regarding system logs

Question

Hi Team, 
 I came across an unexpected situation in Appian and would like to understand the possible root cause behind it. 
 While reviewing the system logs, I noticed that a few interface objects were deleted at timestamp 2026-05-29 04:44:18 . The logs show the deletion action under my username. 
 However, during that time: 
 
 I was attending a team call, 
 my screen was being shared, 
 and I was working on exporting/deleting objects only within a different application. 
 
 The surprising part is that interfaces from another application were also deleted, even though I did not manually access or delete them. 
 I have a few questions regarding this behavior: 
 
 Are Appian system logs stored in GMT/UTC timezone by default? 
 
 If yes, then 04:44 GMT converts to approximately 10:14 AM IST , which matches the time I was on the call.

Can Compare & Deploy, package export/import, or dependency cleanup operations indirectly delete shared objects from another application? 
 Is it possible for Appian to log deletion actions under a user session even if the deletion was triggered indirectly through deployment operations? 
 Are there any known scenarios/glitches where shared interfaces across applications get deleted unexpectedly? 
 How can we verify whether: 
 
 another session was active using the same credentials, 
 deployment automation triggered the action, 
 or object dependencies caused the deletion?

What are the recommended ways to prevent this in future? 
 
 Object governance? 
 Dependency checks? 
 Deployment best practices? 
 Audit/session tracking?

Would appreciate any insights from the community or anyone who has experienced similar behavior.

Stefan Helzle · Answer

1. Yes 
 2. No 
 3. No 
 4. Define "unexpectedly"! I have seen people adding reverences to their apps, and then deleting the objects, instead of removing references. 
 5. AFAIK the log file is the only source. 
 6. Education

geethas018826 · Answer

When you delete the objects withing application, it will delete the objects entirely from environment, even though the same object is there in different application, so instead of deleting make sure to remove from application, click on Mov and select Remove from App

Shubham Aware · Answer

Logs are in UTC, so 04:44 UTC = 10:14 AM IST (your call time). Compare & Deploy cannot delete objects from another app. Deletions are logged under your username even if triggered by automation using your credentials. Most likely cause: Another session (CI/CD pipeline or unauthorized access) used your credentials at that time. Check deletion.log, login-audit.csv for concurrent sessions, and CI/CD logs. Use DEPRECATED status instead of delete, give Viewer-only permissions, check dependencies before deletion, and backup before any deletion.