Stores the basic term data (name and slug) for categories, tags, and custom taxonomies.

Schema

Indexes

Foreign Key Relationships

Referenced by:

• wp_term_taxonomy.term_id → wp_terms.term_id
• wp_termmeta.term_id → wp_terms.term_id

Design Notes

WordPress separates term data from taxonomy assignments:

1. wp_terms – The term itself (name, slug)
2. wp_term_taxonomy – Which taxonomy it belongs to
3. wp_term_relationships – Links to posts/objects

This allows the same term name to exist in different taxonomies (e.g., "News" category and "News" tag are separate).

Common Queries

Get all terms

SELECT * FROM wp_terms ORDER BY name;

Get term by slug

SELECT * FROM wp_terms WHERE slug = 'my-category';

Get term by ID

SELECT * FROM wp_terms WHERE term_id = 5;

Search terms by name

SELECT * FROM wp_terms 
WHERE name LIKE '%nature%' 
ORDER BY name;

Get terms with their taxonomy

SELECT t.*, tt.taxonomy, tt.count 
FROM wp_terms t
JOIN wp_term_taxonomy tt ON t.term_id = tt.term_id
ORDER BY t.name;

Find duplicate slugs

SELECT slug, COUNT(*) as count 
FROM wp_terms 
GROUP BY slug 
HAVING count > 1;

WordPress API Functions

• get_term( $term_id, $taxonomy ) – Get single term
• get_terms( $args ) – Get terms matching criteria
• get_term_by( $field, $value, $taxonomy ) – Get term by field
• wp_insert_term( $name, $taxonomy, $args ) – Create term
• wp_update_term( $term_id, $taxonomy, $args ) – Update term
• wp_delete_term( $term_id, $taxonomy ) – Delete term
• term_exists( $term, $taxonomy ) – Check if term exists

Term Groups

The term_group column was intended for term aliases (same meaning, different words). In practice, this feature is rarely used. Most implementations use:

• Custom meta for synonyms
• Plugins for term merging
• Parent/child hierarchies instead