# Can't delete topic without category
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [May 27, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811 "2025-05-27T18:19:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/1 "2025-05-27T18:19:10Z")
I’ve a topic in our database with an category\_id which category someone has deleted. I can open this topic directly with it’s id:
url: …/t/3
in table topics the id = 3 has category = 4. But this category is deleted and not in table categories. Many of this lost topics I could delete. But this one doesn’t work, cause attribute closed and archived are true.
If I choose in popup menu “Permanently Delete” this topic, I get error message:
“An error occurred: This topic has undeleted posts. Please permanently delete them before permanently deleting the topic.”
Any idea how to insert a dummy category with id 4 in database or to delete this lost topic?
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/2 "2025-05-27T19:03:32Z")
> [@steinjer](#):
>
> in table topics the id = 3 has category = 4.
I think that’s the About topic for the #General category?. Normally the about topics would be undeletable in the UI.
Is there a reason you want to delete this one completely?
---
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/3 "2025-05-27T19:17:48Z")
cause this category isn’t more available, but which is more important: link to all categories in sidebar doesn’t work anymore.
If I try open …/categories I get errormessage: “Error Something went wrong.” and in browser console errormessage is shown:
```plaintext
Uncaught TypeError: i is null
reason binary.js:7
l item.js:166
get topic.js:1017
ee upload.js:65
get topic.js:1017
get topic.js:1017
eM topic.js:1017
s backup-codes.js:33
n backup-codes.js:33
Z upload.js:65
T backup-codes.js:33
evaluate backup-codes.js:33
_execute backup-codes.js:33
execute backup-codes.js:33
rerender backup-codes.js:33
render theme-setting.js:6
_renderRoots theme-setting.js:6
tA backup-codes.js:33
_renderRoots theme-setting.js:6
_renderRootsTransaction theme-setting.js:6
_revalidate theme-setting.js:6
invoke client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
_end client-error-handler.js:88
end client-error-handler.js:88
_run client-error-handler.js:88
run client-error-handler.js:88
d bookmark.js:114
Ember 2
_join client-error-handler.js:88
join client-error-handler.js:88
p bookmark.js:114
h bookmark.js:114
$ topic.js:1017
trigger composer-action-title.js:62
transitionStarted add-translation.js:27
loading ace-editor.js:176
D upload.js:65
triggerEvent upload.js:65
trigger form-template-validation.js:54
_handleSlowTransition upload.js:65
invoke client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
_end client-error-handler.js:88
end client-error-handler.js:88
_runExpiredTimers client-error-handler.js:88
setTimeout handler*setTimeout client-error-handler.js:88
_installTimerTimeout client-error-handler.js:88
_later client-error-handler.js:88
later client-error-handler.js:88
T bookmark.js:114
_triggerAction form-template-validation.js:54
click form-template-validation.js:54
binary.js:7
Uncaught TypeError: i is null
reason binary.js:7
l item.js:166
get topic.js:1017
ee upload.js:65
get topic.js:1017
get topic.js:1017
eM topic.js:1017
s backup-codes.js:33
n backup-codes.js:33
Z upload.js:65
T backup-codes.js:33
evaluate backup-codes.js:33
_execute backup-codes.js:33
execute backup-codes.js:33
rerender backup-codes.js:33
render theme-setting.js:6
_renderRoots theme-setting.js:6
tA backup-codes.js:33
_renderRoots theme-setting.js:6
_renderRootsTransaction theme-setting.js:6
_revalidate theme-setting.js:6
invoke client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
_end client-error-handler.js:88
end client-error-handler.js:88
_run client-error-handler.js:88
run client-error-handler.js:88
d bookmark.js:114
success base.js:71
l loader.js:1286
fireWith loader.js:1286
jQuery 4
a base.js:71
e named-references.js:49
e named-references.js:49
A base.js:71
_findCategoriesAndTopics item.js:166
k named-references.js:49
w named-references.js:49
invoke client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
_end client-error-handler.js:88
end client-error-handler.js:88
_runExpiredTimers client-error-handler.js:88
setTimeout handler*setTimeout client-error-handler.js:88
_installTimerTimeout client-error-handler.js:88
_later client-error-handler.js:88
later client-error-handler.js:88
T bookmark.js:114
_triggerAction form-template-validation.js:54
click form-template-validation.js:54
```
```plaintext
TypeError: t.category_list.categories is undefined
s form-template-validation.js:54
categoriesFrom form-template-validation.js:54
_findCategoriesAndTopics item.js:166
k named-references.js:49
w named-references.js:49
invoke client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
_end client-error-handler.js:88
end client-error-handler.js:88
_run client-error-handler.js:88
run client-error-handler.js:88
d bookmark.js:114
success base.js:71
l loader.js:1286
fireWith loader.js:1286
jQuery 4
a base.js:71
e named-references.js:49
e named-references.js:49
A base.js:71
_findCategoriesAndTopics item.js:166
k named-references.js:49
w named-references.js:49
invoke client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
flush client-error-handler.js:88
_end client-error-handler.js:88
end client-error-handler.js:88
_runExpiredTimers client-error-handler.js:88
setTimeout handler*setTimeout client-error-handler.js:88
_installTimerTimeout client-error-handler.js:88
_later client-error-handler.js:88
later client-error-handler.js:88
T bookmark.js:114
_triggerAction form-template-validation.js:54
click form-template-validation.js:54
```
```plaintext
Error while processing route: discovery.categories t.category_list.categories is undefined 3069/categoriesFrom/s<@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:9:2817
categoriesFrom@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:9:2809
11341/_findCategoriesAndTopics/<@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:27:122623
k@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:441:164470
w@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:441:164363
invoke@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:202:7701
flush@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:202:6778
flush@https://forum.mydiscourse.de/assets/chunk.0144d0b7f03b4dd2b0a0.d41d8cd9.js:202:8650
... and much more
```
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/4 "2025-05-27T19:27:11Z")
It sounds like someone deleted the category when it has topics in it somehow? That’s not supposed to happen. I think you’ll need to do something like
```plaintext
rails c
c=Category.last; # or some other way to get a category)
Topic.where(category_id: 4).update_all(category_id: c.id)
```
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/5 "2025-05-27T19:27:12Z")
If your #General category was deleted safely through the UI then it’s expected that the About topic would be soft deleted like you’re seeing. It shouldn’t cause any issues. 🤔
I think there may be something else at play. Is there any more detail about that error in your `/logs` page?
