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This page provides details about restoring specific data you select from a
snapshot.
About snapshot-based data restoration
You can use snapshots to restore deleted or corrupted files and directories
using file access operations based on your operating system.
Restore data using a Linux client
Snapshots are accessible using the UNIX-like file system on Linux operating
systems. To restore data using a Linux client, enable the
Make snapshot directory visible option in the volume snapshot schedule section.
A .snapshot directory appears in the mount point of the volumes.
Example of data restoration on a Linux client
The following example shows a sequence of file operations on a volume mounted
to a Linux client. The volume contains two files and one snapshot. In this
example, the user deletes a file and uses the snapshot to restore the latest
version of the file from the newest snapshot:
$ df -h .
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
10.31.240.4:/example-volume-1 1.0T 4.5M 1.0T 1% /netapp
$ ls
chinook.db readme.txt
$ rm chinook.db
$ ls -la .
total 12
drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 May 31 15:02 .
drwxr-xr-x 20 root root 4096 May 31 13:42 ..
drwxrwxrwx 3 root root 4096 May 31 14:35 .snapshot
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu 14 May 31 14:24 readme.txt
$ ls .snapshot
hourly.2022-05-31_1435
$ ls .snapshot/hourly.2022-05-31_1435
chinook.db readme.txt
$ cp .snapshot/hourly.2022-05-31_1435/chinook.db .
$ ls
chinook.db readme.txt
Restore data using a Windows client
To restore data using a Windows client, enable the
Make snapshot directory visible option in the volume snapshot schedule
section. You can then access snapshots using the Previous Versions tab
of the File Explorer property window. To restore a file, drag it
from a snapshot folder to its original location.
Example of data restoration on a Windows client
The following example shows you how to access snapshots using the ~snapshot
file path:
Z:\dir z:\~snapshot
Volume in drive Z is restore-example-1
Volume Serial Number is 8080-F15D
Directory of z:\~snapshot
05/31/2022 04:08 PM <DIR> ..
05/31/2022 03:59 PM <DIR> hourly.2022-05-31-1600
05/31/2022 04:02 PM <DIR> hourly.2022-05-31_1605
0 File(s) 0 bytes
3 Dir(s) 0 bytes free
Z:\>
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Restore specific data with snapshots\n\nThis page provides details about restoring specific data you select from a\nsnapshot.\n\nAbout snapshot-based data restoration\n-------------------------------------\n\nYou can use snapshots to restore deleted or corrupted files and directories\nusing file access operations based on your operating system.\n\nRestore data using a Linux client\n---------------------------------\n\nSnapshots are accessible using the UNIX-like file system on Linux operating\nsystems. To restore data using a Linux client, enable the\n**Make snapshot directory visible** option in the volume snapshot schedule section.\nA `.snapshot` directory appears in the mount point of the volumes.\n\n### Example of data restoration on a Linux client\n\nThe following example shows a sequence of file operations on a volume mounted\nto a Linux client. The volume contains two files and one snapshot. In this\nexample, the user deletes a file and uses the snapshot to restore the latest\nversion of the file from the newest snapshot: \n\n $ df -h .\n\n Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on\n 10.31.240.4:/example-volume-1 1.0T 4.5M 1.0T 1% /netapp\n\n $ ls\n\n chinook.db readme.txt\n\n $ rm chinook.db\n\n $ ls -la .\n\n total 12\n drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 May 31 15:02 .\n drwxr-xr-x 20 root root 4096 May 31 13:42 ..\n drwxrwxrwx 3 root root 4096 May 31 14:35 .snapshot\n -rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu 14 May 31 14:24 readme.txt\n\n $ ls .snapshot\n\n hourly.2022-05-31_1435\n\n $ ls .snapshot/hourly.2022-05-31_1435\n\n chinook.db readme.txt\n\n $ cp .snapshot/hourly.2022-05-31_1435/chinook.db .\n\n $ ls\n\n chinook.db readme.txt\n\nRestore data using a Windows client\n-----------------------------------\n\nTo restore data using a Windows client, enable the\n**Make snapshot directory visible** option in the volume snapshot schedule\nsection. You can then access snapshots using the **Previous Versions** tab\nof the File Explorer property window. To restore a file, drag it\nfrom a snapshot folder to its original location.\n\n### Example of data restoration on a Windows client\n\nThe following example shows you how to access snapshots using the `~snapshot`\nfile path: \n\n Z:\\dir z:\\~snapshot\n Volume in drive Z is restore-example-1\n Volume Serial Number is 8080-F15D\n\n Directory of z:\\~snapshot\n\n 05/31/2022 04:08 PM \u003cDIR\u003e ..\n 05/31/2022 03:59 PM \u003cDIR\u003e hourly.2022-05-31-1600\n 05/31/2022 04:02 PM \u003cDIR\u003e hourly.2022-05-31_1605\n 0 File(s) 0 bytes\n 3 Dir(s) 0 bytes free\n\n Z:\\\u003e\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n[About backups](/netapp/volumes/docs/protect-data/about-backups)."]]
