When you delete an unwanted file in Visual Studio Code, but later you try to recover it from the Recycle Bin and open it again, only to find unexpectedly the deleted file not in the Recycle Bin. Whether the file was accidentally deleted, lost due to a crash, or vanished without a trace, find out how to retrieve your valuable code and prevent future data loss.
Visual Studio Code (often abbreviated as VS Code) is a free, open-source, lightweight cross-platform source code editor developed by Microsoft, compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. When you delete files directly from Visual Studio Code, they don’t always end up in the Windows Recycle Bin. This often confuses users who expect to recover their work easily. Here are the main reasons why:
🔔"Delete Permanently" Setting Enabled
In VS Code settings, the option "Files: Enable Trash" controls whether files go to the Recycle Bin. If it’s set to false, deleted files are removed immediately without going to Recycle Bin.
📌Terminal or Git Commands
If you remove files using VS Code Terminal (e.g., rm, del, git clean), they are permanently deleted since these commands don’t use the Recycle Bin at all.
💡Large Files or System Restrictions
Very large files may bypass the Recycle Bin due to Windows storage rules. Instead, they are deleted directly to free up space.
🔍Network or External Drives
Files stored on external drives, network drives, or synced folders may not go through the Recycle Bin depending on system policies.
By default, files deleted from Visual Studio Code go directly to the Recycle Bin.
However, if the deletion settings have been modified, or if files are deleted from an external hard drive, those deleted files will be permanently erased from the file system. In this case, they don’t stay in a recoverable trash folder but require other recovery techniques.
Even if your files don’t appear in the Recycle Bin, this doesn’t mean it’s permanently gone and irrecoverable. This section will present 5 effective methods to recover deleted Visual Studio Code files that aren’t in the Recycle Bin. Let’s go through the methods one by one.
If you only accidentally deleted a file recently, haven’t closed Visual Studio Code, and have no other operations performed, you can undo the deletion using "Ctrl + Z" right away. This method only works if the deletion was very recent.
If you have enabled Local History in VS Code, it will save the content of edited files to a backup location, allowing you to restore them when needed.
Step 1. Under the "TIMELINE" section, click the three horizontal dots and click "Local History: Find Entry to Restore".
Step 2. All files saved backups in Local History will be displayed. Select the file you want to restore.
Step 3. In the left panel, under the "TIMELINE" section, choose a File Saved version and right click on it, then choose "Restore contents".
Then save it to a safe location.
The Windows built-in feature "Restore Previous Version" can save copies of your files or folders. You can restore previous versions with this feature when you needed. But this method requires that you had enabled File History or System Restore previously.
Step 1. Navigate to the folder where the lost files were stored in File Explorer.
Step 2. Right click on it and choose "Restore previous versions" from the context menu.
Step 3. Choose a version from the list of versions and click "Restore" to recover it.
Windows File Recovery is a built-in data recovery tool provided by Microsoft, which can restore permanently deleted files from local storage device. But this method requires basic familiarity with Windows File Recovery command and it only compatible with Windows 10 and 11.
Step 1. Download and install Windows File Recovery on your computer from secure channel.
Step 2. Open Windows File Recovery and run it as administrator.
Step 3. Type the command "Winfr F: E: /Regular" and press "Enter". Replace the drive letters "F" and "E" with your actual drive letters.
When the process is completed, you can press "y" to check the recovered files in the destination folder.
If command lines are hard for you to master in a short time, you can turn to MyRecover, a beginner-friendly GUI tool. It adopts a visual interface to simplify data recovery. It supports the recovery of over 1,000 file types, such as documents, images, videos, compressed packages, and emails.
MyRecover's most impressive strengths include:
✅No Command Line Needed – Simple GUI (graphical interface) for easy file recovery.
✅Higher Success Rate – Advanced deep scan for NTFS/FAT32/exFAT drives.
✅Smart Filtering – Recover files by type, date, or size with precision.
✅500+ Devices Support – Recover files from all types of devices like SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, SD card, cameras, game console drives and more.
✅Handle 500+ Data Loss Scenarios – Recover from deleted partition, formatted hard drive, emptied Recycle Bin, system crash, virus attack, etc.
✅OS Compatibility – Work not only on Windows 11 /10, but also on Windows 8.1/ 8/ 7 and all Servers.
✅Smart Scan Modes – Choose from Quick Scan for recent deletions or Deep Scan for formatted/corrupted drives.
Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer from a secure channel, avoid installing it on the drive with lost files.
Step 2. Launch it and choose the drive or folder where the deleted files from Visual Studio Code were stored, then click "Scan".
Step 3. Choose files you intend to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover". Type the file name keywords in the upper right corner to quickly find the file you want to restore.
Step 4. Select a location different from the original one to save the recovered files.
Once the process is finished, the message indicating successful recovery will pop out. You can access and check the recovered files by clicking on the destination folder path or the "Browse" button.
After completing data recovery, it is equally important to set up preventive measures to prevent data loss from happening again in the future. The following two methods can effectively avoid files being deleted without going to the Recycle Bin.
Once the Recycle Bin is enabled in VS Code, deleted files will be moved to the Recycle Bin, allowing you to restore them at any time until the Recycle Bin is emptied. Additionally, before a file is deleted, VS Code will display a pop-up notification informing you that the file will be deleted and moved to the Recycle Bin.
Step 1. Launch VS Code and select "Settings", then type "enable trash" in the search bar.
Step 2. Check the option under the "Files: Enable Trash" to ensure deleted files will be moved to Recycle Bin instead of permanent deletion.
Avoid using "rm" or "del" in the VS Code terminal unless you are certain. These commands always bypass the Recycle Bin. With these preventive settings, your files will be protected in VS Code.
When quickly deleting files in VS Code, they might skip the Recycle Bin and vanish permanently. However, methods like undo, local history, restoring previous versions, or using reliable data recovery tool like MyRecover can help you bring them back.
MyRecover’s advanced scanning is particularly useful when you want to recover data from formatted hard drives. MyRecover also offers Professional edition which supports unlimited recovery and can restore files from unbootable systems.