======================
Managing deleted files
======================

When you delete a file in Nextcloud, it is not immediately deleted permanently.
Instead, it is moved into the trash bin. It is not permanently deleted until
you manually delete it, or when the Deleted Files app deletes it to make room
for new files.

Find your deleted files by clicking on the **Deleted files**
button on the Files page of the Nextcloud Web interface. You'll have options to
either restore or permanently delete files.

Quotas
------

Deleted files are not counted against your storage quota. Only your personal
files count against your quota, not files which were shared with you.
(See :doc:`quota` to learn more about quotas.)

What happens when shared files are deleted
------------------------------------------

Deleting files gets a little complicated when they are shared files, as this
scenario illustrates:

1. User1 shares a folder "test" with User2 and User3
2. User2 (the recipient) deletes a file/folder "sub" inside of "test"
3. The folder "sub" will be moved to the trashbin of both User1 (owner) and
   User2 (recipient)
4. But User3 will not have a copy of "sub" in her trash bin

When User1 deletes "sub" then it is moved to User1's trash bin. It is
deleted from User2 and User3, but not placed in their trash bins.

When you share files, other users may copy, rename, move, and share them with
other people, just as they can for any computer files; Nextcloud does not have
magic powers to prevent this.

How the deleted files app manages storage space
-----------------------------------------------

To ensure that users do not run over their storage quotas, the Deleted Files
app allocates a maximum of 50% of their currently available free space to
deleted files. If your deleted files exceed this limit, Nextcloud deletes the
oldest files (files with the oldest timestamps from when they were deleted)
until it meets the memory usage limit again.

Nextcloud checks the age of deleted files every time new files are added to the
deleted files. By default, deleted files stay in the trash bin for 30 days. The
Nextcloud server administrator can adjust this value in the ``config.php`` file
by setting the ``trashbin_retention_obligation`` value. Files older than the
``trashbin_retention_obligation`` value will be deleted permanently.
Additionally, Nextcloud calculates the maximum available space every time a new
file is added. If the deleted files exceed the new maximum allowed space
Nextcloud will expire old deleted files until the limit is met once again.

.. note:: Your administrator may have configured the trash bin retention period 
   to override the storage space management. See `admin documentation <https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/configuration_server/config_sample_php_parameters.html#deleted-items-trash-bin>`_ for more details.