Bug: Cannot delete discussion category

[LeaVerou]

Discussion Type

Bug

Discussion Content

We can't delete the Ideas category here: https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/discussions
even though it is now empty.
It keeps asking where to move existing discussions (it shouldn't — the category is empty) and then redirects to a 404 while the category is still there.

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[syedsafeer]

Hi @LeaVerou,
This looks like a backend sync bug where the category counter is out of sync with the actual database.
A common workaround for this is to create a 'dummy' discussion in the Ideas category and then move it to a different category. Sometimes this forces the system to refresh the metadata and allows the category to be deleted. If that doesn't work, the 404 confirms it’s a server-side issue that only the GitHub team can resolve.

[syedsafeer]

@LeaVerou,
the dummy discussion is just a temporary trigger. The idea is to move it to 'Polls' and then immediately delete the discussion itself.
This 'move-then-delete' cycle often forces GitHub’s backend to recalculate the item count for 'Ideas', which might finally unblock the deletion. If it still results in a 404 after that, it’s a persistent sync bug that unfortunately only GitHub Support can fix manually on their end

[LeaVerou]

I got that. What I'm saying is, you cannot move an arbitrary discussion to a Polls category. It is literally not an option:

[syedsafeer]

@LeaVerou,
fair point it seems the UI is strictly limiting your options because of the ghost state. Since the internal category change is blocked, let's try the 'Transfer & Purge' workaround:

1. Create a temporary/dummy repository.
2. Use the 'Transfer discussion' option (found in the settings/sidebar) to move this stuck record to that dummy repo.
3. Once the transfer is complete, delete the dummy repository entirely.

This usually forces the GitHub backend to detach the record's metadata from your primary repository and flush it during the purge, which is often more effective than a simple UI deletion attempt.

[LeaVerou]

I moved it to a Discussions section of another repo, but the bug persists.

[syedsafeer]

Since even the transfer failed to flush it, this is a confirmed backend sync bug that only GitHub staff can resolve. You’ll need to open an official ticket at support.github.com to have them manually purge that ghost record from your database.

[DaNielGoh55]

Hi there, may try this :-

Filter Check - Make sure the view is set to "All" and not just "Open" to show all the hidden discussions that need to be manually deleted or moved.

The "Reset" Method- Create a new test discussion in the "Ideas" category and then move it out. This will sometimes cause the backend to recount the discussions and clear the "ghost" status.

API Override- Manually use the GitHub GraphQL API to trigger the deleteDiscussionCategory mutation to bypass the buggy web interface.

[LeaVerou]

No hidden discussions. Reset method didn't work. I was hopeful about the API mutation, but it appears there is no deleteDiscussionCategory mutation 😢