How to Restore Deleted Records in Airtable

You are updating a table in your database.

You add a few fields, enter some records, and delete a few you no longer need.

The next day, you try to find a record. You search for it, but it is not there.

Then you realize that when you deleted records yesterday, you may have deleted that one as well. Now it is gone.

Is there a way in Airtable to get your deleted records back?

Yes. Airtable lets you restore deleted records.

When you delete a record, it first goes into the trash. Airtable keeps trashed records for 7 days. After that they are permanently deleted.

How to Restore From Trash

Open your base and look for the tiny clock icon in the toolbar. Click on it and go to trash.

Find the record you want and restore it. This brings the record back in its most recent state, exactly as it was at the time of deletion.

If you are within 7 days, this is the fastest and easiest way to recover.

What if It Has Been More Than 7 Days?

Once a record is gone from the trash, you cannot restore it directly. But Airtable has another safety net called snapshots.

A snapshot is a saved version of your base. Airtable automatically creates snapshots from time to time, and you can also create one manually whenever you want.

To use this feature, open the clock menu from the toolbar and click on Snapshots. You will see a list of available snapshots for your base.

Open the one that was taken just before the record was deleted. When you click on it, Airtable will create a duplicate base from that snapshot in your workspace.

This duplicate base reflects the data as it existed at the time the snapshot was created. You can open that base, find the deleted record, and copy it back into your live base.

The only limitation is timing. If updates were made after the snapshot but before the deletion, those updates will not be included.

Still, this method gives you a way to recover the deleted record.

If you rely on critical data, do not wait for the automatic snapshots. Create your own snapshots before making large updates or running risky automations.

That way, even if more than 7 days pass, you can still get your records back.