# Undo or Confirm
> Prefer undo to confirmation. Confirm only what can’t be undone, and name the consequence in the button.

## Situation

Can it be undone, and how often does it happen?

## Decision

### Use Undo when

The action is frequent and reversible. Do it instantly and offer a way back for a few seconds.

- Archive, move, mark as done
- Happens many times a day
- Can genuinely be reversed
- A trash or soft delete exists

### Use Confirm when

The action is rare and permanent. Slow people down once, and say exactly what will happen on the button.

- Permanent deletion
- Affects other people or money
- Rare enough to actually be read
- The button names the outcome, never OK

**The numbers:** Happens daily and can be reversed: undo, available for 5–10 seconds. Rare and permanent: confirm, with the outcome on the button (‘Delete 3 files’). Highest stakes: ask people to type the name.

## Why

People archive dozens of emails a day, and a dialog every time would get clicked through without reading. Undo protects them without slowing them down.

## Edge cases

Deleting a whole workspace is permanent and affects everyone, so a plain confirm isn’t enough. Ask people to type the workspace name.

Source: https://www.designdecisions.dev/cards/undo-confirm
Author: Alex Dovhyi