What you can recover depends on what was deleted and how long ago. Work through these in order; the earlier ones are faster and keep more of the original.
| What happened | When | Where to recover it |
|---|---|---|
| Records, a field, a table or a view deleted | Within 7 days | Base trash |
| Cell values overwritten | Within your plan's history | Record revision history |
| A whole base or workspace deleted | Within 30 days | Workspace trash |
| Anything, longer ago | Within your snapshot history | Restore a snapshot as a new base, then copy back |
| The snapshot history doesn't reach back far enough | Any time | An outside backup |
Deleted in the last 7 days: the base trash
- Open the base and select the base history icon next to Share.
- Choose Trash.
- Find the record, field, table or view and select Restore.
You need editor access or higher. Items stay in the trash for 7 days on every plan.
Overwritten values: revision history
If records still exist but their values are wrong, expand a record and open its revision history to see earlier values and who changed them. Free workspaces keep 2 weeks of history, Team 1 year and Business 2 years.
This works well for a handful of records. For hundreds of records changed by an import or automation, use a snapshot instead.
A deleted base or workspace: the workspace trash
Deleted bases and workspaces stay in the workspace trash for 30 days, or longer if an Enterprise Scale admin has extended it to 60, 90 or 180 days. Restore the base from there and it comes back as it was.
Older than the trash: restore a snapshot
Snapshots hold the whole base at earlier points in time. Restoring one creates a separate base; it never overwrites the base you're working in.
- Open the base, select the base history icon, then Snapshots.
- Pick a snapshot from before the deletion.
- Name the new base and create it.
- Find the missing records in the restored base and copy them back into the original.
Copying back is the hard part. Copy and paste works for a few records in one table. For more, download a CSV from the restored base and import it into the original, then reconnect linked records by hand. Pasted or imported records get new record IDs, so anything that referenced the old IDs (automations, other bases, integrations) won't find them.
Sometimes it's simpler to switch to the restored base and re-enter the changes made since the snapshot. Remember that the restored base has a new base ID and no revision history.
Beyond Airtable's history: an outside backup
If the snapshot history doesn't reach back far enough, if the account or workspace is no longer available, or if the deletion went unnoticed for longer than your plan keeps history, Airtable can't help. An outside backup is the only remaining copy.
How you restore depends on the backup's format. A backup with JSON records and original record IDs lets you rebuild linked records accurately; a backup of plain CSVs and attachment links usually can't bring the attachments back. The restore guide walks through importing a backup into a new base.
Prevent the next one
- Take a manual snapshot before imports, bulk edits and restructures.
- Limit who can delete tables and fields by giving most collaborators editor rather than creator access.
- Keep a scheduled copy outside Airtable, so an old or unnoticed deletion can still be recovered. See how to back up Airtable.
Sources: Airtable's support articles on trash, snapshots and record revision history, checked October 17, 2026.