TweetArchive/Guide

Guide · Updated November 13, 2026 · by Cedano Labs LLC

I deleted my X account and only have the archive

If your account is deleted, the archive ZIP is your copy and links to x.com may no longer work. TweetArchive rebuilds everything from the ZIP alone — timeline, threads, DMs, and media from tweets_media — and exports an offline HTML copy you can keep on a drive and open years from now without any account.

Step by step

1. Make a backup of the ZIP

   Copy it to a second drive or cloud folder before anything else.

2. Open it in TweetArchive

   No login to X is needed or used.

3. Review

   Browse posts, threads, DMs, and photos with their post dates.

4. Export the offline HTML copy

   Include media. The result opens from a folder, offline.

Honest limitations

• There is no official public specification of the archive format that we could read; TweetArchive follows what several independent parsers document and discovers file names instead of assuming one layout.
• Some archives omit @usernames for DM partners; those people appear as a numeric user ID.
• TweetArchive is not affiliated with X Corp. and does not log in to X for you.
• “Original link” buttons point to x.com and may not work for deleted accounts or posts.

Frequently asked questions

Can TweetArchive restore my account?

No. It only reads the archive file you already have.

Will images show if the account is gone?

Yes, if they are inside the archive’s media folder. Images that were never included in the ZIP cannot be recovered.

Does it contact X?

No. It does not call X or try to load anything from x.com.

Can I keep the result forever?

The offline export is plain HTML, JavaScript, and media files you own.

Related

• How to download your official X archive
• Privacy: what TweetArchive does and doesn’t see
• How do I open my X (Twitter) archive ZIP?
• Your archive.html is not loading
• How do I view DMs in my X archive?
• How do I search X archive DMs as evidence?
• How do I export X archive photos with the real date?
• How do I export my X archive to PDF?
• My X archive is several GB and won’t open on Windows
• X archive media dates are wrong
• Is it safe to upload my X archive to a website?
• How do I download my official X archive?
• What is tweets.js and why isn’t it JSON?
• How do I convert my X archive to CSV or JSON?
• How do I view threads in my X archive?

Sources

• The Verge: How to download an archive of your Twitter data (updated Nov 14, 2022)
• Ars Technica: How to download a backup copy of your Twitter data (Oct 28, 2022)
• twitter-archive-parser by Tim Hutton (GitHub)
• alkihis/twitter-archive-reader: file structures

TweetArchive is an independent tool made by Cedano Labs LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by X Corp. “X” and “Twitter” are trademarks of X Corp., used here only to describe the archive format the tool reads. TweetArchive is not a forensic lab or a legal service, and its exports are not certified evidence. Markdown version: /deleted-account-archive-only.md.