Using WordPress ‘deleted_postmeta’ PHP action

The deleted_postmeta WordPress PHP action fires immediately after deleting metadata for a post.

Usage

add_action('deleted_postmeta', 'your_custom_function');
function your_custom_function($meta_ids) {
    // your custom code here
}

Parameters

  • $meta_ids (string[]): An array of metadata entry IDs to delete.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: deleted_postmeta

Examples

Logging Deleted Post Meta

Log deleted post meta IDs to a file.

add_action('deleted_postmeta', 'log_deleted_postmeta');
function log_deleted_postmeta($meta_ids) {
    $log_file = 'deleted_postmeta.log';
    $log_data = implode(', ', $meta_ids);
    file_put_contents($log_file, $log_data, FILE_APPEND);
}

Removing Cache after Post Meta Deletion

Remove cache for a specific post after its metadata is deleted.

add_action('deleted_postmeta', 'remove_cache_on_meta_deletion');
function remove_cache_on_meta_deletion($meta_ids) {
    foreach ($meta_ids as $meta_id) {
        $post_id = get_metadata_by_mid('post', $meta_id)->post_id;
        wp_cache_delete($post_id, 'posts');
    }
}

Sending Email Notification on Post Meta Deletion

Send email notifications to the admin when post metadata is deleted.

add_action('deleted_postmeta', 'send_email_on_meta_deletion');
function send_email_on_meta_deletion($meta_ids) {
    $to = get_option('admin_email');
    $subject = 'Post Metadata Deleted';
    $message = 'The following post metadata IDs have been deleted: ' . implode(', ', $meta_ids);
    wp_mail($to, $subject, $message);
}

Auditing Deleted Post Meta

Audit the deleted post meta by storing the deleted data in a custom table.

add_action('deleted_postmeta', 'audit_deleted_postmeta');
function audit_deleted_postmeta($meta_ids) {
    global $wpdb;
    $table_name = $wpdb->prefix . 'deleted_postmeta_audit';
    foreach ($meta_ids as $meta_id) {
        $wpdb->insert($table_name, array('meta_id' => $meta_id));
    }
}

Adding Custom Action on Post Meta Deletion

Trigger a custom action after post metadata is deleted.

add_action('deleted_postmeta', 'custom_action_on_meta_deletion');
function custom_action_on_meta_deletion($meta_ids) {
    // your custom code here
    do_action('my_custom_action', $meta_ids);
}