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Asked: 2012-02-07 20:12:12 +0800 CST

Where is the .Trash folder?

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Using Ubuntu 11.10, I accidentally deleted a file that was approximately 700 MB. I tried to find it in the in following locations, but couldn't:

/home/user/.local/share
/home/user/ <-- there was no folder .Trash
/home/user/Desktop/ <-- there was no folder .Trash

So where did .Trash go in Ubuntu 11.10 onward? I use the Gnome environment.

xdg

4 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Your trash directory is most likely at:

    /home/$USER/.local/share/Trash

    If you deleted something as root (e.g. deleted a file using Nautilus invoked via gksu), it is at:

    /root/.local/share/Trash

    (In general, according to Freedesktop.org specifications[1][2], the "home trash" directory is at $XDG_DATA_HOME/Trash, and $XDG_DATA_HOME in turn defaults to $HOME/.local/share.)

    To see .local in your home folder using the file manager, select Show Hidden Files from the View menu or just type Ctrl+H.

    The Trash directory is first created when a user deletes a file. Within Trash there are three subdirectories:

    • files, where the deleted files are stored until the trash is emptied
    • info, which stores information on where the files once were and when they were deleted
    • expunged, to which files are briefly moved when the trash is emptied (but may contain some owned by other users from directories you deleted).

    Note that using the rm command in a terminal or the Shift+Delete key combination in the file manager will permanently delete your file instead of moving it to the trash.

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  2. The trash folder is located at .local/share/Trash in your home directory.

    Additionally, on other disk partitions or on removable media it will be a directory .Trash-uid where uid is the uid of the user who moved the item to the trash.

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  3. Ubuntu 10.10 (oneiric)

    Gnome 3.2.1 Classic

    Home Folder > Go > Rubbish Bin

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  4. Explore the folder, and there you'll see the trash button:

    enter image description here

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