Cannot Recover a Deleted Salesforce Apex Class or Trigger

Why Apex Code Cannot Be Recovered

Apex classes and triggers are stored as metadata in the Salesforce metadata repository. When deleted, they are immediately and permanently removed from the metadata layer. Salesforce Support cannot restore deleted Apex code through any process.

Best Practice: Maintain Code Backups

Developers are strongly encouraged to maintain up-to-date backups of all Apex code. Recommended approaches:

1. Version Control System (VCS): Use a tool such as Git to track all Apex code in a repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket). This is the most reliable backup strategy.
2. Salesforce CLI: Run the command sf project retrieve start regularly to export org metadata to your local development environment.
3. Salesforce DX and Unlocked Packages: Use scratch orgs and unlocked packages to store Apex code in version-controlled source format.

Preventing Accidental Deletion

Before deleting any Apex class or trigger in a production org, ensure the code is backed up. Make all metadata changes in a Sandbox first and deploy using change sets or Salesforce CLI after review.