Title: Axle Category & Tag Trash
Author: Aryan Jasala
Published: November 9, 2026
Last modified: November 9, 2026
---
Search plugins
# Axle Category & Tag Trash
By [Aryan Jasala](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aryanjasala/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/axle-category-tag-trash.3.0.0.zip)
* [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/axle-category-tag-trash/#description)
* [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/axle-category-tag-trash/#reviews)
* [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/axle-category-tag-trash/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/axle-category-tag-trash/)
## Description
Posts and pages go to the trash when you delete them. Categories and tags don’t:
one click on “Delete” and the term is gone. WordPress also moves its posts to “Uncategorized”,
moves its child categories up a level and removes it from your menus. Getting it
back means restoring a database backup.
Axle Category & Tag Trash keeps every deleted term for 30 days (or 7, 90 or 365,
your choice).
**Undo** appears the moment you delete a term, on the Categories, Tags or any other
term screen, for single and bulk deletes. **Restore** later from Tools > Axle Category&
Tag Trash puts back:
* the term itself, with the **same ID**, name, slug, description and parent,
* all of its term meta (colours, images, SEO fields stored by other plugins),
* every post it was assigned to, in the same order,
* its child terms, moved back underneath it,
* the menu links that pointed to it, in the same menu and position, with their
sub-items,
* and it removes “Uncategorized” from posts that only got it because of the deletion.
Keeping the same ID matters: navigation blocks, widgets and shortcodes that point
to the term by ID work again without editing them.
Works with categories, tags, WooCommerce product categories and attributes, and
any custom taxonomy that has an admin screen.
Free and open source under the GPL. No pro version, no upsells, no ads in wp-admin,
no tracking. And it stays that way.
#### Where to find it
* **Tools > Axle Category & Tag Trash** lists deleted terms with what they were
attached to, who deleted them and when. Filter by taxonomy, search, restore or
delete in bulk, see exactly which posts, child terms and menus a restore brings
back, and empty the trash.
* Every category and tag screen has a link to it under the list.
#### WP-CLI
* `wp axle-category-tag-trash list`
* `wp axle-category-tag-trash restore ...`
* `wp axle-category-tag-trash delete ...` or `wp axle-category-tag-trash delete--
all`
**Try it before you install.** [try.axlewp.com/axle-category-tag-trash](https://try.axlewp.com/axle-category-tag-trash)
opens a private WordPress in your browser with this plugin and some demo content.
Part of [Axle](https://axlewp.com/) by AryanX, a family of free plugins for running
WordPress sites safely.
## Screenshots
[⌊Undo right after deleting a category.⌉⌊Undo right after deleting a category.⌉[
Undo right after deleting a category.
[⌊Tools > Axle Category & Tag Trash.⌉⌊Tools > Axle Category & Tag Trash.⌉[
Tools > Axle Category & Tag Trash.
[⌊What a restore brings back.⌉⌊What a restore brings back.⌉[
What a restore brings back.
## FAQ
### What happens if a new term uses the old slug?
The restored term gets a unique slug instead, and Axle Category & Tag Trash tells
you which one.
### What if a post was deleted while the term was in the trash?
It is skipped. Everything else is restored.
### What if I changed a post’s categories in the meantime?
Only posts that still have exactly the default category plus the restored term lose
the default category. Posts you changed by hand are left alone, and so are child
terms you moved somewhere else.
### How long are terms kept?
30 days by default, then a daily task deletes them for good. Choose 7, 30, 90 or
365 days on the Axle Category & Tag Trash screen, or use the `axle_category_tag_trash_retention_days`
filter.
### Can I leave a taxonomy out?
Use the `axle_category_tag_trash_supports_taxonomy` filter. Menus are never kept,
because deleting a menu removes its items first.
### Does it work for a tag on thousands of posts?
Yes. The posts are saved in small chunks, so the trash stays light. A restore brings
back the first 5,000 posts right away and the rest in the background, and `wp axle-
category-tag-trash restore ` does it all in one go. Search plugins like ElasticPress
are told about every post that gets its term back.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“Axle Category & Tag Trash” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ Aryan Jasala ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aryanjasala/)
[Translate “Axle Category & Tag Trash” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/axle-category-tag-trash)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/axle-category-tag-trash/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/axle-category-tag-trash/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/axle-category-tag-trash/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/axle-category-tag-trash/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 3.0.0
* Changed (breaking change): rename to Axle Category & Tag Trash for WordPress.
org
* Fix: clean the term cache once per object type
#### 2.0.0
* Changed (breaking change): rename to Axle Category & Tag Trash for WordPress.
org
#### 1.3.0
* Fix: make the abilities visible to MCP agents
* New: add abilities so AI agents can find, restore and delete trashed terms
#### 1.2.0
* New: add filters for which terms are kept, retention choices and the Undo window,
and actions for trash events
* Fix: keep big terms safe to delete and restore on large sites
* Fix: update the Axle Category & Tag Trash count right after a delete
#### 1.1.0
* New: Undo notice right after deleting a term, for single and bulk deletes.
* New: Axle Category & Tag Trash screen rebuilt as a list table with taxonomy tabs,
search, bulk restore and delete, Empty trash, and a “what restore brings back”
view.
* New: choose how long deleted terms are kept.
* Rewritten as PSR-4 classes.
#### 1.0.0
* First release.
## Meta
* Version **3.0.0**
* Last updated **15 hours ago**
* Active installations **Fewer than 10**
* WordPress version ** 6.6 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.1.4**
* PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
* Tags
* [categories](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/categories/)[restore](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/restore/)
[tags](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/tags/)[trash](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/trash/)
[undo](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/undo/)
* [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/axle-category-tag-trash/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/axle-category-tag-trash/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/axle-category-tag-trash/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ Aryan Jasala ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aryanjasala/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/axle-category-tag-trash/)