---
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/6 "2025-05-27T19:50:51Z")
> [@pfaffman](#):
>
> `Topic.where(category_id: 4).update_all(category_id: c.id)`
This seems not to work:
```plaintext
discourse(prod)> Topic.where(category_id: 4).update_all(category_id: 20)
=> 0
discourse(prod)> Topic.where(id: 3).update_all(category_id: 20)
=> 0
```
And in [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) I get:
```plaintext
Select id, closed, archived, title,category_id
from topics
where id = '3'
result:
id closed archived title category_id
3 true true Über die Kategorie Team 4
```
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/7 "2025-05-27T19:54:50Z")
Hmm. I thought your broken topic had category\_id of 4.
> [@steinjer](#):
>
> in table topics the id = 3 has category = 4.
That was my best guess. If you have a budget you might ask for help in #Marketplace. I think you’ll need someone to get into rails to see if they can figure it out.
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/8 "2025-05-27T20:23:26Z")
#Marketplace is always an option, especially if it’s urgent. ❤
Though a bit more detail here might help jimmy up a community response. 🤞
You both seem confident that the root cause is this topic. If [data explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) can find it then you should be able to find it in the rails console. If you can find it then you should be able to use post\_destroyer on it and delete it from there?
(Though slightly hesitant to recommend it as I’ve not quite connected up the dots to where the issue is)
---
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/9 "2025-05-27T20:41:19Z")
yes, in ruby console I can see that topic:
```plaintext
result = ActiveRecord::Base.lease_connection.exec_query('SELECT id, category_id FROM topics WHERE id = 3')
result.rows
=> [[3, 4]]
```
but in Topic is nothing
```plaintext
Topic.where(id: 3)
=> []
```
---
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/10 "2025-05-28T06:59:56Z")
> [@JammyDodger](#):
>
> If you can find it then you should be able to use post\_destroyer on it and delete it from there?
as you can see, finding is possible. But I have no idea of the Ruby syntax to delete exactly this one table entry.
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2025, 7:33am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/11 "2025-05-28T07:33:14Z")
Hmm. 🤔 It is unusual to be able to find it one way and not the other.
The rails console can be a bit of a sharp knife so it’d be best to figure out what exactly has gone wrong just to minimise any accidents/knock on effects.
How was this category deleted in the first place?
(Just in case the issue isn’t caused by this stray topic, I’ll throw in the basics of checking [safe mode](https://meta.discourse.org/t/53504?silent=true) and seeing if there’s any more info about the error in your `YourSite/logs` page too)
Though I don’t know if your data is in a state where the category delete catch-all could help? [Bulk delete all topics in a category](https://meta.discourse.org/t/bulk-delete-all-topics-in-a-category/97904)
---
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/12 "2025-05-28T11:05:07Z")
> [@JammyDodger](#):
>
> How was this category deleted in the first place?
Good question. It was done some years ago by an other admin.
Meanwhile I deleted this topic direct in rails console with:
```plaintext
result = ActiveRecord::Base.lease_connection.exec_delete('DELETE FROM topics WHERE id = 3')
```
After this, topic is deleted 😀
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2025, 11:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/13 "2025-05-28T11:25:36Z")
And that solved your wonky category link in the sidebar too?
It’s interesting that it’s only just showing a problem now when it had been happily deleted for a number of years.
If you figure out the connection let me know. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@steinjer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/steinjer)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2025, 1:33pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/14 "2025-05-28T13:33:42Z")
Unfortunately, this does not fix the error with the category link. But the problem with the non-deletable post is solved for now. The category problem is also not logged in the log. I will tackle this in the next few days.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cant-delete-topic-without-category/367811/15 "2025-06-27T13:34:16Z")
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