How to export categories in wordpress

Question

I want to export all Wordpress categories (no posts, just categories) from one blog to another. How can I do that ?

Answer 1

What is your end goal here? Just to get a list of categories from one blog to another? Or, are you trying to move all of the content wihtin a category or categories to another WordPress install?

It kinda ugly, but you could export all content, then just delete the content within the categories or delete the categories that you don't want. It would probably be one of the quicker ways to your goal.

Answer 2

You cant export only categories (or taxonomies generally). Just export all content with Tools/Export and you can delete content except categories from xml.

Answer 3

I solved this problem with 2 queries.

This is not the best way I suppose, but for sure not the safest. Furthermore it assumes that you are working on the same database (if this is not tha case you can easily export the query and then import into another db).

I've used it on an empty wordpress installation:

1. Import the category's terms:

   INSERT INTO newwp_terms SELECT te.* FROM oldwp_terms te JOIN oldwp_term_taxonomy ta ON te.term_id = ta.term_id WHERE ta.taxonomy = 'category';

2. Import categories relationships and descriptions

   INSERT INTO newwp_term_taxonomy SELECT term_taxonomy_id,term_id,taxonomy,description,parent,0 FROM oldwp_term_taxonomy ta WHERE ta.term_taxonomy_id IN ( SELECT ta2.term_taxonomy_id FROM oldwp_terms te JOIN oldwp_term_taxonomy ta2 ON te.term_id = ta2.term_id WHERE ta.taxonomy = 'category' );

I'm sorry I'm not able to indent properly the queries code, anyway newwp_ refers to table into which you want to import while oldwp_ refers to source table