---
title: Restore Objects
url: https://docs.vultr.com/products/storage/object-storage/archival-storage/restore-archived-objects
description: Restore archived objects in Vultr using s3cmd with direct download or restore requests for large files.
publish_date: 2026-04-01T13:41:13.140955Z
last_updated: 2026-05-26T19:42:07.279349Z
---

# How to Restore Archived Objects from Vultr Archival Storage

Archived objects appear with a size of `0` bytes in the bucket. Small objects can be retrieved directly by downloading them. Larger objects require an explicit restore request before they can be downloaded. The default restore window is 7 days.

Follow this guide to restore archived objects using s3cmd.

> [!NOTE]
> Replace `S3_CONFIG` with your s3cmd config file path, `BUCKET_NAME` with the bucket name, and `OBJECT_KEY` with the object's path in all commands below.

## Restore a small object

For small objects, a standard download triggers retrieval from archive.

```console
$ s3cmd -c S3_CONFIG get s3://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_KEY
```

## Restore a large object

For larger objects, issue an explicit restore request before downloading. Replace `DAYS` with the number of days to keep the object available.

```console
$ s3cmd -c S3_CONFIG --restore-days=DAYS restore s3://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_KEY
```

If the object is still being retrieved from archive, the following error appears. Wait a few minutes and retry.

```
ERROR: S3 error: 400 (RequestTimeout): restore is still in progress
```

Once the restore completes, download the object:

```console
$ s3cmd -c S3_CONFIG get s3://BUCKET_NAME/OBJECT_KEY
```