Restoring Users
Site Administrators can recover users that were deleted accidentally, prematurely, or in error. Restoring a user brings back the account's recoverable configuration and credentials, reducing the work needed to recover from an accidental deletion. Restore requests run in the background, don't interrupt other site activity, and can be tracked from the Restore interface without contacting Files.com Support.
When to Restore Users
Restore a user when the account was deleted but is still needed for access, ownership, or operational continuity. This commonly happens during early off-boarding, role changes, cleanup actions, or automated processes that remove users sooner than intended. Restoration is the right tool when recreating the account would require reassigning permissions, reconfiguring authentication, or issuing new credentials.
What Is Restored
User settings and authentication methods are recovered automatically. For Site Administrators, full access is restored exactly as it existed before deletion. For non–Site Administrator users, folder access permissions and Child Site access permissions deleted along with the user are restored only when the Restore User Permissions option is selected.
SFTP/SSH keys, API keys, and two-factor authentication methods deleted along with the user are restored automatically. Other user settings are also restored, including protocol access, language, time zone, full name, company name, email address, notes, tags, and avatar.
To allow for batch deletion processes, a user restore treats credentials and permissions deleted within the 5 minutes before the user as deleted along with the user, even if removed manually. Items deleted earlier, or before the deletion date selected for the restore, remain deleted.
Group memberships are not part of the recoverable user configuration. Restoring the account therefore does not restore access granted through its former groups; reassign the appropriate group memberships after the restore completes.
Creating a User Restore Request
A user restore request requires a deletion date to identify which users are eligible for restoration. An optional username prefix narrows the request to users whose usernames start with a specific value. Selecting Restore User Permissions restores eligible folder and Child Site permissions deleted along with non–Site Administrator users.
User restore requests run asynchronously in the background. Progress and status are available from the Restore interface. Larger restore requests take longer to complete.
The Settings Changes log provides the audit record of the users, credentials, and permissions actually recovered, with a separate entry for each successful restoration and attribution to the requesting user or API key. Use it alongside the restore request's progress and errors when reviewing recovered access.
User Activity Logs
User activity logs are always retained, even after a user is deleted. Deleting or restoring a user does not affect log data. After a deleted user is restored, existing logs can again be filtered and viewed by username, and new activity continues to be recorded.
Things to Consider
Restoring a user re-enables the access they had before deletion, which may not match current access and permission requirements. After restoration, review folder permissions, Child Site access, protocol access, API keys, group assignments, and authentication settings against current needs.
Restore is a recovery step within user lifecycle management, not a replacement for onboarding or off-boarding processes. Frequent restores are a signal to review deletion workflows, expiration rules, and automation that may be removing users sooner than intended.