Description
Translation Cleaner for WPML helps you keep your multilingual WordPress site clean by identifying and fixing three common categories of WPML data corruption, all from a single admin tool under Tools Translation Cleaner for WPML.
Module 1 — Orphan Translations
Finds translated posts whose main-language counterpart no longer exists (deleted or trashed). These orphaned records consume storage, clutter your admin, and break WPML’s translation groups.
- Bulk action: Move to Trash (reversible) or Permanently Delete
- Reason codes per row: Missing original, Original deleted, Original trashed
- Every deletion is re-validated immediately before execution — if the original was restored since the scan, the item is skipped
Module 2 — Misplaced Originals
Finds posts that WPML treats as originals (source_language_code = NULL) but are registered under a language that is not your main language — with no main-language version in that translation group at all.
This typically happens when content is created directly in a secondary language without going through the main language first. Left uncorrected, these posts can cause translation workflow issues and incorrect language flags.
- Per-row fix: select the post’s actual language from a dropdown and reassign it — no bulk guessing
Module 3 — Swapped Originals
Finds cases where a secondary-language post carries the “original” flag while a live main-language version exists in the same translation group. WPML incorrectly treats the secondary post as the source, which inverts the translation relationship for both posts.
- Per-row fix: one click to promote the main-language post to original and demote the secondary to a translation — the trid (translation group) is preserved
Common features across all modules
- Scan all WPML-tracked post types, including non-public types like
nav_menu_item - Filter by post type and main language
- Detailed results table with sort, search, and pagination
- Export results to CSV before taking any action
- Developer hooks:
wmtc_protected_post_ids,wmtc_orphan_results,wmtc_before_delete,wmtc_after_delete
Requirements
- WPML must be installed and active
Installation
- Upload the
wpml-translation-cleanerfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through Plugins Installed Plugins
- Navigate to Tools Translation Cleaner for WPML
- Select a module, choose your main language and post types, then click Run Scan
FAQ
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Does this work with WooCommerce Multilingual (WCML)?
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Yes. The scanners detect issues regardless of how WPML or WCML registered the content, including products managed in WCML’s independent mode.
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Will it delete or modify content incorrectly?
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For orphan deletions, every item is re-validated against a fresh database scan immediately before the action runs. For reassignment actions (Misplaced Originals, Swapped Originals), the fix is performed via WPML’s own
wpml_set_element_language_detailsAPI — no raw data is modified outside of WPML’s own logic. -
Can I undo a deletion?
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Use Move to Trash for reversible cleanup. Permanently Delete is irreversible — always export a CSV and back up your database first.
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Can I undo a language reassignment?
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Not automatically. Before running fixes in bulk, export a CSV so you have a record of the original state. The CSV can be used as a reference to manually revert if needed.
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What post types are scanned?
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All post types that WPML is tracking in
icl_translations, includingnav_menu_itemwhich is a common source of orphaned translations invisible to standard WordPress post type queries. -
How do I exclude specific posts from cleanup?
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Use the
wmtc_protected_post_idsfilter:add_filter( 'wmtc_protected_post_ids', function( $ids ) { $ids[] = 42; return $ids; } ); -
Is this plugin affiliated with WPML or OnTheGoSystems?
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No. This is an independent tool built to work alongside WPML. WPML is a trademark of OnTheGoSystems.
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Contributors & Developers
“Translation Cleaner for WPML” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Translation Cleaner for WPML” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Module: Orphan Translations — find and delete orphaned translation posts
- Module: Misplaced Originals — find and reassign posts flagged as originals in the wrong language
- Module: Swapped Originals — fix inverted original/translation relationships within a translation group