Tools & conceptsTechnical

Cloud Recovery API Reference

A compact reference to how Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive each expose object identity, revision history, deleted state, change streams and restore — useful for orienting a recovery effort, not a substitute for each provider's own current documentation.

Dropbox

Object identity: file ID, stable across moves and renames, alongside the current path.
Revisions: filesListRevisions, lookup by path or by file ID; filesRestore brings a chosen revision back.
Deleted state: DeletedMetadata entries returned by list_folder/continue.
Change stream: cursor-driven list_folder/continue for incremental updates.
Restore: revision-level restore via the API; permanent deletion is a distinct, separate operation.

Google Drive

Object identity: file ID, independent of the current name or parent folder.
Revisions: the revisions resource (list/get/update/delete); binary files support keepForever, with up to 200 revisions eligible to be kept forever per file; unpinned binary revisions can be purged automatically.
Deleted state: query trashed = true directly rather than assuming absence means deletion.
Change stream: changes.list with a start page token, tracking additions, modifications and removals.
Restore: provider/API-dependent workflow; push notifications are change triggers only and carry no content or metadata themselves.

OneDrive / SharePoint (Microsoft Graph)

Object identity: DriveItem ID.
Revisions: driveItem versions endpoint; retention and metadata completeness can vary by service/configuration.
Deleted state: the deleted facet in a delta response, alongside the OneDrive/SharePoint recycle bin.
Change stream: driveItem delta, with nextLink/deltaLink; old tokens can return 410 Gone and require a fresh resync.
Restore: account/service-dependent — the direct driveItem restore operation's documented availability is limited to OneDrive Personal, not universal across OneDrive for Business or SharePoint.

How to use this reference

Match the actual question — is the object deleted, overwritten, moved, or has access simply been lost — to the right column above, then confirm current capability and retention against the specific provider's own documentation and the account's actual plan before building a recovery workflow around it. See cloud file version and deleted-item recovery and Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive recovery APIs for the fuller reasoning behind each of these rows.

Practical rule

An API having an endpoint to list versions does not mean every historical version still exists. Retention depends on service plan, account type, admin policy and age — confirm it rather than assuming it.