Restoring Deleted Apps

Article Number:04016

To help users who have accidentally deleted apps, Kintone provides a feature to restore apps back to the state at the time of deletion.
When a deleted app is restored, records and app settings are restored back to their state at the time of deletion. This enables users to use the app in the same way as before.

Only Kintone Users & System Administrators can restore apps. Also, deleted apps cannot be restored if 14 days or more have elapsed from the time of deletion.
There are some other restrictions; make sure to refer to Precautions before restoring your app.

Overview of the steps to restore an app

The following is the overview of the steps to restore an app. For details, refer to the steps described later in this article.

(1) To the extent you can, check the name of the deleted app, possible date and time of deletion, and the user who is considered to have deleted the app.

(2) Check the audit log on the "Users & System Administration" screen and identify the app ID based on the information you have checked in step (1).

(3) Enter the app ID on the restoration screen and perform the restoration.

Precautions

Items that are and are not restored

  • Items that are restored when the app is restored

    • Records
      • Data entered into records
      • Attachment
      • Comments
      • History
      • Status
    • App settings
      All settings except those listed in the "Items that are not restored even if the app is restored" section are restored (including customization files and plug-ins).
    • URL that was allocated to the app
      Your web browser’s bookmarks of the app, which you have used to directly access the app, can also be used in the same way as before.
  • Items that are not restored even if the app is restored

    • Some of the app settings
      • App code
      • Slack integration
      • App actions
        If an app specified as Target in the app action setting is deleted, the app actions setting is also deleted. In this case, the setting cannot be restored.
    • Notifications already sent
    • The content changed or deleted before the app is deleted

Cases where an app cannot be restored

  • You cannot restore a deleted app if 14 days or more have elapsed from the time of deletion. For example, if you delete an app at 10 a.m. on June 1, it can be restored until 10 a.m. on June 15.

  • You cannot restore a deleted app if the total number of apps will exceed the license limit due to the restoration of the app.
    You can check the maximum number of apps allowed in your environment on the "App Management" screen or the "Users & System Administration" screen. The number of apps displayed on the "App Management" screen or the "Users & System Administration" screen is updated upon deletion or restoration of an app.
    Checking Your App License Usage

  • You cannot restore an app that is deleted before being activated.

Restoring bulk deleted apps

If you delete multiple apps that are linked with each other and then restore any one of the apps, apps that are referenced by the restored app are also restored. Further, if there are any other apps that are referenced by the restored apps, these apps are also restored.
However, apps that refer to the restored apps will not be restored.

Example: Bulk delete apps A, B, C, and D, and then restore app A
If app A is restored, app B, which is referenced by app A; and app C, which is referenced by app B, are restored together with app A. However, app D, which refers to app A, is not restored. If necessary, restore it separately. Image

Details of the steps to restore an app

The following describes the steps to restore an app.

  1. To the extent you can, check the name of the deleted app, possible date and time of deletion, and the user who is considered to have deleted the app.

  2. Click the Settings icon (the gear-shaped icon at the top of Kintone), then click Users & System Administration. Image

  3. Click View & Download under Audit Logs.

  4. Enter "App delete" in the Action input field in the Filter Conditions section and then click View. Image Logs that meet the specified conditions are displayed at the lower area of the screen.

  5. If there are too many logs that meet the specified conditions and it is difficult to find the target log, add the following conditions to the extent you can and click the View button again.

    • If you know the date and time of deletion: specify the date range using the From Date & Time and To Date & Time input fields.
    • If you know the user who may have deleted the space: specify the user in the User input field.
    • If you know the deleted app name: enter the deleted app name in the Complement input field.
  6. From the date and time and users displayed in the list of logs, find the log that seems to be the one you are looking for. Click the i icon of the log and check the information such as the app name in the Complement section to confirm that the log is the one. Image

  7. Check the app ID displayed in the Complement section.
    Image

  8. Navigate to the "Kintone Administration" screen.
    Opening the Kintone Administration Screen

  9. Click Restoring App/Space.

  10. Enter the app ID (confirmed in step 7) in the App ID input field and click the Restore button. Image The confirmation dialog is displayed.
    If there are any apps that were referenced by the app to be restored, the names of these apps are also displayed. These apps will also be restored. Image

  11. Click Restore This App.
    When the app is successfully restored, a message "Restored Successfully" is displayed at the top of the screen.

  12. The following settings are not restored. Configure them again as needed.

FAQ

  • I have checked the audit logs but I cannot find the deleted app.
    There is a possibility that the app was not deleted individually but deleted due to the deletion of a space. Enter "Space delete" in the Action input field on the audit logs screen, and filter logs again. If you click the i icon of a log, you can find the apps that were placed in the space in the Complement section.
    If it is confirmed that the app was deleted due to the deletion of a space, you can restore the app by restoring the deleted space.
    Restoring Deleted Spaces

  • How do I restore an app that was placed in a space?
    If the space has not been deleted, you can restore the app by referring to Details of the steps to restore an app in this article.
    If you want to restore an app that had been placed in a space which is already deleted, the steps differ depending on the situation:

    • If the space and app were deleted at the same time (If the app was deleted due to the deletion of the space):
      If you restore the deleted space, the app is also restored.

    • If the app and space were deleted separately:
      Restore the space first, and then restore the app by following the steps below.

    Restoring Deleted Spaces

  • If I restore an app, will its app action settings also be restored?
    Yes, they will be restored. However, if an app specified as Target in the app action settings has ever been deleted, the settings are not restored. In such a case, you need to reconfigure them after restoring your app.

  • Some actions cannot be performed in the app that was referenced by a "Lookup" or "Related records" field of a deleted app. What shall I do?
    In order to preserve data in the "Lookup" or "Related records" field in case a user wishes to restore the deleted app, the following restrictions are placed on user actions.

    • If a field in an app different from the deleted app is specified in the deleted app's "Lookup" or "Related records" field setting, users cannot delete the field.

    • If the process management status or assignee of an app different from the deleted app is specified in the deleted app's "Lookup" or "Related records" field setting, users cannot disable the Process Management feature in the app.

    • If the category of an app different from the deleted app is specified in the deleted app's "Lookup" or "Related records" field setting, users cannot disable the Category feature in the app.

      To perform these actions, restore the deleted app first, and delete the "Lookup" or "Related records" field or change the field setting. Alternatively, you will be able to perform these actions after 14 days from the deletion of the app since the app will become unrecoverable at the time.

  • I cannot delete the app group to which the deleted app belonged. What shall I do?
    In order to restore permissions correctly when the deleted app is restored, Kintone does not allow users to delete the app group to which the deleted app belonged. To delete the app group, restore the deleted app first and change the app group settings.
    Alternatively, you will be able to delete the app group after 14 days from the deletion of the app since the app will become unrecoverable at the time.
    Changing Which App Group an App Belongs To