How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac

Deleted files on Mac aren't immediately erased from your storage drive. macOS provides multiple recovery methods depending on how recently files were deleted and your backup configuration.

1. Check the Trash. Click the Trash icon in your Dock. Look through the contents for your deleted files. Right-click any file you want to recover and select Put Back to restore it to its original location.
2. Search Trash by date or name. In the Trash window, use the search box in the top-right corner to find specific files. Click View > Arrange By > Date Deleted to sort files chronologically and locate recently deleted items more easily.
3. Restore from Time Machine backup. Open the folder where your deleted file was originally located. Click the Time Machine icon in your menu bar and select Enter Time Machine. Navigate through the timeline to find a backup containing your file, then click Restore.
4. Use terminal recovery commands. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities. Type ls -la ~/.Trash to view hidden files in Trash. If your file appears, use mv ~/.Trash/filename ~/Desktop/filename to move it to your Desktop, replacing filename with the actual filename.
5. Check local snapshots. Open Terminal and type tmutil listlocalsnapshots / to see available local snapshots. Navigate to the folder containing your deleted file, then enter Time Machine to browse these snapshots even without an external backup drive.
6. Stop using the drive immediately. If previous methods failed, avoid writing new data to your Mac's storage. New files can overwrite deleted file data. Restart your Mac and boot from an external drive or use Target Disk Mode to prevent further data writing.
7. Use third-party recovery software. Download data recovery software like Disk Drill or PhotoRec onto an external drive. Boot from the external drive and run the recovery software to scan your Mac's internal drive for recoverable files.