# I can't find my files among the Workspace files

If you cannot find the file or folder you are looking for among the Workspace files, it was likely deleted either accidentally by you, by another Instance Editor, or by a process running in one of the applications in the instance.

There are several ways you can attempt to recover the missing data:

1. If the missing files are specific to a particular application, first check whether that application creates regular backups. For example, JupyterLab creates regular [checkpoints](https://stackoverflow.com/a/46422176), which may be the easiest and most up-to-date recovery option.
2. Check whether one of your [snapshots](/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts/snapshots.md) contains the missing files. If it does, you can use distribution to [restore](/features/snapshots/restore-a-snapshot.md#partially-restore-from-a-snapshot) them.
3. In a teaching course, if you originally received the files from the lecturer, for example as [assignment](/user-guides/education-guides/student-guides/working-on-assignments.md) files, you may also be able to recover them from the [Distributed](/features/object-distribution/the-distributed-instance.md) instance, where they remain available in the form in which they were distributed.
   1. First, navigate to the Distributed instance of the space using the navigation bar at the top of the page.

      <figure><img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe1kLR8u1y2HeiiBYQSsFG_HWh_0sqxckW32VfqG1xxvn9XddnKQylAg7IH-ZKGD5m60FP9owqjJHU2SHTMfggC-LMdOqvk9_-7EmcoUq8ahpPSB6Kpt9ew1gFV0ZyKg8taZaAX6o-xPFSaDZJvbflgakTi?key=oKPaq6hvMB7j5N9W2CtiGQ" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
   2. Then select the files you want to copy into your own instance and stage them.
   3. Finally, distribute them to your own instance.

      <figure><img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfHQDLdL6qccXtB3FjyvjdZJIEcFB2MyvqSNvmjO-ZASV9HEo65kpDM0C6ilj5bMB7qS1LQOvjHX2P5gxvGQN9xUTFNW1Fvd0tszIBFd4-sbf-bHd1OOjLb48Gw-mz84n9Goif6DvIePcoMh56mFZG7UAIE?key=oKPaq6hvMB7j5N9W2CtiGQ" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
4. If none of the above steps resolve the issue, contact support to determine whether any additional recovery options are available.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.nuvolos.com/help-and-reference/troubleshooting/content-troubleshooting/i-cant-find-my-files-among-the-workspace-files.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.