Inconsistent confirmation for deleting taxonomy term (Single vs Bulk Action)

[pmbaldha]

There is an inconsistency in the behavior of taxonomy term deletion in the WordPress admin.

When deleting a single taxonomy term (e.g., a category) from the Posts > Categories screen, WordPress displays a JavaScript confirmation prompt. However, when deleting multiple categories via the Bulk Actions dropdown, no confirmation is shown, the categories are deleted immediately.

This inconsistent behavior can lead to accidental, permanent deletion of terms. The confirmation behavior should be consistent across both single and bulk deletion actions.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Navigate to Posts > Categories in the WordPress admin.

2. Add a few categories.

3. Click the Delete link for an individual category.

• ✅ A confirmation dialog appears.

4. Now, select multiple categories using checkboxes.

5. Choose Delete from the Bulk actions dropdown and click Apply.

• ❌ Categories are deleted immediately, with no confirmation.

Expected Behavior

When performing a bulk delete, WordPress should prompt a confirmation dialog, just like it does for single deletion.

Actual Behavior

Bulk deletion deletes the selected categories immediately, without any prompt.

[pmbaldha]

Single delete term confirmation popup

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/63453

[pratiklondhe]

Patch Tested ( tested in WP playground ): ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8812

Old behaviour :

• Bulk delete of categories did not show any pop-up warning

New Behaviour:

• ✅ Now bulk delete shows the same popup as deleting the single category term

[parthvataliya]

Test Report

Description

I've tested the PR and it works fine.

Patch tested: ​https://patch-diff.githubusercontent.com/raw/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8812.diff

Environment

• WordPress: 6.9-alpha-60093-src
• PHP: 8.2.26
• Server: nginx/1.27.3
• Database: mysqli (Server: 8.4.4 / Client: mysqlnd 8.2.26)
• Browser: Chrome 134.0.0.0
• OS: Linux
• Theme: Twenty Twenty 2.9
• MU Plugins: None activated
• Plugins:
  • Test Reports 1.2.0

Actual Results

1. ✅ Issue resolved with patch.

[dhruvang21]

Test Report

Description

This report validates that the patch works as expected.

Patch tested: ​https://patch-diff.githubusercontent.com/raw/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8812.diff

Environment

• WordPress: 6.9-alpha-60093-src
• PHP: 8.2.22
• Server: nginx/1.27.0
• Database: mysqli (Server: 8.0.39 / Client: mysqlnd 8.2.22)
• Browser: Chrome 136.0.0.0
• OS: Linux
• Theme: Twenty Ten 4.4
• MU Plugins: None activated
• Plugins:
  • Test Reports 1.2.0

Actual Results

1. ✅ Issue resolved with patch.