---
title: Archive an item
type: how-to
section: drive
summary: Archiving hides an item from the default lists without deleting it. Open Archive to find it again and choose Unarchive to bring it back.
sources:
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-platform/content-platform-action-menu.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-platform/content-platform-shell-v2-client.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-platform/content-platform.constants.ts
  - evolve-front-end/app/i18n/locales/en/content-platform.json
verified:
  at: 2026-09-04
  env: code
  by: content-lane-drive
ttl_days: 45
related: [drive/home, drive/my-drive, drive/delete-a-managed-folder]
---

Open the item's actions and choose **Archive**. The item leaves **Home**, **My Drive** and the other default lists, and Drive confirms with **Item archived.** Nothing is deleted.

## Archive one item or several

1. Find the item in any Drive list.
2. Open its actions menu and choose **Archive**.
3. Drive confirms with **Item archived.**

To archive a set, check the rows and use the archive action above the table. The confirmation for a set reads **Items archived.**

Items shared with you cannot be archived. Drive says **Items shared with you cannot be archived** and leaves the selection alone.

## Find and restore an archived item

**Archive** in the left rail lists the items currently hidden from the default view. Open the item's actions there and choose **Unarchive**. The confirmation reads **Item unarchived.**, or **Items unarchived.** for a set. The item returns to the lists it was in before.

## Archiving is not deleting

| Action | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| **Archive** | The item is hidden from default lists. Its content, links and access stay as they were. |
| **Unarchive** | The item reappears. |
| **Delete** | The item is removed permanently. The dialog asks **Delete item?** and warns that it cannot be undone. |

Deleting a set asks **Delete items?** with the same warning, and the button reads **Delete selected**. Items shared with you cannot be deleted either.

## The other kind of archive

An uploaded `zip`, `tar` or `tgz` file is also called an archive. Drive extracts those, and the item offers **View extracted files** once extraction finishes. Until then it says **Extracted files are available after extraction completes.** That is unrelated to the **Archive** area described above.

## If it did not work

- **Couldn't archive that item.** and **Couldn't unarchive that item.** both mean nothing changed. Try again.
- An item that will not archive may be shared with you rather than owned by you. Ask its owner.
- Archiving needs write access to the item. A viewer sees the action but the request is refused.
- An archived item still opens from a link you sent earlier, and still belongs to the folder it was in.