Export or delete your workspace data

An owner or admin can download a copy of everything in the workspace as a single ZIP file. Every plan includes it. Use it as your own backup, or to answer a data portability request.

An owner can also delete the workspace, and anyone can delete their own account.

Download the export

1. Open Settings and select the Data tab.
2. Under Export workspace data, click Download ZIP.

The file is named keel-workspace-export- followed by the date. Keel builds it while it downloads, so a large workspace can take a few minutes. Keep the tab open until the download finishes.

Members and auditors see the Data tab with a note that only an owner or admin can export the workspace. An auditor who needs evidence files can download the evidence package from the Evidence page instead.

What is in the ZIP

Path	What it holds
data/<table>.json	Every row of one table, as a JSON array. Values keep their database types, and timestamps are in UTC.
data/<table>.csv	The same rows as CSV, ready to open in a spreadsheet. Nested values are written as JSON text.
files/evidence/	Evidence files you uploaded, plus files Keel stored as evidence for you, such as training certificates.
files/trust-docs/	Documents uploaded to your Trust Center.
files/answer-files/	Completed questionnaire files Keel produced for you.
manifest.json	When the export ran, which workspace it came from, and the details for each table and file folder.

There is one JSON file and one CSV file for every table that holds workspace data, including organizations, which holds the workspace record itself. A table with nothing in it still gets both files, so an empty file means the table was read and had no rows.

For each table, manifest.json lists the columns exported, the columns left out, and how many rows went into the JSON file and the CSV file. For each file folder it lists how many files and bytes it holds, and any file that could not be found.

What is left out

Credentials and secrets are not exported. They are useless outside Keel, and a backup copy gets emailed and shared in ways the workspace itself does not. Keel drops the column rather than blanking it, so the value never leaves the database. The columns left out include:

• hashes of API keys, invite links, portal links and one-time codes
• webhook signing secrets
• connector credentials, which Keel stores encrypted
• Slack and Teams channel URLs and outbound webhook URLs, which work as credentials on their own
• mobile push tokens, unsubscribe tokens and domain verification tokens
• the subject and contents of emails Keel sent, which carry invite links, portal links and verification codes. The email log still shows who each email went to, which kind of email it was, and whether it was sent.

The redactedColumns list for each table in manifest.json names exactly what was left out.

Reading the CSV files

A CSV cell that begins with =, +, - or @ gets a leading apostrophe, so a spreadsheet shows it as text rather than running it as a formula. That includes negative numbers. When you need exact values, read the JSON file for the same table.

Limits

• Size. A single ZIP cannot reach 4 GiB or hold more files than the ZIP format allows, and one download can only read so many records and files. If the workspace is past any of these limits, Keel says so before the download starts and nothing is downloaded. Contact support for help with a workspace that size.
• Read failures. Keel reads every table and lists every storage folder before the download starts. If any of them cannot be read, you get a message instead of a ZIP, and nothing in the workspace has changed. Try again a moment later. If storage fails partway through, the browser reports the download as failed rather than saving part of it.
• Missing files. If a file a record points to is no longer in storage, the ZIP holds a .missing.txt note at that path, and MISSING-FILES.txt lists every such path.
• Changes during the export. Keel reads each table twice, once for the JSON file and once for the CSV file. If someone edits the workspace while the export runs, the two files can differ by those edits. The manifest records each file’s own row count so you can see it.
• Activity history. The export includes the workspace activity log as a table. For the audit log export on Enterprise, see Workspace settings.

Delete the workspace

Only an owner can delete a workspace. Deletion waits 7 days before anything is removed, so the team has time to export and an owner has time to change their mind.

1. Open Settings and select the Data tab.
2. Under Delete workspace, click Delete workspace.
3. Type the workspace name exactly as it appears, then click Schedule deletion.

The Data tab then shows the date the workspace will be deleted, and every page shows a banner with the same date.

During the 7 days

The workspace is read-only for every member. People can still sign in, open every page and download the export, but saving anything fails. That covers edits in the app, the API, portal links sent to vendors and employees, and scheduled jobs such as automated checks and reminders, which skip the workspace. Billing updates from Stripe still land, so a cancellation you make in the billing portal is recorded.

To keep the workspace, an owner opens the Data tab and clicks Cancel deletion. Editing works again as soon as the cancellation is saved.

What is deleted

After the 7 days, Keel deletes the workspace within about a day:

• every record in the workspace, including its activity log
• every stored file: evidence, Trust Center documents and questionnaire answer files
• every member’s access to the workspace

People who belong to other workspaces keep their accounts and those workspaces. Keel keeps a short record that the workspace was deleted, when and at whose request, in its own administrative log. Database backups age out on their normal backup cycle, as the Data Processing Addendum describes.

Nothing can be recovered after the deletion runs, so export first if you might need the data.

Billing has to end first

You can’t schedule deletion while any subscription on the workspace will renew. That means the plan and every add-on: Trust Center Pro, Keel Quality, Oscuro and framework add-ons. Cancel each one, or set it to cancel at the end of the billing period, from Billing. A subscription set to end at the period end does not block, and Keel checks again with Stripe just before it deletes the workspace.

A partner workspace that manages client workspaces can’t be deleted while it still manages them. Delete those client workspaces, or hand them over, first.

Delete your account

Anyone can delete their own account from Settings, on the Your preferences tab, under Delete your account. Type your email address to confirm. Keel removes you from every workspace, deletes your Keel profile and then deletes your sign-in.

Two things block it, and the tab names each workspace involved:

• You are the only member of a workspace. Schedule that workspace for deletion first, as described above. Once it is scheduled, it no longer blocks your account.
• You are the last owner of a workspace that has other members. Make another member an owner on the Team page first, so the workspace is not left without one.

Workspaces you share stay with their other members, along with the records you created there.