> ## 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.

# Delete and restore a task

> Archive a task, move it to Trash, restore it, or delete it permanently. Learn what each step takes with it and what stops a permanent delete.

Deleting a task in TimeTracker moves it to **Trash**. Nothing is destroyed until you take a separate, deliberate step.

## Three states, not two

| State        | What it means                                                | Reversible                           |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| **Active**   | Normal. Shows on boards, lists and reports                   | –                                    |
| **Archived** | Hidden from day-to-day views, still reachable and reportable | Yes                                  |
| **Trashed**  | Staged for deletion. Gone from every view                    | Yes, until the retention window ends |

Permanent deletion is a fourth action, taken from Trash, and it cannot be undone.

The full model is at [/concepts/archive-trash-and-delete](/concepts/archive-trash-and-delete).

## The Actions menu

Every task carries the same menu, wherever you find it – the side panel header, the full task page, or a subtask row.

| Item                   | Shown when                      | What it does                   |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Archive**            | The task is active              | Hides it, keeps its history    |
| **Restore**            | The task is archived or trashed | Returns it to your active list |
| **Delete**             | The task is not already trashed | Moves it to Trash              |
| **Delete permanently** | The task is in Trash            | Destroys it                    |

## Archive a task

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the task">
    Or find its row.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Actions and choose Archive">
    A confirmation appears: "Archive *task*?"
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    A toast confirms "Task archived."
  </Step>
</Steps>

Archiving takes the task off the board and out of task lists. Its **time entries and history are preserved**, so reports and invoices built on that work are untouched.

Archive is the right choice for finished work you want out of the way but not out of the record.

## Delete a task

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Actions and choose Delete">
    A confirmation appears: "Delete *task*?"
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read what it takes with it">
    The body states that nothing is destroyed yet, and where to find the task again.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    A toast confirms "Task moved to Trash."
  </Step>
</Steps>

What travels with a deleted task:

* Its **subtasks**, which are trashed at the same moment and stamped so a later restore reclaims exactly the ones this delete took.
* Its comments, attachments and dependencies stay attached to the row and come back with it.

What changes immediately:

* The task disappears from lists, boards and your day view.
* The project's task count drops.
* Any task that depended on it stops showing it as a blocker.
* Any timesheet or report built on already-recorded time is unaffected.

<Note>
  A deleted task returns `null` to every screen still watching it, so an open detail panel closes itself rather than leaving a husk of a task that is gone.
</Note>

## Restore a task

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Trash">
    Go to [/settings/trash](/settings/trash).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the task">
    Trash lists everything staged for deletion.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Restore">
    A confirmation appears, then a toast confirms "Task restored."
  </Step>
</Steps>

Restoring gives back everything the delete took: the subtasks that went with it, and the project's task count.

The same **Restore** item appears in the task's own Actions menu when the task is archived or trashed.

Restore is deliberately never blocked by an app being switched off – recovery stays reachable whatever the workspace has turned on.

## Delete permanently

<Warning>
  Permanent deletion destroys the task, its subtasks, comments, attachments and dependencies. It cannot be undone.
</Warning>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Find the task in Trash">
    Permanent deletion is only offered on a task that is already trashed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Delete permanently">
    The confirmation states exactly what will be destroyed, and lists anything that still points at the task.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type the task name">
    The confirm button stays off until the name you type matches. A copy control is provided.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    A toast confirms "Task permanently deleted."
  </Step>
</Steps>

### When a permanent delete is refused

A permanent delete is refused while the financial or historical record still points at the task. The message names what is in the way – for example the number of time entries still attached.

That refusal is on purpose. A system of record does not orphan a time entry to make a delete succeed.

## The retention window

A trashed task stays restorable for a limited period, then is cleaned up automatically. The default retention is **30 days**. See [/settings/trash](/settings/trash) for your workspace's setting.

## Deleting several tasks at once

Select cards on the board and use **Delete** on the bulk bar. From 10 tasks upward the modal asks you to type the count before it lets you confirm. Each task and its subtasks move to Trash together. See [/tasks/bulk-actions](/tasks/bulk-actions).

## Example

Priya Raman is tidying up Bluebird Coffee – **Website Redesign** after launch.

She **archives** the 40 finished tasks. They leave the board, but the 260 hours tracked against them still appear on the project profitability report and on the invoice already sent.

She then finds `WR-118 Test task`, created by mistake and never used. She opens it, chooses **Delete**, and it moves to Trash along with its one subtask.

The next day she realises `WR-118` had a comment worth keeping. She opens **Trash**, clicks **Restore**, and both the task and the subtask come back exactly as they were.

## Archive or delete?

| Use archive when                                  | Use delete when                 |
| ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| The work is finished                              | The task was created by mistake |
| Time was tracked against it                       | Nothing was ever tracked on it  |
| It is needed for reports or invoices              | It is a duplicate               |
| You want it out of the way, not out of the record | It has no history worth keeping |

<Tip>
  When in doubt, archive. Archived work stays reportable, and you can always delete it later.
</Tip>

## Permissions

| Action                  | Capability    |
| ----------------------- | ------------- |
| Archive a task          | `task.delete` |
| Delete a task to Trash  | `task.delete` |
| Restore a task          | `task.delete` |
| Delete permanently      | `task.delete` |
| Bulk delete a selection | `task.delete` |

| Role            | Can delete a task |
| --------------- | ----------------- |
| Owner           | Yes               |
| Admin           | Yes               |
| Project Manager | Yes               |
| Finance         | No                |
| Member          | No                |
| Contractor      | No                |
| Client          | No                |

<Warning>
  Members and Contractors can create and edit tasks but cannot delete them. That split is deliberate: creating work is safe, removing it is not.
</Warning>

If you cannot delete, the Actions menu does not offer it. The server checks again on the write.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Does deleting a task delete its time entries?">
    No. Time entries are separate records with their own lifecycle. Moving a task to Trash does not touch the hours already recorded against it, and a permanent delete is refused while entries still point at it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I restore one subtask on its own?">
    Restoring the parent brings back the subtasks that went with that delete. A subtask deleted on its own can be restored on its own.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to a task that blocked something else?">
    The dependent task stops showing it as a blocker while it is in Trash. The link survives, so restoring the blocker restores the relationship.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is an archived task included in reports?">
    Yes. Archive hides work from day-to-day views but keeps it reportable. Trash removes it from views and reports until restored.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who can see Trash?">
    Trash is a workspace surface at [/settings/trash](/settings/trash). What you can restore from it follows the same capability as deleting it.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Delete is missing from the Actions menu">
    You do not hold `task.delete`, or the task is already in Trash – in which case you get **Delete permanently** instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The permanent delete says the task is referenced">
    Something still points at it, usually time entries. The message names the count. Remove or reassign those records first, or leave the task in Trash.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The confirm button will not turn on">
    A permanent delete asks you to type the task name exactly. Use the copy control beside the name.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The panel closed when I deleted the task">
    That is expected. A panel has nowhere to navigate, so it closes rather than showing a task that no longer exists.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A restored task is not on the board">
    Check the section it returned to and any active filters. Also check the project itself is not archived.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Archive, trash and delete" icon="archive" href="/concepts/archive-trash-and-delete">
    The model behind all three states.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trash" icon="trash" href="/settings/trash">
    Restore and permanently delete.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Archive" icon="box" href="/settings/archive">
    Everything currently archived.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bulk actions" icon="layers" href="/tasks/bulk-actions">
    Delete many tasks at once.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Task permissions" icon="lock" href="/tasks/task-permissions">
    Why deleting stops at Project Manager.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>