Where is the .Trash folder?

Question

Using Ubuntu 11.10, I accidentally deleted a file that was approximately 700 MB. I tried to find it in the in following locations, but couldn't:

/home/user/.local/share
/home/user/ <-- there was no folder .Trash
/home/user/Desktop/ <-- there was no folder .Trash

So where did .Trash go in Ubuntu 11.10 onward? I use the Gnome environment.

I find `/home/user/.local/share` after installing `trash-cli` with `sudo apt-get install trash-cli` — SparkAndShine, Oct 17 '19 at 03:16

score 280 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 09 '18 at 13:04

280

Your trash directory is most likely at:

/home/$USER/.local/share/Trash

If you deleted something as root (e.g. deleted a file using Nautilus invoked via gksu), it is at:

/root/.local/share/Trash

(In general, according to Freedesktop.org specifications^[1][2], the "home trash" directory is at $XDG_DATA_HOME/Trash, and $XDG_DATA_HOME in turn defaults to $HOME/.local/share.)

To see .local in your home folder using the file manager, select Show Hidden Files from the View menu or just type Ctrl+H.

The Trash directory is first created when a user deletes a file. Within Trash there are three subdirectories:

files, where the deleted files are stored until the trash is emptied
info, which stores information on where the files once were and when they were deleted
expunged, to which files are briefly moved when the trash is emptied (but may contain some owned by other users from directories you deleted).

Note that using the rm command in a terminal or the Shift+Delete key combination in the file manager will permanently delete your file instead of moving it to the trash.

edited Feb 09 '18 at 13:04

Jani Uusitalo

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answered Feb 07 '12 at 04:32

Fern Moss

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If using command line to `mv` something to the Trash, you may need to put it in `Trash/files/` rather than just `Trash/`. The files did not appear in the Trash GUI until I did that. – AlexMA Jun 06 '14 at 16:50
Yes; I added some info to address this. – Fern Moss Jun 09 '14 at 23:29
The locations still apply in 14.04 – Elder Geek Dec 03 '15 at 18:57
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If you want to move file to `Trash` from command line, run: [`gvfs-trash filepath`](https://www.mankier.com/1/gvfs-trash). – patryk.beza Aug 07 '16 at 10:11
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An alternative to `gvfs-trash` is the `trash` command from the `trash-cli` package. – JanKanis Feb 15 '18 at 13:38
when i manually move the file to the trash/files folder and manully write the file.trashinfo file in the trash/info folder myself . It doesn't show the "restore from trash" option in the Trash . How to fix it ? – Natesh bhat May 14 '18 at 23:24
Why is `trash` in `/home/../.local/share` and not in `/home/user`? – Timo Jun 05 '21 at 10:46

score 49 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 04 '12 at 12:29

49

The trash folder is located at .local/share/Trash in your home directory.

Additionally, on other disk partitions or on removable media it will be a directory .Trash-uid where uid is the uid of the user who moved the item to the trash.

edited Aug 04 '12 at 12:29

dsh

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answered Aug 04 '12 at 03:06

Eric Carvalho

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I cannot see this folder in my home directory. i am using ubuntu 14 – Vivek Jun 07 '16 at 19:21
@Vivek Files and directories whose names start with a dot (`.`) are hidden by default. In Nautilus, you can press CTRL+H to show them. – Eric Carvalho Jun 07 '16 at 20:40
Good answer. Telling how to see your *uid* would also be useful. – Gabriel Staples Jun 22 '19 at 21:59
that folder does not exist – KansaiRobot May 07 '21 at 15:44

score 6 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 01 '12 at 12:09

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Ubuntu 10.10 (oneiric)

Gnome 3.2.1 Classic

Home Folder > Go > Rubbish Bin

answered Jun 01 '12 at 12:09

user67684

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score 5 · Answer 4 · answered May 24 '18 at 09:46

5

Explore the folder, and there you'll see the trash button:

answered May 24 '18 at 09:46

Bhojendra Rauniyar

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 25 '22 at 16:30

On ubuntu 22.04 to recover Trash folder on Desktop, enter command

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.ding show-trash true

To hide the icon again, run the command below to reset the key:

gsettings reset org.gnome.shell.extensions.ding show-trash

Where is the .Trash folder?

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