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+# Phase 4: Bulk Operations and Provisioning - Context
+
+**Gathered:** 2026-04-02
+**Status:** Ready for planning
+
+<domain>
+## Phase Boundary
+
+Users can execute bulk write operations (member additions, site creation, file transfer) with per-item error reporting and cancellation, capture site structures as reusable templates, apply templates to create new sites, and provision folder structures from CSV — all without silent partial failures.
+
+Requirements: BULK-01, BULK-02, BULK-03, BULK-04, BULK-05, TMPL-01, TMPL-02, TMPL-03, TMPL-04, FOLD-01, FOLD-02
+
+</domain>
+
+<decisions>
+## Implementation Decisions
+
+### Bulk operation failure behavior
+- Continue all items on error, report summary at end — never stop on first failure
+- Errors are logged live in the log panel (red) AND user can export a CSV of failed items after completion
+- Failed-items CSV includes: original row data, error message, timestamp — user can fix and re-import
+- "Retry Failed" button appears after completion with partial failures, re-runs only failed items
+- User can also manually re-import the corrected failed-items CSV
+- Always show a confirmation summary dialog before any bulk write operation starts (e.g., "12 members will be added to 3 groups — Proceed?")
+
+### File transfer semantics
+- User chooses Copy or Move (radio button or dropdown) — both options always visible
+- Move deletes source files only after successful transfer to destination
+- Conflict policy is user-selectable per operation: Skip / Overwrite / Rename (append suffix)
+- One conflict policy applies to all files in the batch
+- Source and destination selection: site picker + library/folder tree browser on both sides (reuse SitePickerDialog pattern from Phase 2)
+- Metadata preservation: best effort — try to set original author and dates via CSOM; if SharePoint rejects (common cross-tenant), log a warning and continue
+
+### Template capture scope
+- User selects what to capture via checkboxes (not a fixed capture)
+- Available capture options (core set): Libraries, Folders, Permission groups, Site logo, Site settings (title, description, regional settings)
+- No custom columns, content types, or navigation links in v1 — keep templates lightweight
+- Template remembers source site type (Communication or Teams) and creates the same type on apply — no user choice of target type
+- Templates persisted as JSON locally (TMPL-03)
+- Dedicated Templates tab in the main UI — templates are a first-class feature area with: list of saved templates, capture button, apply button, rename/delete
+
+### CSV format and pre-flight validation
+- Bundled example CSV templates shipped with the app for each bulk operation (member addition, site creation, folder structure) — pre-filled with sample data as reference
+- After CSV import: full validation pass + DataGrid preview showing all rows with valid/invalid indicators
+- User reviews the preview grid, then clicks "Execute" to proceed
+- Invalid rows highlighted — user can fix and re-import before executing
+- CSV encoding: UTF-8 with BOM detection (accept with or without BOM, matches Excel output and app's own CSV exports)
+
+### Tab organization
+- Each operation gets its own top-level tab: Transfer, Bulk Members, Bulk Sites, Folder Structure, Templates
+- Matches the existing PowerShell tool's tab structure
+- Each tab follows FeatureViewModelBase pattern (AsyncRelayCommand + IProgress + CancellationToken)
+
+### Claude's Discretion
+- Exact CSV column names and schemas for each bulk operation type
+- Tree browser component implementation details for file transfer source/destination
+- Template JSON schema structure
+- PnP Provisioning Engine usage details for template apply
+- Confirmation dialog layout and wording
+- DataGrid preview grid column configuration
+- Retry mechanism implementation details
+
+</decisions>
+
+<code_context>
+## Existing Code Insights
+
+### Reusable Assets
+- `FeatureViewModelBase`: Base for all feature ViewModels — AsyncRelayCommand, IProgress, CancellationToken, TenantSwitchedMessage handling
+- `SitePickerDialog`: Site selection dialog from Phase 2 — reuse for source/destination pickers in file transfer
+- `OperationProgress(int Current, int Total, string Message)`: Shared progress model used by all services
+- `ExecuteQueryRetryHelper`: Auto-retry on 429/503 with exponential backoff — all CSOM calls use this
+- `SharePointPaginationHelper`: Async enumerable for paginated list queries
+- `SessionManager`: Singleton holding all ClientContext instances — GetOrCreateContextAsync(TenantProfile, CancellationToken)
+- `CsvExportService` pattern: UTF-8 BOM, RFC 4180 quoting — follow for bulk operation error report exports
+
+### Established Patterns
+- Service interfaces registered as transient in DI (App.xaml.cs)
+- ViewModels use `[ObservableProperty]` attributes + `ObservableCollection<T>` for results
+- Export commands use SaveFileDialog wired via Func<> factory from View code-behind
+- Per-tab progress bar + cancel button (Visibility bound to IsRunning)
+- Results accumulated in List<T> on background thread, assigned as new ObservableCollection on UI thread
+
+### Integration Points
+- `App.xaml.cs RegisterServices()`: Add new services, ViewModels, Views
+- `MainWindow.xaml`: Add new TabItems for Transfer, Bulk Members, Bulk Sites, Folder Structure, Templates
+- `MainWindow.xaml.cs`: Wire View content from DI at runtime (same pattern as Permissions, Storage, Search tabs)
+- `Core/Models/`: New models for bulk operation items, template schema, CSV row types
+- `Services/`: New service interfaces and implementations for each bulk operation
+- `Strings.resx` / `Strings.fr.resx`: Localization keys for all Phase 4 UI strings
+
+</code_context>
+
+<specifics>
+## Specific Ideas
+
+- Tab structure should match the existing PowerShell tool (9 tabs: Perms, Storage, Templates, Search, Dupes, Transfer, Bulk, Struct, Versions)
+- Bundled CSV examples should have realistic sample data (not just headers) so MSP admins can understand the format immediately
+- Confirmation dialog before writes is non-negotiable — these are destructive operations on client tenants
+- Failed-items CSV should be directly re-importable without editing (same format as input CSV, with an extra error column appended)
+
+</specifics>
+
+<deferred>
+## Deferred Ideas
+
+None — discussion stayed within phase scope
+
+</deferred>
+
+---
+
+*Phase: 04-bulk-operations-and-provisioning*
+*Context gathered: 2026-04-02*