---
title: "Look up a deleted item"
description: "What a link to a deleted item says to someone who could edit it: what it was, who deleted it and when, when it's deleted for good, and whether you can restore…"
canonical_url: https://docs.markdrop.in/api/trash/look-up-a-deleted-item
last_updated: 2026-11-04
site: "Markdrop Docs"
index: https://docs.markdrop.in/llms.txt
---

# Look up a deleted item

`GET https://api.markdrop.in/api/v1/trash/lookup/{slug}`

What a link to a deleted item says to someone who could edit it: what it was, who deleted it and when, when it's deleted for good, and whether you can restore it. Anyone else gets `404`, the same as an address that doesn't exist.

- **Authentication:** Token optional: send `Authorization: Bearer mdk_…` to act as your account, or the document's edit secret in `X-Edit-Secret`.
- **Rate limit:** 60 per minute per IP address.

## Path parameters

- `slug` (string, required): The document's address: the part after `markdrop.in/`.

## Headers

- `X-Edit-Secret` (string): The document's edit secret (`sk_…`), for a document published without an account. See [Edit key](https://docs.markdrop.in/documents/edit-key).

## Responses

- `200`: OK.
- `422`: The request didn't validate. `detail` lists each problem, with where it is (`loc`) and why (`msg`).
- `429`: Too many requests from your IP address. Wait the seconds in `Retry-After`.

## Examples

**curl**

```bash
curl https://api.markdrop.in/api/v1/trash/lookup/k3x9q2m \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MARKDROP_TOKEN"
```

**JavaScript**

```javascript
const res = await fetch("https://api.markdrop.in/api/v1/trash/lookup/k3x9q2m", {
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.MARKDROP_TOKEN}`,
  },
});
const data = await res.json();
```

**Python**

```python
import os

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.markdrop.in/api/v1/trash/lookup/k3x9q2m",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['MARKDROP_TOKEN']}"},
)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.json())
```