I was only going to delete my organization, but instead of deleting the content of my password library…
I have a json encrypted backup but also doesn’t works
please help!! i’m desperate
Hi @erice9696 - so sorry to hear about your recent mishap.
I am guessing from the error message you showed that you didn’t just delete the contents of your vault, but rather, you deleted the entire account - is that the case?
No, i only just delete my organization , but still delete my organization and my password library items
why doesn’t move to recycle bin…
Can any way to recovery my lost items? thanks
My operate only this account.
The Organization vault does have a “recycle bin” type trash where entries are placed after being deleted. Unfortunately an entire vault or organization vault does not place these into your trash as this action deletes the entire vault with all entries.
I believe this is why these options can only be done by the organization owner, and deleting a vault is located in the “Danger Zone” of the account settings, with multiple warnings that advise “These actions are irreversible.”
It seems Bitwarden by design, with security first in mind does not “soft delete” any items according to their support page, it may also be worth some time to review over some of the documentation when any questions come up as I find it to be breadth with knowledge and an invaluable resource whenever I have a question regarding something unknown.
You may still try to reach our to their official support to see what, if anything else can be done that I may be unaware of.
Organizations also have their own encryption keys and are not the same as or interchangeable with a personal vault’s encryption keys.
As I understand, currently the encrypted backup option in Bitwarden uses the account’s encryption key, and so cannot simply be uploaded into another personal vault or organization. The encrypted export can only be re-uploaded back to the same original account that the backup was exported from, so long as you haven’t rotated your encryption key either
I recently deleted an organization that I was the only member of. I misassumed the items would be reassigned to me. I checked my backups, and to my horror, they didn’t include the organization! I think Bitwarden can improve the situation twofold:
- Add another warning that the items will be deleted along with the organization
- Add a note to exports that only your items are included by default, not the organizations
In case it helps anyone in the future, here’s how I could “recover” those items:
Check your Desktop Bitwarden app. If you can see the organization there, you’re lucky; it hasn’t synced yet.*- You need:
a. Bitwarden CLI (Note: if you’re installing it at this stage, be careful not to sync, YMMV)
b.jqJSON tool - In the command line:
bw list organizations # Take note of the org you deleted # bw export --organizationid "..." doesn't work bw list items --organizationid "..." > org.json - Create a new JSON file with the contents:
, and save it as{ "items": <paste org.json's content here> }org_formatted.json(Bitwarden JSON format). - Command line again:
file=org_formatted.json # Remove org id, because it's no longer valid out=$(jq 'del(.items.[].organizationId)' "$file") printf %s "$out" > "$file" # jq doesn't have in-place edit # Delete nulls, otherwise Bitwarden import complains out=$(jq 'del(..|nulls)' "$file") printf %s "$out" > "$file" - Bitwarden app > File > Import data
- File format:
Bitwarden (json) - Choose file >
org.jsonyou saved and modified
- File format:
*Mod. Edit: Misleading advice has been struck from the above comment.
WARNING: If you wish to attempt to recover data from any apps (Desktop app, mobile app, or browser extensions) that have not yet synced to the server, do not open or otherwise access those apps/extensions before fully disconnecting the device from the internet! Failure to do so is likely to result in the loss of any cached data that could be used for recovery of deleted vault items.
[@grb 21 Jun 2025]
@halil Thanks for your detailed instructions! (unfortunately, as I have no real experience with the CLI, I can’t say anything useful to that)
Hm, I’m a bit confused about that.
It states the organization and “all associated data” is getting deleted (“permanently” and “irreversibly”) - and it lists the number of logins that get deleted. Okay, the phrase “all items get deleted” is not there - but still, this isn’t clear enough? 
Didn’t you get such a warning (screenshot from the browser extension - but it should look very similar on all clients):
?
If you indeed didn’t see such a warning, could it be you are using older BW client apps (= not up-to-date)? Then you might need to update them to see this warning.
I think you don’t need it anymore, but here the instructions for exporting an organizational vault: Export Vault Data | Bitwarden
Your instructions don’t quite make sense.
A user who is hoping to recover data from an un-synced app should never “check”, open or otherwise interact with that app until the device has first been fully disconnected from all internet access.
If the Desktop app is found to be logged in, and has not yet synced the deletion of the org data, then the easiest way to extract the org data would be to perform an export (in JSON format) of the organization vault, directly from the Desktop app (under File > Export Vault). The CLI is not needed.
As noted above, the CLI is not needed. And the CLI does not depend on the Desktop app in any way, so your Step #1 is irrelevant to the rest of your instructions. Also, if the CLI is used in the recovery process, it must already be logged in. If someone has not already installed the CLI (and logged in) at this point, then they will not be able to use the CLI to retrieve any organization vault data.
User accounts will remain active after deletion but will no longer be associated to this organization.
I think this part got me confused. Also, “associated data” can be more precise, e.g., “associated logins and other items” (preferably in bold). And the deleted items should end up in the trash rather than being deleted permanently, just like the non-organizational items.
Didn’t you get such a warning
I was using the CLI. I don’t think I saw it there.
They weren’t instructions, as I stated, they were rather quick notes of how I did it. I guess I didn’t think of using the Desktop app, since I’m quite CLI-centric. But disconnecting first makes total sense 
But you mentioned the Desktop app explicitly in the first step of your instructions / notes:
I mean using the Desktop for the recovery part. I think it was already open, probably for editing something. But I have some scripts for backing up Bitwarden, hence my leaning on the CLI.
You wrote that you shared your notes “in case it helps anyone in the future”, but my point is that by including your Step #1 (which was completely irrelevant to the recovery process that you used), you are more likely to hurt future readers of your comment than to help them. Most Bitwarden users do not use the CLI, and if they follow your Step #1 as written, they are likely to lose what may possibly be their last chance at recovery of the deleted vault data.
With you permission, I would like to strike this part of your comment above.
Ok, makes sense, thank you. I scribbled those in haste, and you can delete them altogether. I guess it boils down to:
- Disconnect from the internet
- Export the deleted organization from the app (if it’s still there)
(I’m not sure if the exported data would still need processing, like the removal of organization ids)
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Thanks. I have edited your original comment.
Thanks @grb for your eye for details like that!
Hm, it said “all associated data”… But if you want to get that changed, this thread might not be the place where it gets “heard”.
So, the CLI doesn’t give those kind of warnings when you export your individual vault (that it doesn’t contain the organizational vault)? - That probably could be raised as an “inconsistency bug” on GitHub.
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