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# Trash and recovery

> Deleted Datasets, Views, Automations, Dashboards, and Folders stay in Trash for the trash retention period. See what is recoverable, how to restore or purge items, and what is not.

When you delete a **Dataset**, **View**, **Automation**, or **Dashboard** in Mammoth, it doesn't disappear immediately. It moves to **Trash**, where it stays recoverable for the trash retention period before being automatically and permanently removed. This page is for anyone who deletes or restores content. Start with [What's recoverable today](#whats-recoverable-today).

Trash does not cover every resource type. Some resource types don't use Trash yet, and deleting them is immediate and permanent. Check the table below before deleting.

## What's recoverable today

| Resource type | Goes to Trash? | What happens instead |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Datasets** | Yes | Recoverable until the retention period ends |
| **Views** | Yes | Recoverable until the retention period ends |
| **Automations** | Yes | Recoverable until the retention period ends |
| **Dashboards** | Yes | Recoverable until the retention period ends. See [Trashing a dashboard](#trashing-a-dashboard) |
| **Folders** | Partially (see below) | The folder's *contents* go to Trash; the empty folder is then removed automatically |
| **Parameters** | No | Deleted immediately and permanently |
| **Projects** | No | Deleted immediately and permanently |
| **Connections** | No | Deleted immediately and permanently |
| **Reports, Data Apps, Webhooks** | No | Deleted immediately and permanently |

> **If a resource is not in this table, treat deletion as permanent.** In particular, Parameters don't behave like Datasets even though they sit in the same Data Library area. A deleted Parameter is gone immediately, with no Trash entry and no restore option.

> **Dashboards are recoverable.** The delete dialog reads "This dashboard goes to Trash. You can restore it from there for {days} days." Trashing a dashboard also unpublishes it.

## Trashing a dataset

**Prerequisite**: You have delete permission on the dataset.

1. In the Data Library, open the row's `···` menu, or open the dataset panel and use the action row.

2. Click **Delete**.

   ![Dataset panel with an Open button, action icons, a trash icon, an Overview table of Views, and a data preview](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_114347_overview_section1.jpg)

3. A **Move to Trash?** confirmation opens:

   > **Move to Trash?**\
   > **{dataset name}** will be moved to Trash and automatically deleted in {days} days unless restored. You can restore it any time before the deletion date from the Trash section.\
   > [Cancel] [Move to Trash]

   ![Move to Trash? dialog stating the dataset will be deleted in 30 days unless restored, with Cancel and Move to Trash buttons](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_123749_Screenshot2026-07-231725381.jpg)

4. Click **Move to Trash**.

**Expected result**: The dataset disappears from the Data Library immediately and appears in the project's Trash listing.

> **Note the naming:** The row menu says **Delete**, not "Move to Trash". The reversible wording only appears once the confirmation dialog opens.

### Deleting a file with a data-quality issue

If a file is flagged with an unresolved issue (for example, mismatched columns), its detail panel shows **Review & Fix** and **Delete File** buttons instead of the usual action row. Clicking **Delete File** opens the same Move to Trash confirmation. A file that failed processing is trashed the same way as a clean one.

An unprocessed file blocks its folder from being trashed. See [Trashing a folder](#trashing-a-folder).

![Move to Trash? dialog for unstructured.csv over a file panel showing Review & Fix and Delete File buttons](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_120625_Screenshot2026-07-221728501.jpg)

## Trashing a view

A View has three delete entry points, and all three open the same Move to Trash confirmation:

| Where | How to get there |
| --- | --- |
| **Data Library → dataset panel → Overview** | The Views table lists every View on the dataset; use the row's `···` menu, or select multiple rows and click **Delete selected views** to trash several at once |
| **Data Library → dataset panel** | Open a View, then use its options menu → **Delete** |
| **Data Editor** | While editing the view, use the view's options menu → **Delete**. You don't need to leave the editor. |

![View Settings menu on a view row with Open, Auto-sync, Rename, Duplicate, Reset, Apply template, Delete in red, and Summary](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_123800_image7.jpg)

The confirmation reads the same way as a dataset's, referencing the view by name, where {days} is the trash retention period:

> *View 2* will be moved to Trash and automatically deleted in {days} days unless restored. You can restore it any time before the deletion date from the Trash section.

Trashing a view also trashes the dashboards built on it. Views count as their own items in Trash. When you delete a dataset together with its Views, the Views are listed with the dataset in the Trash listing.

> **Trashing the last View on a dataset also trashes the dataset.** If a dataset has only one View left and you trash it, Mammoth automatically trashes the now-empty parent dataset too, so you don't need a separate step. When you restore, Mammoth's confirmation lists what comes back with the item.

> **Watch for triggers that reference a trashed dataset.** If a pipeline elsewhere uses "branch out" or "save as a new dataset" targeting a dataset that gets trashed, that trigger is suspended and stops running. Restoring the dataset does **not** automatically re-enable the trigger; you'll need to turn it back on manually. If a downstream pipeline mysteriously stopped updating, check whether its target dataset was trashed and restored in the meantime.

