While working on a python project, there is a great possibility that your file gets accidentally deleted, corrupted, or inaccessible before you complete it. You may have also accidentally deleted your completed python file. This usually happens if there is a technical glitch or if you close your file without saving it. Losing a python code might be highly expensive, especially if it contains complex and lengthy code.
Imagine that you have spent hours and hours completing a python project, and you lost it somehow. Now that you can’t access it, will you spend a lot more hours composing it again? Even if you spend several hours, are you sure that you have composed it exactly like the one before? So, instead of thinking about working on it again, you need to work on getting your files back. But do you know how to recover them? Well, we can help you out! We have listed a few methods that can help you get back the python files that you have lost. Keep reading, and you will find the best solution that suits your needs.
Method 1 – Recover Deleted Python Files from System Cache
Was your file deleted while you were working on it? Have you run your file with an interpreter on your terminal previously? (If it is more recent, there are more chances to get them back). In that case, you can try using this method to get back your python files. If you have recently run your code through an interpreter, there is probably an interpreted copy of your code in the cache. We are going to use this code to get back your original code. Here is how you do it –
Firstly, go to the location where you store your Python data. Search and find the folder titled __pycache__. Inside the folder, you will find the compiled version of your python file (It has an extension of .pyc – You can find it that way). Now all you have to do is to find a decompiler that works well with your python version. Upload this compiled .pyc file to the decompiler. It decompiles this compiled file and gives you back your original python code.
However, if you have not compiled your code recently, or if you have created this code a long time back, you probably won’t find a compiled version in your cache. In such cases, keep reading. There are a few more methods that may help you.
Method 2 – Restore Python Files from GitHub Backups
Before starting to work on important projects, people tend to activate version controlling on their projects. Do you remember enabling any such version control on any platform like GitHub? Well, if you have enabled such controlling, a previous version of your code is logged regularly on your GitHub account. Just go there, browse all the versions, and you can easily download the version that you want. Your chosen version will be restored immediately to your chosen location. That’s it! You can now peacefully continue with your project instead of worrying about spending several hours rewriting code!
However, if you haven’t enabled version controlling or any other backup option, then this method is not suitable for you. At times, even your backup might be missing. The version you are looking for may not be present in some cases. If you are facing such issues, go to the next method.
Method 3 – Using Third-Party Recovery Software to Get the Python Files Back
When your data is incredibly important, and you have tried everything that you can, there is nothing more you can do. But don’t worry, there are a few professional services that can help you out. The problem is that there are a lot of data recovery services, and we cannot trust everyone with our valuable data. Furthermore, a lot of these services ask us for money, and we cannot invest in something that is not worthy. You can use trustworthy services like EaseUs to get back your data.
Or else, there is a dedicated software tool to help out recovering developer data, called Disk Drill. With this software, you just need to select the location of the drive where you have lost your files. It will process your request and instantly give back all the deleted files. Disk Drill costs around $89 for its Pro Version. However, there is a free version that offers to recover 500 MB of your data for free!
If you have tried out all the methods mentioned above and still have not been able to recover your Python file, then you probably cannot recover your files. Consider rewriting your code. Probably, rewriting your code won’t take longer than it took to write it from scratch.
