> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Archive, Trash and Delete

> TimeTracker has three ways to put something away – archive, trash and permanent delete. Learn what each one does, what is recoverable, and how the 30-day retention works.

There are three ways to make something go away in TimeTracker, and they are not the
same. Picking the right one saves a lot of anxiety later.

|                        | Archive            | Trash                    | Delete  |
| ---------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------ | ------- |
| Reversible?            | Yes, any time      | Yes, within retention    | **No**  |
| Still in reports?      | **Yes**            | No                       | No      |
| Can be reused?         | No, until restored | No                       | No      |
| Where it goes          | Settings → Archive | Settings → Trash         | Nowhere |
| Removed automatically? | Never              | After 30 days by default | –       |

## Archive: finished, but keep it

**Archive** means "this is done, stop showing it to me, but keep it in the books."

An archived project:

* Disappears from your project list and pickers
* **Still appears in reports and invoices**
* Keeps every hour, every task and every number attached to it
* Comes back exactly as it was when you restore it

This is what you want for a client project that has shipped. You do not want the
2024 website redesign cluttering everyone's dropdown, but you absolutely want its
hours in your annual profitability report.

<Tip>
  **Archive is the default answer.** If you are not sure which one to use, archive it.
  Nothing is lost and nothing is hidden from your history.
</Tip>

### What can be archived

| Can be archived                              | Cannot be archived |
| -------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Clients, projects, sections, tasks           | Time entries       |
| Tags, groups, roles                          | Expenses           |
| Expense categories, holidays, leave policies | Work schedules     |
| Reports, scheduled reports, saved views      |                    |

Records that cannot be archived are records that only make sense as raw history –
an hour either happened or it did not, so there is nothing to "finish".

## Trash: probably a mistake

**Trash** is a staging area on the way to permanent deletion.

A trashed record:

* Disappears from lists **and** from reports
* Can be restored, putting it back exactly as it was
* Is permanently removed after the retention period

Use Trash when you think something should go, but you would like a safety net.

### The 30-day retention

Trashed items are permanently removed after **30 days** by default. A workspace can
change that period in settings.

Until the retention period runs out, nothing is destroyed – a trashed record is fully
restorable. See [trash and restore](/data/trash-and-restore).

<Warning>
  Once retention expires, a trashed record is gone for good. If you are unsure, restore
  it and archive it instead.
</Warning>

## Delete: gone for good

**Permanent delete** removes the record and everything that depends on it. There is
no undo and no recovery.

TimeTracker makes this deliberately hard to do by accident:

* High-impact deletes open a confirmation modal that spells out exactly what will be
  destroyed
* You must **type the record's name** to match before the button becomes active
* The name is provided ready to copy, so you cannot mistype it into the wrong record

That applies to deleting a workspace, a project, a client, an account and any bulk
delete.

### The one exception

A **recoverable** delete – one that only moves a row to Trash – can happen instantly
without a modal, because it is not destructive. When that happens you get an **Undo**
option in the toast that appears.

You will see this on the standalone [Tasks page](/tasks/my-tasks). Deleting a task
there is one click, and one click to undo.

## Which should I use?

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A client project has finished">
    **Archive it.** You want its hours and invoices in your reports forever.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Someone created a duplicate project by mistake">
    **Trash it.** It has no real history worth keeping, and Trash gives you 30 days
    to change your mind.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A client has left and you will never work with them again">
    **Archive the client.** Their invoices are part of your financial history. Only
    delete if you are legally required to remove their data.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A tag nobody uses">
    **Archive it.** It stops appearing in the picker but any task that already
    carries it keeps its history intact.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A test workspace you set up to try things out">
    **Delete it.** There is nothing worth keeping. See
    [delete a workspace](/data/delete-a-workspace).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="An employee has left the company">
    Neither. **Remove them** from the workspace. Their tracked hours stay, because
    invoices and reports depend on them. See
    [remove a member](/team/remove-a-member).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What happens to the things inside

Archiving or trashing a parent takes its children with it.

| You archive…  | What follows           |
| ------------- | ---------------------- |
| A **client**  | Its projects           |
| A **project** | Its sections and tasks |
| A **section** | Its tasks              |

Restoring the parent brings them back together. This is why archiving a client is
safe – you are not unpicking anything by hand.

Time entries are the exception. They are never archived along with a project,
because they are the historical record the reports read. Archiving a project keeps
its hours fully visible in reporting.

## Where to find archived and trashed items

| What                | Where                                   |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Everything archived | [Settings → Archive](/settings/archive) |
| Everything trashed  | [Settings → Trash](/settings/trash)     |

Both pages let you filter by kind of record, and restore in place.

Many list pages also carry a scope filter so you can switch a single list between
active, archived, trashed or all – handy when you just want to find one archived
project without leaving the page.

## Permissions

You need the same capability to archive, trash or restore a record as you need to
manage it in the first place.

| Record                   | Capability                          |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------- |
| Client                   | `client.manage`                     |
| Project                  | `project.manage`                    |
| Task                     | `task.delete`                       |
| Tag                      | `tag.manage`                        |
| Group                    | `group.manage`                      |
| Role                     | `role.manage`                       |
| Expense category         | `expenseCategory.manage`            |
| Leave policy, holiday    | `leave.managePolicy`                |
| Report, scheduled report | `report.manage`                     |
| Workspace                | `workspace.delete` **(Owner only)** |

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do archived projects still count toward my reports?">
    Yes. That is the whole point of archiving rather than trashing. Archived work
    stays in every report and every historical total.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I still track time on an archived project?">
    No. Archiving takes it out of the pickers, so no new time can be recorded against
    it. Restore it if work restarts.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How long do I have to restore something from Trash?">
    30 days by default. A workspace can set a different retention period.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="If I delete a project, do I lose its invoices?">
    Invoices are their own records and are not deleted with a project. But deleting a
    project is still high-impact and irreversible – archive it instead unless you are
    certain.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I bulk-restore?">
    Yes, from the Archive and Trash pages. Select the rows and restore them together.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does trashing something free up a seat?">
    No. Seats count people, not records. See [seats](/billing/seats).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Trash and restore" icon="trash-arrow-up" href="/data/trash-and-restore">
    Recovering something you put away.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Archive a project" icon="box-archive" href="/projects/archive-a-project">
    The most common case, step by step.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delete permanently" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/data/delete-permanently">
    When there really is no going back.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export your data" icon="download" href="/data/export-your-data">
    Take a copy before you remove anything.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>