## Trashing a folder

Folders can't be trashed on their own. Trashing a folder trashes everything *inside* it (its datasets), and the now-empty folder is then removed automatically. Mammoth keeps the folder, and shows "Some items in {name} can't be moved to Trash.", if it holds a file that hasn't finished processing or a dataset that failed to move to Trash. The confirmation copy makes this explicit:

> The contents of **{folder name}** will be moved to Trash and automatically deleted in {days} days unless restored. You can restore the contents any time before the deletion date from the Trash section.

![Move to Trash? dialog saying the contents of the PDF to CSV folder will be moved to Trash, over an empty folder panel](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_121218_Screenshot2026-07-221728021.jpg)

In Trash afterward, you see the folder's individual datasets and views listed, not a single "folder" row.

## Trashing an automation

From the automation's detail panel or its `···` menu, click **Delete**. The same Move to Trash confirmation appears, and the automation is recoverable until the retention period ends like any other trash-supported resource. Trash lists automations as "Orchestrations" in its type filter and tooltips. See [Managing automations](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/automations/managing-automations/#deleting-an-automation) for the full deletion steps specific to automations.

## Trashing a dashboard

From the Publish Library, use the dashboard's overflow menu and click **Delete**.

The confirmation reads: "This dashboard goes to Trash. You can restore it from there for {days} days." Trashing a dashboard unpublishes it, so its published link stops serving viewers. A restored dashboard comes back as a Draft.

![Delete dashboard confirmation saying the dashboard goes to Trash and can be restored from there](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20261009_021023_Dashboard-delete-to-trash-dialog.jpg)

If you can't edit a dashboard built on a view or dataset you're trashing, Mammoth blocks the action. See [When you can't trash something](#when-you-cant-trash-something).

## The trash section

Trash is **project-scoped**: each project has its own Trash, and it only shows items that were trashed from that project. The subtitle reads "Items are permanently deleted after {days} days".

### Open Trash

Click the **Trash** (bin) icon at the bottom of the left navigation rail, next to Settings. The Trash page has its own project selector next to the title.

![Left navigation with a Trash tooltip on the bin icon next to the Settings icon, beside a Data Library file list](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_121347_Screenshot2026-07-221729471.jpg)

### What the Trash listing shows

The Trash listing shows every trashed item across all supported resource types for the current project, with:

- **Name**, **Type**, and **Location** (folder / parent dataset)
- **Size**
- **Deleted on** and **Deleted by**
- A **countdown**, such as "29 days left" (or "Deletes today"), showing time remaining before automatic permanent deletion
- A search box (**Search deleted items**) and filters: **All types**, **Deleted by**, and a date filter (**Deleted anytime**, **Deleted today**, **Deleted this week**, or **Deleted older**)
- A **deleting soon** toggle (for example, "3 deleting soon") to surface items closest to permanent deletion, and a banner (for example, "3 items are deleted for good in the next {days} days") with a **Review** link

The listing also updates live. If a teammate trashes, restores, or permanently deletes something while you have the Trash page open, your view refreshes automatically.

![Trash page for the Processing project listing unstructured.csv with 29 days left, filters, and an Empty trash button](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_121533_Screenshot2026-07-221730071.jpg)

When nothing has been deleted yet, the page shows:

> **Trash is empty for this project.**\
> Deleted datasets, views, dashboards, automations, and folders show up here and are kept for {days} days before they are permanently removed.

Mixed resource types appear side by side in the same listing. For example, an Automation and a Dataset (with its own View nested under it) can both show up together, and a bulk selection can restore or permanently delete across types in one action.


## Restoring an item

**Prerequisite**: You have update permission on the item.

Mammoth only asks for confirmation when restoring brings back, or leaves behind, related items (for example, a dashboard and the view it reads from). The confirmation lists what comes back with the item, and which items stay in Trash because they were deleted separately. A dashboard deleted together with its source view can't be restored on its own.

- **Single item:** hover over the row and click the restore icon (**Restore item**) at the end of the row.
- **Multiple items:** select their checkboxes, then click **Restore selected** in the selection action bar. A toast confirms "{count} items restored from Trash".

![Trash page with unstructured.csv selected, showing a Restore button and a Delete forever button above the list](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_123236_Screenshot2026-07-221730321.jpg)

A restored dataset reappears in its original folder (Mammoth remembers where it was). A restored view reappears attached to its parent dataset. A restored automation reappears in the Automations list, resuming its normal state. A restored dashboard comes back as a Draft, ready to go Live again.

## Permanently deleting an item ("delete forever")

If you don't want to wait for the retention period to end, you can permanently delete a trashed item immediately:

1. Select one or more items in the Trash listing (checkbox), or hover over a row and use its delete icon (**Delete forever**) for a single item.

