Can You Recover Deleted TXT Files

Yvette Bonnet updated Jul 08, 26

5 min(s)

TL;DR:

You can successfully recover deleted TXT files by checking the Recycle Bin, Trash, File History, Time Machine, or temporary .tmp files, and using a dedicated data recovery scan if the document was permanently removed.
    ● Stop writing new data to the affected storage immediately, because the exceptionally small size of plain text files makes them highly vulnerable to rapid overwriting on active drives.
    ● If a recovery scan loses the original file system metadata and returns unnamed documents, search the results using unique content keywords, phrases, or dates instead of the original filename.
    ● Use software like Recoverit Data Recovery to scan the original drive when no backups exist, ensuring you save any successfully previewed text data to a completely separate storage device to prevent corruption.

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Deleted TXT files can often be recovered if the storage space has not been overwritten. TXT file recovery is usually possible from Recycle Bin, Trash, backup copies, cloud sync history, temporary files, or a file recovery scan on the original drive. Recovery becomes less likely after heavy device use, formatting, SSD TRIM, or physical damage.

Step 1
Check Recycle Bin or Trash first. Restore the file if the deleted TXT file is still listed with the original name or location.
Step 2
Search for backup copies. Check File History, Time Machine, cloud sync folders, backup drives, previous versions, or app-specific history if the plain text file was saved in a protected or synced folder.
Step 3
Look for temporary or autosaved copies. Search the computer for .txt, .tmp, recently modified files, or content keywords if the document was deleted after editing or an app closed unexpectedly.
Step 4
Stop writing new data to the affected drive. Plain text files are often small, so continued use can overwrite deleted TXT content quickly.
Step 5
Run a file recovery scan on the affected storage device if no backup exists. Preview recoverable TXT files when possible, then save selected files to a different drive.

Common Issues and Fixes

Deleted TXT file is not in Recycle Bin or Trash: likely cause is emptied bin, permanent deletion, or deletion from removable storage; fix by checking backups first, then scanning the original drive.
Recovered file opens blank or corrupted: likely cause is partial overwrite, wrong encoding, or incomplete recovery; fix by trying another recovered version, checking temporary files, or opening it with a different text editor.
TXT recovery finds many unnamed files: likely cause is lost file system metadata; fix by sorting results by file type, size, modified date, and content preview.
No recoverable plain text files appear: likely cause is SSD TRIM, overwrite activity, full formatting, or scanning the wrong device; fix by stopping device use and checking backup or sync history.
File was on a USB drive or SD card: likely cause is unsafe removal, formatting, or file system corruption; fix by avoiding formatting and scanning the removable device directly.

Quick Tips

Plain text files are small, so they may be overwritten faster than larger files on active system drives.
A recovered TXT file may lose its original filename or folder path even when the text content is still recoverable.
Search by content keywords as well as extension. A recovered text file may appear as raw, unknown, or temporary data.
If the file contained private notes, passwords, logs, or account details, save recovered copies to a secure location and review cloud sync history carefully.
Physical clicking, disconnection, or read errors may indicate hardware problems. Continued use can worsen damage, so check device condition before repeated scans.

💡Protip:

For TXT files, content search is often more useful than filename search after recovery. If the original name is gone, look for unique words, phrases, dates, or log entries from the document, then save matching recovered files to another drive before editing them.