Extract text from TRASHES files
To convert your TRASHES file to another format, you need macOS Finder or other System software.
To convert other file formats to the "Hidden Trash Directory" file type, you need software like macOS Finder or a similar tool.
The .trashes object is technically not a single file, but a hidden system folder created by macOS on external storage volumes (such as USB flash drives, external HDDs, and SD cards). It functions as a decentralized "Recycle Bin," temporarily storing files you deleted from that specific drive until you explicitly choose "Empty Trash" on the Mac.
Users typically encounter this format when plugging a Mac-used drive into a Microsoft Windows or Linux machine. The friction arises because Windows treats it as a hidden or inaccessible system artifact, often causing confusion about why "deleted" files are still occupying gigabytes of storage space. It acts as a proprietary lock-in mechanism; the OS expects the original Mac to manage the cleanup. You cannot "convert" the .trashes folder directly into a document or image. Instead, the goal is usually to recover the files inside (restoring them to their original DOCX, JPG, or MP4 formats) or to delete the folder entirely to reclaim space. For archiving the contents without relying on macOS, compressing the folder to a ZIP or 7Z archive is the standard workflow.
Convert.Guru analyzes your TRASHES file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted BUNDLE, PICTCLIPPING and TEXTCLIPPING files.
If you want to convert TRASHES file to SYS, DLL, EXE, DRV, VXD, 386, COM, BAT, CMD, SCR, PIF or LNK, you can use macOS Finder or similar software from the "Deleted File Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MSI, EXE, REG, MST, LNK, CAB, CAT, DRV, INF, SYS, MSU or DLL files to TRASHES, try macOS Finder or another comparable tool in the "Deleted File Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our TRASHES converter.