Recover a deleted entry in Day One Classic (version 1.0) for macOS

Note: Day One Classic (version 1.x) has not been updated since March 2016. It has been retired. We strongly recommend updating to the current version of Day One. See here.

In Day One Classic (version 1.0), entries can be deleted in two main ways:

1. You might accidentally delete part of the text within an entry while editing.
2. You might delete an entire journal entry.

Depending on what happened, you can try one of the following recovery methods:

A. If You Deleted Text Inside an Entry

If the entry is still open and you have not yet tapped Done, tap Edit in the Mac menu bar, then tap Undo.

If you have already tapped ‘Done’ to exit the entry, there is unfortunately no way to recover the deleted text.

B. If You Deleted an Entire Entry

If you’re missing journal entries in Day One Classic and have .doentry files, you may be able to restore them manually.

What Are .doentry Files?

.doentry files are used by Day One Classic (version 1.0 for macOS) to store individual journal entries. Each file represents one journal entry, and they are typically found in the entries folder inside your Day One data folder.

Please follow the next steps to recover a missing entry:

Step 1: Check the Trash

1. Open the Trash folder in Finder.
2. Look for files ending in .doentry — these are individual journal entries from Day One Classic.
3. The filename will look like: E1FE50B7B57A4BBDB79233105403CBBA.doentry

Step 2: View and Copy Entry Text

1. Right-click the .doentry file and select Open With > TextEdit.
2. You’ll see a mix of code and metadata — but your journal text will appear in the middle.
3. Copy the text and paste it into a new entry in Day One Classic.

Step 3: Use Backup Files (If Available)

• If the Trash is already emptied, check your Dropbox backup (if sync was enabled) to recover deleted .doentry files and follow the steps to recover deleted files.
• If the Trash is emptied and there is no dropbox backup, the file is likely not recoverable.