3 Best Methods to Recover Deleted Folders on Mac

How to Recover Deleted Folders on Mac

Below we’ll look at three proven methods to recover deleted folders on macOS.

Method 1: Recover Recently Deleted Folders From Trash Bin

Unless you press Option + Command + Delete on your keyboard or select the Delete Immediately option from the File menu in Finder (available only when you hold the Option key), deleted folders on Mac are moved to Trash, where they sit until you empty Trash or recover them.

To recover a folder from trash:

1. Click the Trash icon in the Dock.
2. Select the folder you want to recover and either:
   
   • Drag it from Trash to your desktop or some other folder.
   • Right-click on the folder and select Put Back.

Method 2: Recover Permanently Deleted Mac Folders Using Data Recovery Software

If you haven’t found the deleted folder in Trash, not all hope is lost. There are many data recovery software applications that can help you retrieve your valuable files.

One fantastic data recovery software application is Disk Drill for Mac. This data recovery software application can recover deleted files and folders after emptying Trash thanks to its powerful scanning algorithms, which can recognize hundreds of different file formats.

In many situations, Disk Drill is capable of restoring the original folder structure and file names—a lifesaver when dealing with extensive data loss. Additionally, Disk Drill boasts a super user-friendly interface, impressive recovery rates, and flawless support for the latest macOS versions, including the recently launched macOS Ventura for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

To recover a deleted folder via Disk Drill:

1. Download Disk Drill from its website and install the app.
2. Go to the Applications folder and launch Disk Drill by clicking on its icon.
3. Click the Search for lost data button next to the drive where the deleted folder was located.
4. Locate the deleted folder you are interested in. If Disk Drill was unable to restore the original folder structure, find the files that were contained in the folder you deleted.
5. Click on the checkbox next to it to select it.
6. Click the Recover button in the lower-right corner to recover it.
7. Select where you want Disk Drill to recover the deleted folder and click Next.

That’s it! The deleted folder should now be restored, and all of its content with it.

Since we’re assuming you’re using a Mac, we recommend that you check our detailed reviews of the best data recovery software for macOS. For a more direct comparison between these software applications, head over to our comparisons of Mac data recovery solutions. If you’re unsure of which software suits your needs best, use our software picker to find the most suitable solution.

Method 3: Restore Deleted Folder from Time Machine

If you use Time Machine to automatically back up your data, you can enter it to restore the deleted folder from an earlier backup.

But what if you don’t have an external backup disk handy? No worries! Time Machine’s got you covered with local snapshots. These snapshots are automatically saved on your system drive about every hour and retained for 24 hours, and they essentially work as a lifeline for when your backup disk isn’t within reach.

Best of all, the steps to recover a deleted folder on your MacBook are always the same regardless of whether you’re restoring from an external backup disk or a local snapshot.

To recover a deleted folder from Time Machine:

1. Connect your Time Machine backup disk to your Mac if the disk is available. If not, then you can start from the second step and rely only on local snapshots.
2. Launch Finder and navigate to the folder where the folder you want to recover was located.
3. Select Enter Time Machine from the Time Machine menu.
4. Find the folder you want to recover and select it.
5. Click Restore to restore the selected folder.

Is It Possible to Recover Deleted Folders Using Terminal?

Yes, you can recover a deleted folder using the Mac Terminal, but there’s a caveat: Terminal isn’t a recovery tool per se. Instead, it’s merely a different path that you can take to access the contents of the Trash folder. That’s why this method works only as long as the Trash hasn’t been emptied. Once you’ve hit the Empty option, even Terminal can’t perform any magic to recover your deleted files.

Still, it can be useful to know how to recover a deleted folder using the Mac Terminal because you might encounter a data loss situation made even worse by issues with Finder, the default file manager and graphical user interface shell of macOS.

To pull out your deleted folder from the Trash folder using Terminal, you need to:

1. Launch Terminal. You can find it in Applications > Utilities.
2. Type “cd .Trash” and press Return to navigate to the Trash folder.
3. Type “ls -al” to list the contents of the Trash folder.
4. Type “mv foldername ../” to move a folder from Trash to your home directory.

Common Problems that May Lead to Loss of Files and Folders on Your Mac

Data loss on Mac computers can be caused by multiple issues, each of which requires a slightly different approach to data recovery.

As interesting as data loss statistics can be, they represent only the imaginary average user, who may or may not have anything in common with you.

For example, if you consider yourself to be an advanced Mac user, you’re probably very unlikely to lose data by mistake. But there’s a chance that you own a more expensive Mac than the average user, which increases the chance of someone stealing your computer and your data along with it. That’s why you should familiarize yourself with all common issues that can cause data loss on Mac and prepare for them.