--- title: Modified and deleted content items slug: graph/docs/modified-and-deleted-content-items docTags: createdAt: 2026-07-30T20:30:20.466Z --- Track content changes and deletions in Optimizely Graph to detect modified or deleted content items, decide when to regenerate a static site, or verify that a site has fully synced. The queries in this article return snapshots of content based on a datetime delta, so you keep downstream systems aligned with the Graph index. :::hint{type="info"} **Note** Querying for deleted content requires [HMAC authentication](https://docs.developers.optimizely.com/platform-optimizely/v1.4.1-optimizely-graph/docs/hmac). Queries for modified content work with either HMAC or single key authentication. ::: Optimizely Graph lets you query for updates to content items. Use this to get snapshots of content items based on a datetime delta using the cursor. The `total` hit count indicates whether a site has fully synced. Get the first five modified documents updated since `2023-05-24T11:00` with this Optimizely Graph query: ```graphql { Content( limit: 5, where: { _modified: { gte: "2023-05-24T11:00" } } orderBy: {_ranking: DOC} ) { total items { _modified ContentLink { GuidValue } } } } ``` Get all the modified documents updated since `2023-05-24T11:00` with this Optimizely Graph query using [cursor](https://docs.developers.optimizely.com/platform-optimizely/v1.4.1-optimizely-graph/docs/cursor): ```graphql { Content( limit: 5, where: { _modified: { gte: "2023-05-24T11:00" } } orderBy: {_ranking: DOC} cursor: "" ) { total items { _modified ContentLink { GuidValue } } cursor } } ``` Get the next batches of the modified content by adding the `cursor` value to the cursor argument. ## Deleted documents Query Optimizely Graph for content items that were deleted, so you can prune downstream caches, mirror trash views, or audit removed content. Deleted-content queries are only possible with HMAC authentication and the `cg-include-deleted` header set to `true`. Each deleted content item has its `_modified` value updated and is marked as deleted with `_deleted: true.` With the single key, Optimizely only lets you retrieve published content items, so the `_deleted` values are `null`. Use the following Optimizely Graph query to get all modified content items, including deleted items, since `2023-05-20T11:00`: ```graphql { Content( limit: 5, where: { _modified: { gte: "2023-05-20T11:00" } } orderBy: {_ranking: DOC} cursor: "" ) { total items { _deleted ContentLink { GuidValue } } cursor } } ``` Identify a deleted item by looking at the `_deleted` value. When the value is `true`, the content was deleted. A response could look like the following, with three deleted items in this batch. ```json { "data": { "Content": { "total": 13, "items": [ { "_deleted": null, "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "64ea99b4-fe38-43b7-a993-20ceb333861a" } }, { "_deleted": true, "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "c8ab68cf-7231-43ca-a376-ca4cac2e06d8" } }, { "_deleted": null, "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "582ecd34-e0bc-4d14-b467-8255b04d2b53" } }, { "_deleted": true, "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "c64c5afb-a538-4245-92d8-55625527cfd3" } }, { "_deleted": true, "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "4eaece75-3e53-440b-8dec-eb8d6d6895e0" } } ], "cursor": "FGluY2x1ZGVfY29udGV4dF91dWlkDnF1ZXJ5VGhlbkZldGNoAhZua3ZXUUFvMFRuU2plVUJmX1pfTlNnAAAAAAAADwQWTG5QWjFjRXFURnVpZktRd0d0MkZGQRZua3ZXUUFvMFRuU2plVUJmX1pfTlNnAAAAAAAADwUWTG5QWjFjRXFURnVpZktRd0d0MkZGQQ==" } }, "extensions": { "correlationId": "92151285-aae3-4d7f-93e7-a009d390f18e", "cost": 9, "costSummary": [ "Content(9) = limit(5) + fields(2) + basicFilter(1)*2" ] } } ``` ## Query deleted content only Filter Optimizely Graph responses to deleted content only when you need a wastebasket view for a site, an audit of removed items, or a targeted cleanup workflow. The `cg-include-deleted-only` header strips active content from the response so the result set contains only deleted items. This header is a modifier. Pair it with `cg-include-deleted` or `cg-include-hard-deleted` to control which type of deleted content is returned. All three headers require HMAC authentication. The following table describes the header combinations and their behavior: | Headers | Result | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | `cg-include-deleted: true` | Returns active and soft-deleted content together | | `cg-include-deleted: true` and `cg-include-deleted-only: true` | Returns only soft-deleted content | | `cg-include-hard-deleted: true` | Returns active and hard-deleted content together | | `cg-include-hard-deleted: true` and `cg-include-deleted-only: true` | Returns only hard-deleted content | Content deleted in any workflow status is included in the results. This applies to content that was in Draft, Ready to Publish, Scheduled for Publish, Rejected, Previously Published, or Published status at the time of deletion. :::BlockQuote **Note:** When content is restored from trash, it continues to appear in deleted content results until the next indexing job runs. After that job completes, the restored content no longer appears. ::: ### Retrieve only soft-deleted content Retrieve only soft-deleted content when you need to surface items that were sent to trash but not yet permanently removed, for example, to drive a restore workflow. Add the `cg-include-deleted` and `cg-include-deleted-only` headers to return only soft-deleted content items. The following query retrieves soft-deleted content modified after a specific date: ```graphql { Content( limit: 5, where: { _modified: { gte: "2023-05-20T11:00" } } orderBy: {_ranking: DOC} cursor: "" ) { total items { _deleted _modified ContentLink { GuidValue } } cursor } } ``` Send the request with both headers: ```bash curl -X POST "https://cg.optimizely.com/content/v2" \ -H "Authorization: epi-hmac APP_KEY:TIMESTAMP:NONCE:SIGNATURE" \ -H "cg-include-deleted: true" \ -H "cg-include-deleted-only: true" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"query": "{ Content(limit: 5, where: { _modified: { gte: \"2023-05-20T11:00\" } }, orderBy: {_ranking: DOC}, cursor: \"\") { total items { _deleted _modified ContentLink { GuidValue } } cursor } }"}' ``` Every item in the response has `_deleted` set to `true` because the `cg-include-deleted-only` header filters out all non-deleted content: ```json { "data": { "Content": { "total": 3, "items": [ { "_deleted": true, "_modified": "2023-05-21T09:15:00Z", "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "c8ab68cf-7231-43ca-a376-ca4cac2e06d8" } }, { "_deleted": true, "_modified": "2023-05-22T14:30:00Z", "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "c64c5afb-a538-4245-92d8-55625527cfd3" } }, { "_deleted": true, "_modified": "2023-05-23T08:45:00Z", "ContentLink": { "GuidValue": "4eaece75-3e53-440b-8dec-eb8d6d6895e0" } } ], "cursor": "FGluY2x1ZGVfY29udGV4dF91dWlkDnF1ZXJ5VGhlbk..." } } } ``` ### Retrieve only hard-deleted content Retrieve only hard-deleted content when you need to confirm permanent removal or reconcile a downstream cache with the canonical Graph state. Replace `cg-include-deleted` with `cg-include-hard-deleted` to return only hard-deleted content items: ```bash curl -X POST "https://cg.optimizely.com/content/v2" \ -H "Authorization: epi-hmac APP_KEY:TIMESTAMP:NONCE:SIGNATURE" \ -H "cg-include-hard-deleted: true" \ -H "cg-include-deleted-only: true" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"query": "{ Content(limit: 5, orderBy: {_ranking: DOC}, cursor: \"\") { total items { _deleted ContentLink { GuidValue } } cursor } }"}' ```