Freeing up space · Recycle Vault
Which Storage Studio actions send files to the Recycle Vault?
Short answer: Clear-ups of leftover folders, Emergency Space removals, duplicate removals on your Mac and uninstalled apps. Caches (which rebuild) and macOS's local snapshots aren't kept there.
Removals of your files and folders made through Storage Studio — clearing temporary or leftover folders during a clear-up, freeing space in Emergency Space, removing duplicates on your Mac, and uninstalling an app. Each removal is one entry, so a whole clear-up can be put back in one action.
Two things aren't kept there: caches, which apps rebuild by themselves and are simply cleared, and your Mac's own local snapshots, which belong to macOS. Items you delete yourself in Finder go to your Mac's Trash as usual. See can cache cleanup be undone.