Delete Category
Permanently delete a category from the system. Note that deleting a category with subcategories will also remove all its subcategories due to cascade deletion.
Endpoint
DELETE /api/v1/categories/{id}
Path Parameters
The unique identifier of the category to delete
Response
Returns no content on successful deletion.
Status Codes
204 - Category successfully deleted (no content returned)404 - Category not found
Important Notes
Deleting a parent category will cascade delete all its subcategories. This operation is irreversible.
Consider deactivating a category (using the update endpoint with isActive: false) instead of deleting it if you want to preserve historical data.
Examples
Delete a Category
curl -X DELETE "https://api.example.com/api/v1/categories/10" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
Success Response
Error Response (404)
{
"error": "Category not found",
"status": 404
}
Alternative: Deactivate Instead of Delete
If you want to hide a category without permanently deleting it, consider using the update endpoint:
curl -X PUT "https://api.example.com/api/v1/categories/10" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "Sofas",
"description": "Comfortable seating furniture",
"parentId": 1,
"isActive": false
}'