Trash & Recovery

Kanman uses soft deletion, meaning deleted items are recoverable for 40 days before permanent removal.

Desktop Mobile

How Soft Delete Works

When you delete an item:

1. It’s marked as deleted (not removed from database)
2. It disappears from normal views
3. It appears in your Trash
4. After 40 days, it’s permanently deleted

Accessing Trash

1. Click Trash in the sidebar
2. Or go to Settings > Trash

What’s in the Trash

The trash contains:

• Deleted boards
• Deleted projects
• Deleted tasks
• Deleted notes

Each item shows:

• Name/title
• Type (board, project, task, note)
• Deletion date
• Days remaining before permanent deletion

Viewing Trash Items

The trash is organized by type. Each category shows the count of deleted items:

• Boards - Deleted boards with their remaining time
• Projects - Deleted projects
• Tasks - Deleted tasks
• Notes - Deleted notes

Each item shows when it will be permanently deleted. Click a category to expand and see items.

Restoring Items

Restore a Board

1. Find the board in Trash
2. Click Restore
3. Board returns to your boards list

Note: Restoring a board also restores all projects and tasks within it.

Restore a Project

1. Find the project in Trash
2. Click Restore
3. If parent board exists: Project returns to that board
4. If parent board deleted: You must restore the board first

Note: Restoring a project also restores all tasks within it.

Restore a Task

1. Find the task in Trash
2. Click Restore
3. If parent project exists: Task returns to that project
4. If parent project deleted: You must restore the project first

Note: Restoring a task also restores all subtasks within it.

Restore a Note

1. Find the note in Trash
2. Click Restore
3. Note returns to its board’s notes

Quota Considerations

When restoring items, quota limits apply:

• If restoring would exceed your board/project/task limit
• Restoration fails with a quota exceeded message
• Upgrade your plan or delete other items first

Permanent Deletion

Automatic (After 40 Days)

Items are permanently deleted 40 days after soft deletion:

• No manual action required
• Deletion is irreversible
• Includes all child items

A scheduled job runs daily to clean up expired trash items.

Manual (Empty Trash)

Permanently delete items before 40 days:

1. Go to Trash
2. Find the item
3. Click Delete Permanently
4. Confirm deletion

Or empty all trash:

1. Go to Trash
2. Click Empty Trash
3. Confirm to permanently delete everything

Warning: Permanent deletion cannot be undone.

Cascade Behavior

Deletion cascades through the hierarchy:

When You Delete	Also Deleted
Board	All projects, tasks, subtasks, notes
Project	All tasks, subtasks
Task	All subtasks
Note	Note links

All items go to trash together and are restored together.

Trash Statistics

The trash view shows:

• Total items by type
• Items expiring soon (within 7 days)
• Storage used by trash items

Best Practices

Regular Cleanup

Review trash periodically:

• Restore accidentally deleted items
• Permanently delete items you’re sure about
• Clear old items to free up mental clutter

Before Deleting

Ask yourself:

• Will I need this again?
• Does anyone else use this?
• Should I archive instead of delete?

Export Before Permanent Delete

For important data:

1. Restore the item
2. Export via API if needed
3. Delete again if still not needed

Retention Policy

Plan	Retention Period
Personal	40 days
Pro	40 days
Teams	40 days

Retention is the same across all plans.

Related Topics

• Auto-Archive - Automatically move completed projects
• Boards - Board deletion
• Projects - Project deletion
• Tasks - Task deletion