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Trash Recovery

Trash & Recovery

Learn how to restore deleted files, folders, and projects from the trash.

How Trash Works

When you delete content in Contextium, it moves to the trash instead of being permanently deleted:

  • Files - Moved to trash individually
  • Folders - Moved with all contents
  • Projects - Moved with all files and folders

Content in trash is:

  • Hidden from normal views
  • Not searchable
  • Not accessible to team members
  • Recoverable for 30 days
  • Automatically deleted after 30 days

Accessing the Trash

Navigate to Trash in the sidebar to view all deleted content.

Trash View

The trash shows:

  • Item name and type (file, folder, or project)
  • Original location
  • Deleted by (who deleted it)
  • Deleted date
  • Days until permanent deletion

Items are sorted by deletion date (newest first).

Restoring Content

Restore a Single Item

  1. Navigate to Trash
  2. Find the item to restore
  3. Click Restore
  4. Item returns to its original location

If the original location no longer exists (e.g., parent folder was deleted), the item is restored to the project root.

Restore Multiple Items

  1. Navigate to Trash
  2. Select checkboxes next to items
  3. Click Restore Selected
  4. All selected items are restored

Restore an Entire Project

  1. Navigate to Trash
  2. Find the deleted project
  3. Click Restore
  4. Project and all contents are restored

Permanent Deletion

Delete Forever

Remove items from trash permanently:

  1. Navigate to Trash
  2. Find the item
  3. Click Delete Forever
  4. Confirm permanent deletion

Warning: Permanent deletion cannot be undone. All versions and history are lost.

Empty Trash

Delete all trash contents at once:

  1. Navigate to Trash
  2. Click Empty Trash
  3. Type "DELETE" to confirm
  4. All trash contents are permanently deleted

Automatic Deletion

Items in trash are automatically and permanently deleted after 30 days.

You'll receive email notifications:

  • 7 days before deletion
  • 1 day before deletion
  • When items are deleted

What Gets Restored

When you restore content:

Files

  • Full content
  • Complete version history
  • All comments
  • Applied tags
  • Original metadata

Folders

  • The folder itself
  • All files in the folder
  • All subfolders
  • All nested content

Projects

  • The project
  • All files
  • All folders and structure
  • All associated content

Trash Best Practices

Review Before Deleting

Double-check before deleting:

  • Is this still needed?
  • Are there references to this file?
  • Should it be archived instead?

Regular Trash Review

Schedule periodic trash reviews:

  • Check trash weekly or monthly
  • Restore accidentally deleted items
  • Permanently delete confirmed unwanted content
  • Avoid hitting the 30-day auto-delete

Don't Use Trash as Archive

Trash is for temporary deletion, not long-term storage:

  • Items auto-delete after 30 days
  • Trash content isn't searchable
  • Use tags or an "Archive" project instead

Deleted Content and Storage

Deleted items in trash still count toward your storage quota until:

  • They're permanently deleted
  • They're auto-deleted after 30 days

Free up storage by:

  1. Empty trash
  2. Permanently delete large files
  3. Wait for 30-day auto-deletion

View storage usage in Settings → Usage.

Trash Permissions

Who can restore from trash:

  • Owner - Can restore anything
  • Admin - Can restore anything
  • Editor - Can restore items they created or deleted
  • Viewer - Cannot access trash

Who can permanently delete:

  • Owner - Can permanently delete anything
  • Admin - Can permanently delete anything
  • Editor - Cannot permanently delete (must wait for auto-delete)
  • Viewer - Cannot access trash

Recovering Old Versions

Trash only stores deleted items, not old versions. To recover old versions:

  1. Open the current file
  2. View Version History
  3. Restore the desired version

See Version Control for details.

Trash via API

Manage trash programmatically:

# List trash contents
curl -X GET "https://api.contextium.io/trash" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# Restore an item
curl -X POST "https://api.contextium.io/trash/{itemId}/restore" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# Permanently delete
curl -X DELETE "https://api.contextium.io/trash/{itemId}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Data Recovery Beyond 30 Days

Content permanently deleted (after 30 days or manual deletion) cannot be recovered through Contextium.

Enterprise customers with custom backup agreements may contact support for recovery options.

Next Steps

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Version Control