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How to UN-RESTORE trash?

I command-deleted all files in my trash folder, thinking it would empty my trash. Instead, it restored all the files. Now my file folders are littered with stuff I deleted a long time ago. Is there a way to UN-RESTORE my trash folder? To be clear, I am not asking about restoring files that I accidentally deleted. I want to re-delete files that I accidentally restored.


My MacBook is running Catalina. Thanks for the help!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 2, 2020 7:05 AM

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Posted on Nov 2, 2020 7:19 AM

If you just performed the action and have done nothing in Finder since, you can use Edit menu > Undo to reverse it. If you've done other actions since then, unfortunately you need to go back and re-delete everything manually. The keyboard shortcut to empty the trash is Command-Shift-Delete.

3 replies

Nov 2, 2020 7:39 AM in response to friendly_artichoke

friendly_artichoke wrote:

I command-deleted all files in my trash folder, thinking it would empty my trash. Instead, it restored all the files. Now my file folders are littered with stuff I deleted a long time ago. Is there a way to UN-RESTORE my trash folder? To be clear, I am not asking about restoring files that I accidentally deleted. I want to re-delete files that I accidentally restored.

My MacBook is running Catalina. Thanks for the help!


Ha ha— yes that is quite the surprise, never saw that before...



Maybe next time from the Finder>Empty Trash


Delete files and folders on Mac - Apple Support


How to UN-RESTORE trash?

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