---
name: "undelete"
section: "2"
platform: "linux"
package: "freebsd-manpages"
version: "6.0-5"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/undelete"
---

# undelete(2)

attempt to recover a deleted file

## NAME

**undelete** – attempt to recover a deleted file

## LIBRARY

Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<unistd.h\>**

*int*\

**undelete**(*const char \*path*);

## DESCRIPTION

The **undelete**() system call attempts to recover the deleted file named by *path*. Currently, this works only when the named object is a whiteout in a union file system. The system call removes the whiteout causing any objects in a lower layer of the union stack to become visible once more.

Eventually, the **undelete**() functionality may be expanded to other file systems able to recover deleted files such as the log-structured file system.

## RETURN VALUES

The **undelete()** function returns the value 0 if successful; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

## ERRORS

The **undelete**() succeeds unless:

- \[ENOTDIR\]

  A component of the path prefix is not a directory.

- \[ENAMETOOLONG\]

  A component of a pathname exceeded 255 characters, or an entire path name exceeded 1023 characters.

- \[EEXIST\]

  The path does not reference a whiteout.

- \[ENOENT\]

  The named whiteout does not exist.

- \[EACCES\]

  Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix.

- \[EACCES\]

  Write permission is denied on the directory containing the name to be undeleted.

- \[ELOOP\]

  Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the pathname.

- \[EPERM\]

  The directory containing the name is marked sticky, and the containing directory is not owned by the effective user ID.

- \[EIO\]

  An I/O error occurred while updating the directory entry.

- \[EROFS\]

  The name resides on a read-only file system.

- \[EFAULT\]

  The *path* argument points outside the process's allocated address space.

## SEE ALSO

[unlink(2)](/unlink/2.md), [mount\_unionfs(8)](/mount_unionfs/8.md)

## HISTORY

The **undelete**() system call first appeared in 4.4BSD-Lite.