How to Delete All WordPress Posts that Have a Specific Custom Field

Originally Posted on November 3, 2016 Last Updated on November 4, 2021

So, you want to delete any posts in a WordPress install that have a certain custom field, do you?

Maybe you’re allowing people to update posts from the front end, and depending on the fields they use, if a specific custom field is set we just go ahead and delete it. Or maybe you’re using custom fields as a way to manage content in some other way.

No matter, it’s fairly easy to do this. In functions.php, add the following:

// delete all posts that have something in a custom field

$args = array(

  	'posts_per_page' => -1,

  	'post_type' => 'post',

  	'meta_key' => 'YOURCUSTOMFIELD'

);

$the_query = new WP_Query( $args );

if ($the_query->have_posts()) {

  while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) :

    $the_query->the_post();

      wp_delete_post(get_the_ID());

  endwhile;

}

wp_reset_postdata();

Note! Change YOURCUSTOMFIELD to whatever the key of your custom field is.

You could also modify this to work if a certain custom field has a specific value, too, just add 'meta_value' => 'YOURVALUE' or any of the meta_query WordPress now has made available since version 3.1.

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Discussion

Steve 2 Jul 2018

I wish to delete multiple posts, each with a unique custom field value… for example… each post has a unique value in a custom field.. no two are alike… and I have a list of 100+ values that I want to match to a post and delete.. so delete 100+ posts based on the list of values.. any way to do that?
Thanks!

Reply
1. nathan 3 Jul 2018
  
  Absolutely, but at the moment I’ve got too much on my plate to write that one up. Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss this as a paid project, otherwise the next time I get a free hour or three I’ll write it up. 🙂
  
  Reply
Andy Willers 4 Nov 2021

Hey I know this is an old post but is there a way to tweak this to delete the post if the custom field is empty rather than filled?

Reply
1. nathan 4 Nov 2021
  
  Sure, this should do the job:
  
  // delete all posts that do not contain a specific custom field $args = array( 'posts_per_page' => -1, 'post_type' => 'post', 'meta_query' => array( array( 'key' => 'YOURCUSTOMFIELD', 'value' => 'true', 'compare' => 'NOT LIKE', ) ) ); $the_query = new WP_Query( $args ); if ($the_query->have_posts()) { while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post(); wp_delete_post(get_the_ID()); endwhile; } wp_reset_postdata();
  
  Reply