Recuva (ɪˈkʌvə/) is an undeletion program for Windows, developed by Piriform Software.
It is able to undelete files that have been marked as deleted; the operating system marks the areas of the disk in which they were stored as free space. Recuva can recover files deleted from internal and external hard disk drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, portable media players or all random-access storage mediums with a supported file system. The program works on FAT, exFAT and NTFS file systems of Windows, and as of version 1.5.3 it can also recover files from Ext2, Ext3 and Ext4 file systems of Linux. It is able to recover lost directory structure and automatically renames files when trying to recover two files of the same name. As with other file recovery programs Recuva works by looking for unreferenced data, but if the operating system has written new data over a deleted file then recovery will often not be possible.
What is Recuva?
Recuva by Piriform is free Windows software in the backup & recovery category. It ranks 4th by popularity among backup & recovery in this catalogue. It is written in C++.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. It needs Windows 10 or newer. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 1.55.0.133, released on June 22, 2026. The version history goes back to June 13, 2023: 3 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 1 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 95,291 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 21 of our languages. Similar programs include restic, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows and UrBackup Client.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Free to use
- Documented silent install
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Recuva is a free backup & recovery tool for 64-bit and 32-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Recuva safe to download?
- The file is served by download.ccleaner.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
6440C5E69E01DA6EC4345A7264145D65221A139A46C13E26A21AD18B04663244· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 3 versions ›3 versions over 3 years · about 1 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.55.0.133Latest | June 22, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 1.54.120 | June 26, 2024 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 1.53.2096 | June 13, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Piriform.Recuva -echoco install Recuva -yscoop install extras/recuvarcsetup155.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Piriform
- Category
- Backup & recovery
- Licence
- Freeware
- Price
- Free
- Written in
- C++
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10 (Windows 10+)
- Architecture
- 64-bit, 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Version
- 1.55.0.133
- Released
- June 22, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- July 3, 2023
- Versions listed
- 3
- Updates / year
- 1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 95,291
- Website
- ccleaner.com
- winget ID
- Piriform.Recuva
- Chocolatey package
- Recuva
- Scoop package
- extras/recuva
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Recuva free?
Yes. Recuva is free to use.
Is Recuva safe to download?
The download comes from download.ccleaner.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Recuva with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Recuva be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Which Windows versions does Recuva support?
The installer requires Windows 10 or newer and is available for 64-bit and 32-bit.
Does Recuva run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit and 32-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Recuva?
The versions page lists all 3 versions with links to their official installer files, back to June 13, 2023.
What are alternatives to Recuva?
restic, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, UrBackup Client, TeraCopy and Duplicacy Command Line Version. The alternatives page compares them.
