Restore a Deleted File from SharePoint

If a file has disappeared from a SharePoint site or a Teams channel, you can usually get it back yourself.

Where the file lives

If you deleted it from a SharePoint site — a team site, document library or the intranet — go straight to that site.

If you deleted it from a Teams channel, the file is in that team's SharePoint site. In Teams, open the channel, go to the Files tab, select the … menu and choose Open in SharePoint.

Check the recycle bin

1. On the SharePoint site, select Recycle bin in the left-hand menu.
2. If you cannot see it, select the settings gear in the top right, choose Site contents, and the recycle bin appears there.
3. Find your file and select it.
4. Choose Restore at the top of the page.

The file goes back to the library it came from.

Not there? Check the second-stage recycle bin

At the bottom of the recycle bin page, select Second-stage recycle bin. Files removed from the first bin land here.

Did you overwrite it rather than delete it?

Use version history instead.

1. Find the file in the document library.
2. Right-click it and choose Version history.
3. Open an earlier version, then Restore to make it current.

This works for files edited in Teams too — the version history is the same.

How you long you have

You have 30 days to recover a deleted item from SharePoint Online.