "Script execution failed: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    exit 1
}
finally {
    try {
        $null = Disconnect-MgGraph
        Write-Output "✓ Disconnected from Microsoft Graph"
    }
    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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