Recovering a deleted item
A decision tree for getting something back when you've deleted it. Covers Cmd+Z, the Trash popover, version history, and the cases where the item is genuinely gone.
You deleted something and want it back. There are four paths depending on when you deleted it and what kind of item it was. Work through them in order. The first one that fits the situation is the one to use.
1. Was the delete in the last few seconds?
Press Cmd+Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows).
If the canvas is focused, the item snaps back where it was. If nothing happens, click anywhere on the empty canvas first and then press Cmd+Z. The shortcut only fires when the canvas surface has focus.
Cmd+Z works as long as the delete is the most recent action you took. The moment you do anything else (drag another card, type into a doc, switch boards), the undo no longer reaches that delete.
2. Is the item still in Trash?
Open Trash from the bottom of the workspace sidebar. The panel lists every trashed board and card in the workspace, newest deletions first. Search by title if there are a lot of entries.
Each row has a restore icon on the right. Clicking it puts the item back on its original board in its original position.
How long an item stays in Trash before the reaper permanently purges it depends on your plan:
| Plan | How long Trash retains items |
|---|---|
| Free | 7 days |
| Starter | 30 days |
| Pro | 60 days |
| Studio | 90 days |
A 14-day grace window after a downgrade keeps your old (longer) retention for two more weeks (see Trash and version retention for the full rules).
If the item is in Trash, restore it now and don't think about the retention window. If it isn't, move to step 3.
3. Did the item have version history?
Markdown documents, sticky notes, folders, and boards all carry their own version history. If you deleted content inside a doc rather than the doc itself (overwrote a section, accidentally cleared the body, restored a version you didn't mean to), version history is the right tool.
Open the doc, then click the overflow menu in the top right and pick "Version history". A timeline of past snapshots opens. Click any one to preview it. The "Restore" button in the top right brings that version into the live doc.
The latest snapshot per item is always kept, regardless of plan or age. So even on a doc you haven't touched in a long time, the most recent snapshot is still there.
Version history does NOT cover items that were permanently deleted (the snapshots are scrubbed when the item is permanently purged). And it does NOT cover items currently in Trash (those need step 2 first; restore the item, then use version history to roll back any content changes that happened before the delete).
4. Past every window? Here's where it stands.
If you've gone through steps 1, 2, and 3 and the item is still gone, the honest answer is that it's gone. Permanently. The combination of:
- Past Cmd+Z's reach.
- Past your plan's Trash retention window, including the 14-day downgrade grace.
- No version snapshot (either the item was a media file, or the snapshots have been reaped, or the item was permanently deleted with the Permanently Delete action).
means there's no path to the data. Support cannot retrieve it either; we don't keep secondary backups beyond what the retention windows describe.
What this usually means in practice:
- You're on Free and the item was trashed more than 7 days ago. Upgrade to a paid plan before the next reaper sweep if the item is still showing in Trash. If it's already past the window, the reaper has already purged it.
- You used Permanently Delete or Empty Trash. Both actions scrub storage immediately and bypass every retention window on purpose. There is no separate safety net behind them.
- The item was a media file (image, video, PDF) that you replaced. Replacing isn't versioned. The previous file is the previous file, not a previous version of the new file. If you have a local copy, re-upload it as a new item.
Where to go next
- For how Trash works in detail, read Trash and restoring items.
- For how version history works in detail, read version history.
- For the per-tier retention numbers and the downgrade grace, read Trash and version retention.
Trash and restoring items
How Eden's Trash works. Sending things to Trash, restoring them, the Cmd+Z undo, and what happens to a board's children when you trash the whole board.
Version history
Eden snapshots every doc and board as you edit. Here's how version history works, how often a new version is captured, how to preview and restore one, and the guarantee that the latest snapshot is always kept.
Trash and version retention
How long Eden keeps trashed items and old version snapshots before reaping them, per plan. Includes the 14-day grace window after a plan downgrade so nothing falls off a cliff the moment your card is charged.
Email us. A real person reads every message.
Tell us what you tried and where you got stuck. We answer within one business day.
[email protected]