Skip to main content

Name an add-on’s data for Benecaster’s uninstall

Free Intermediate

Benecaster’s Delete all data on uninstall switch doesn’t work from a list — it discovers benecaster_-namespaced data by prefix and removes it. That means an add-on’s tables, options, meta, cron hooks, post types and taxonomies are removed along with Benecaster’s own, even while the add-on plugin is still installed and active. This is deliberate: an add-on can’t run without Benecaster, so its data is unreachable once Benecaster is gone.

Naming rules, so your add-on’s data is found:

  • Tables: {$wpdb->prefix}benecaster_{addon}_…. Found with SHOW TABLES LIKE, so
    there’s no list to register with.
  • Options: benecaster_{addon}_…. Background-job options may use
    _benecaster_{addon}_…. Transients: benecaster_{addon}_….
  • Post meta / user meta: _benecaster_{addon}_… or benecaster_{addon}_…. Keys stored
    with update_user_option() get the site’s table prefix in front (wp_benecaster_…), which no prefix matches — use update_user_meta() instead.
  • Cron hooks, post types, taxonomies: start with benecaster_. ⚠ WordPress caps a post
    type key at 20 characters, and benecaster_ uses 11 of them.
  • What is never removed: anything outside the namespace. myaddon_settings survives a
    core uninstall, and so do WordPress users, media library attachments, and roles or capabilities added to WordPress roles.

Your add-on’s own uninstall.php must not depend on Benecaster. If the podcaster deletes Benecaster first, its autoloader is gone and \Benecaster\… classes fatal. If they delete the add-on first, Benecaster may be active and loaded, or deactivated and not loaded, and you can’t tell which in advance — so use $wpdb directly, and don’t assume the tables still exist.

Don’t delete another add-on’s data or Benecaster’s own from your uninstall.php, and don’t read Benecaster’s benecaster_delete_data_on_uninstall switch — it governs Benecaster’s own uninstall, not yours. Whether your own uninstall keeps data by default is your add-on’s own choice.

Code

<?php
// wp-content/plugins/benecaster-addon-guests/uninstall.php
if ( ! defined( 'WP_UNINSTALL_PLUGIN' ) ) {
    exit;
}

global $wpdb;

// Safe if core's uninstall already dropped it.
$wpdb->query( "DROP TABLE IF EXISTS {$wpdb->prefix}benecaster_guests_appearances" );

// esc_like(): `_` is a LIKE wildcard.
$wpdb->query(
    $wpdb->prepare(
        "DELETE FROM {$wpdb->options} WHERE option_name LIKE %s",
        $wpdb->esc_like( 'benecaster_guests_' ) . '%'
    )
);

wp_clear_scheduled_hook( 'benecaster_guests_daily_sync' );

View on GitHub →

Need this built rather than just documented? See our services →

Powered by