Mistakingly Deleted Floe

Question

Hi i delete a flow by mistake, can I recovered it?

Answer 1

Yes, a deleted flow can usually be recovered, depending on how long ago it was deleted and what type of flow it is.

For cloud flows (Power Automate):

1. A deleted non-solution or solution flow can be restored within 21 days of deletion.
2. Option 1 – Use the Power Automate Management connector:
   • Create a manual (button) flow.
   • Add List Flows as Admin from the Power Automate Management connector.
     • Select the environment where the flow was deleted.
     • Set Include Soft-Deleted Flows to Yes.
   • Run the flow and inspect the OUTPUTS/value of List Flows as Admin.
   • Find the deleted flow using its displayName and note the name field (this is flowName).
   • Add Restore Deleted Flows as Admin.
   • In the Flow field, use the flowName from the previous step.
   • Run the flow. The flow will be restored in a disabled state; enable it manually afterward.
3. Option 2 – Use PowerShell (admin):
   • Install the latest Microsoft.PowerApps.Administration.PowerShell module.
   • Open PowerShell as administrator and run:

          Add-PowerAppsAccount
     

   • Authenticate, then list flows (including deleted) in the environment:

          Get-AdminFlow -EnvironmentName <EnvironmentName> -IncludeDeleted $true
     

   • Note the FlowName of the deleted flow.
   • Restore it:

          Restore-AdminFlow -EnvironmentName <EnvironmentName> -FlowName <FlowName>
     

   • The restored flow will be disabled; enable it in Power Automate.

If the flow was deleted more than 21 days ago, it cannot be recovered by these methods or by Microsoft Support.

For desktop flows (Power Automate for desktop):

1. Full restore (work/school account):
   • If the desktop flow was part of an exported solution, import that solution again to restore it.
   • Or, if there is a Power Platform environment backup from before deletion:
     • Create a new environment.
     • Restore the backup to that environment.
     • In the new environment, add the desktop flow to a solution and export it.
     • Import that solution into the original environment.
2. Partial restore (only actions, not UI elements/images/connections):
   • From local run data (if the flow was deleted in the portal and run locally at least once):
     • Open %localappdata%\Microsoft\Power Automate Desktop\Console\Workspace\<deleted desktop flow id>\<random string>\script.robin.
     • Copy the lines under @SENSITIVE (and subflow sections as described) into a new desktop flow in the Power Automate console.
   • From environment audit logs (if auditing was enabled for the environment and Process table):
     • In Power Platform Admin Center, go to Environments → your environment → Settings → Audit and logs → Audit summary view.
     • Filter Process entity by Delete events and open the delete event for the flow.
     • Copy the Definition field, replace \r\n with newlines, and follow the same steps as for local run data to rebuild the flow.
3. Full restore with a Microsoft personal account (desktop flows):
   • Desktop flows are stored in OneDrive under OneDrive\Apps\Power Automate Desktop For Windows.
   • Restore deleted flows from the OneDrive recycle bin using the standard OneDrive file-restore process.

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References:

• Restore deleted flows
• Restore a deleted desktop flow