2. Click **Delete forever**.

3. Confirm in the dialog:

   > **Delete forever**\
   > You are about to permanently delete {n} item(s). Deleting a dataset or folder also removes everything inside it. Their storage is freed immediately.
   >
   > ⚠ **This cannot be undone. Permanently deleted items can't be restored.**
   >
   > [Cancel] [Delete forever]

![Delete forever dialog warning that permanently deleted items can't be restored, with Cancel and Delete forever buttons](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_123402_Screenshot2026-07-221730481.jpg)

**Expected result**: The item is permanently removed. There's no undo after you confirm.

## Emptying trash entirely

**Empty trash** permanently deletes everything currently in the project's Trash—not just what your current filters show.

1. Click **Empty trash** at the top of the Trash listing.
2. A confirmation dialog opens, warning that this deletes **everything in Trash for this project**, and shows a dynamic count of how many items and how much storage will be freed.
3. Type **EMPTY** into the confirmation field. The red **Empty trash** button stays disabled until you type it exactly.
4. Click **Empty trash**.

**Expected result**: The project's Trash is empty.

![Empty trash dialog asking you to type EMPTY to confirm, with a disabled Empty trash button](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260723_123439_Screenshot2026-07-221754091.jpg)

> **Empty trash ignores your active filters.** If you've filtered the Trash listing to "Datasets only" or "Deleted by me", Empty trash still deletes the *entire* project Trash: every type and every user. Filtering only changes what you *see*; it doesn't scope what Empty trash deletes.

## Automatic purging

Every trashed item carries its own countdown from the moment it was trashed. Once that countdown reaches zero, Mammoth automatically and permanently removes the item—you don't need to do anything, and you can't prevent or extend it from the self-service UI.

- **Retention window:** the trash retention period, counted from the trash date and shown per-item as a "days left" countdown.
- **The purge itself:** runs automatically on a recurring schedule in the background, queuing the actual hard-delete as a background job rather than freeing everything the instant the countdown hits zero. You don't see a notification when it happens; the item is no longer in the Trash listing.
- **No recovery after purge.** Once an item is auto-purged (or manually sent through Delete forever / Empty trash), it's gone.

## When you can't trash something

Some resources depend on others (dependent items). If you try to trash a Dataset that other, still-active items depend on, Mammoth blocks the action and shows a **Cannot move to Trash.** toast listing the dependent items in the way. This covers **Automations** that reference the dataset (for example, as a refresh target or a Data Consolidation source/destination), and dashboards you can't edit that are built on the dataset or its views. The same dashboard rule applies when you trash a view.

To resolve it: edit or delete the automations, ask an editor to remove or reassign the dashboards you can't edit, or keep the dataset.


## Permissions

- **Trashing** requires delete permission on each item.
- **Restoring** requires update permission on each item.

If you can't see a Delete option on something, you likely don't have the permission needed to trash it either.

## What still deletes permanently (no trash)

These resource types are **not** trash-supported today. Deleting any of them is immediate and permanent, exactly as it always has been:

| Resource | Where it's documented |
| --- | --- |
| **Parameters & Snippets** | [Deleting a parameter or snippet](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/data-library/parameters-snippets/#deleting-a-parameter-or-snippet) |
| **Projects** | [Leaving or deleting a project](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/projects/create-project/#deleting-a-project) |
| **Connections, Reports, Data Apps, Webhooks** | See each feature's own management page |

None of these has a Trash entry, a countdown, or a restore option.

## Limitations

| Limitation | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Not all resource types are covered | Only Datasets, Views, Automations, Dashboards, and Folders (contents only) go to Trash today; see [What's recoverable today](#whats-recoverable-today) |
| Folders aren't a Trash row type | Trashing a folder trashes its contents; the folder itself is removed once empty |
| No partial Empty Trash | Empty trash always clears the entire project Trash, ignoring active filters |
| No self-service extension of the retention period | The retention period isn't user-configurable from the UI |
| Trash is project-scoped | There's no cross-project or workspace-wide Trash view |
| Dependent items can block trashing | You may need to remove dependents first, including Automations that reference a dataset and dashboards you can't edit |

## Related articles

- [The dataset panel](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/data-library/dataset-panel/): Full reference for the dataset side panel, including the action row's Delete button
- [Cloning and moving datasets](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/data-library/clone-move-data/): Other dataset lifecycle actions that aren't affected by Trash
- [Managing automations](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/automations/managing-automations/#deleting-an-automation): Automation-specific deletion steps
- [Managing dashboards](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/dashboard/managing-dashboard/#deleting-a-dashboard): The dashboard delete flow, including the Trash confirmation
- [Parameters and snippets](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/data-library/parameters-snippets/): Why parameter and snippet deletion is still permanent

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Source: https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/trash-recovery.md · Updated: 2026-10-13