TL;DR
You can leverage TagStack's "Export Container" feature to get a working copy of your lost GTM container, then import it back into a new GTM account.
What You'll Learn
Step-by-Step Recovery Guide
Sign up for TagStack
If you haven't done so yet, sign up for TagStack. The Export Container feature is a paid feature - you can get started for as low as 19€/month.
Scan Your GTM Container
You'll want to scan your GTM container ID in TagStack's scanner. Head to the scanner, then input your website URL or GTM container ID.
Tip: When trying to scan your website, if it fails, you can retry by providing the GTM container ID you're interested in. This happens because some sites block TagStack's system from scanning the website.
Access Your Scan Report
You'll get access to the scan report, where you can find an automatic audit of your GTM setup quality, along with ways to inspect the content of the container and gather martech intelligence.
Export Your Container
In the "Containers Summary" card, on the right, click on the GTM container you would like to export. You will then see an "Export" button - just click it. The container, in JSON format, will be downloaded to your computer.
Import to New GTM Container
Armed with this container file, head over to your new GTM container that you intend to use as a replacement for the old one. From the settings, you'll see a menu to import a container.
Once on this page, upload the TagStack-exported GTM container. GTM offers two ways to import a container: either as a merge or override. In most cases, you'll want to import it into a new container, so any settings will work. However, if you choose to merge the exported container with existing content, you'll want to check that no imported tags or entities conflict with the current container.
Why Would You Lose Access?
When working in consulting, I came across this situation several times: the only Google Tag Manager admin resigned, their email was removed, and the customer was left with a GTM container implemented on their website without any clear way to recover access.
Agency Transitions
This may also happen when transitioning agencies, so you should always retain ownership of these access rights, regardless of which agency you're working with.
Company Mergers
In the case of company mergers, moving existing roles and access to the target company's system might also lead to this kind of situation.
Other Common Scenarios
Additionally, when developers leave without proper handover documentation, or when shared email accounts are deactivated during security audits, businesses can suddenly find themselves locked out of critical tracking infrastructure.
How Would You Recover Your Container?
Asking Your Agency
If working with an agency, there's still a good chance that one employee might still have access to the container, so reaching out to your account executive should be the first move to make.
No Official Solution from Google
The question has been asked several times on Google support forums, and there seems to be no real official solution besides starting all over from scratch.
Available Tools
Beyond TagStack, there are some other tools like gtmspy.com that let you export a container, yet the solution seems to be in maintenance mode and does not support GA4 tags (they won't be exported).
Why TagStack Works
What makes TagStack ideal for this is that it doesn't need access to the Google Tag Manager account or property to detect the tags, triggers, and variables used.
Even if you don't have access to it anymore, your container is still active and accessible at its Google URL. The only issue is that it's a minified code file, in JavaScript, that is impractical for a human to parse and understand. TagStack solves this by fetching this GTM container file and decrypting it to reconstruct the hidden information found in this file into a human-actionable audit report and, obviously, a working GTM container you can import back.
Prevention Strategies
Split Admin Responsibilities
Make sure GTM admin responsibility is split across multiple coworkers to mitigate single points of failure.
Employee Offboarding
During employee offboarding, make sure that email addresses remain active for a couple of days to give the team a chance to identify missing roles and access rights. You can use solutions like joiners.io to make this automatic.
Regular Backups
Back up your containers on a regular basis, using GTM's export container feature or TagStack's API with a solution like Zapier, Make, or n8n.
Regular Audits
As part of your regular audits, make sure to include a step to control existing permissions and user rights and ensure those are still valid.
Recover vs Rebuild?
Sometimes you won't be able to recover the container and will have to rebuild it. But that doesn't mean you should start from scratch:
Use Similar Websites
You might have other websites that follow the same or similar tracking as the lost container. You could export those containers, through GTM if you have access or via TagStack. This way, you'll be able to start from a shared foundation.
Agency Considerations
If working with an agency, they might rework the container tracking anyway as part of their mission, so rebuilding would have been the first option.
Compliance Issues
If you performed an audit and realized that the current setup was not compliant, filled with outdated vendors, or simply tracking the wrong interactions, there's a good chance that rebuilding would have been the default choice.
When Recovery Makes Sense
What makes recovering the container interesting is if you don't have a team responsible for maintaining and enriching your Tag Manager setup. The time investment in building this data collection framework might be lost, and rebuilding might be quite expensive in time and opportunity cost for you and your team. In such cases, recovery becomes not just convenient, but economically sensible - allowing you to maintain business continuity while preserving months or years of tracking configuration work.
Need to Recover Your GTM Container?
Don't wait until it's too late. TagStack can help you export and backup your GTM containers today.
What TagStack offers:
- • No GTM access required - Export containers even when locked out
- • Complete container export - All tags, triggers, and variables included
- • Works with any GTM setup - Including GA4, custom HTML, and third-party tags
- • Instant results - Get your container file in minutes
- • Privacy compliant - No data storage, just container structure
Ready to secure your GTM setup?
Starting at €19/month • Free trial available
Conclusion
Losing access to your GTM container doesn't have to be a disaster. With the right tools and approach, you can quickly recover your setup and get back to tracking your website's performance. TagStack provides a reliable solution that works even when traditional recovery methods fail.
Key Takeaways
- 1 Act quickly: The sooner you recover your container, the less disruption to your analytics
- 2 Prevention is key: Set up multiple admins and regular backups
- 3 Tools exist: TagStack can export containers without requiring GTM access
- 4 Consider recovery vs rebuild: Recovery often saves time and preserves valuable configurations