recyclebin

Recycle bin is a temporary storage location for deleted items in many operating systems. It serves as a safety net, allowing users to recover accidentally removed files or folders before they are permanently erased.

In Windows, the recycle bin is implemented per storage drive and is typically invisible to the user as a hidden system folder named with a drive-specific identifier (for example, $Recycle.Bin). When a file is deleted, it is moved to this location rather than being removed immediately. Users can restore items to their original location or permanently delete them by emptying the bin. If the bin reaches a configured size limit or is emptied, the oldest items are permanently removed.

Other major environments use similar concepts with the Trash or similar terminology. macOS calls the feature Trash, which acts like a recycle bin for deleted items. Linux and other Unix-like systems commonly follow the FreeDesktop.org Trash specification, storing deleted files in a per-user trash directory such as ~/.local/share/Trash/files, with corresponding metadata in an info file to support restoration.

Limitations include the fact that once a bin is emptied or a storage device is cleaned, recovery becomes difficult or impossible without specialized tools. Some deletions, such as those performed on network shares, external media, or by certain applications, may bypass the recycle bin or have different recovery options.

Overall, the recycle bin provides an undo mechanism for deletion, balancing ease of use with the risk of accidental data loss.