Using WordPress ‘before_delete_post’ PHP action

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The before_delete_post WordPress PHP action fires before a post is deleted, at the start of wp_delete_post().

Usage

add_action('before_delete_post', 'your_function_name', 10, 2);

function your_function_name($postid, $post) {
    // your custom code here
}

Parameters

  • $postid (int): The ID of the post being deleted.
  • $post (WP_Post): The post object representing the post being deleted.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: before_delete_post

Examples

Log post deletion

Log the title of a post before it is deleted.

add_action('before_delete_post', 'log_post_deletion', 10, 2);

function log_post_deletion($postid, $post) {
    error_log('Deleting post: ' . $post->post_title);
}

Prevent post deletion based on a custom field

Prevent deletion of posts with a specific custom field value.

add_action('before_delete_post', 'prevent_post_deletion', 10, 2);

function prevent_post_deletion($postid, $post) {
    $prevent_delete = get_post_meta($postid, 'prevent_delete', true);
    if ($prevent_delete == 'yes') {
        wp_die('This post cannot be deleted.');
    }
}

Delete associated attachments

Delete all associated attachments when a post is deleted.

add_action('before_delete_post', 'delete_associated_attachments', 10, 2);

function delete_associated_attachments($postid, $post) {
    $attachments = get_attached_media('image', $postid);
    foreach ($attachments as $attachment) {
        wp_delete_attachment($attachment->ID, true);
    }
}

Send an email notification

Send an email notification to the site admin when a post is deleted.

add_action('before_delete_post', 'send_email_on_post_deletion', 10, 2);

function send_email_on_post_deletion($postid, $post) {
    $admin_email = get_option('admin_email');
    $subject = 'A post was deleted';
    $message = 'Post "' . $post->post_title . '" was deleted.';
    wp_mail($admin_email, $subject, $message);
}

Update the post count of an author

Update the total post count of an author when a post is deleted.

add_action('before_delete_post', 'update_author_post_count', 10, 2);

function update_author_post_count($postid, $post) {
    $author_id = $post->post_author;
    $post_count = get_user_meta($author_id, 'total_posts', true);
    update_user_meta($author_id, 'total_posts', $post_count - 1);
}