> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.lunchmoney.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.lunchmoney.app/setup/categories/editing-categories.md).
# Editing Categories
#### Jump to:
* [**Reordering**](#reordering)
* [How to reorder the categories](#how-to-reorder-the-categories)
* [**Archiving**](#archiving)
* [How to archive a category](#how-to-archive-a-category)
* [How to change a category's 'Archived on' date](#how-to-change-a-categorys-archived-on-date)
* [How to unarchive a category](#how-to-unarchive-a-category)
* [**Merging**](#merging)
* [How to merge and delete a category](#how-to-merge-and-delete-a-category)
* [**Deleting**](#deleting)
* [How to delete an individual category](#how-to-delete-an-individual-category)
* [How to delete categories in bulk](#how-to-delete-categories-in-bulk)
***
## Reordering
The order in which the categories are listed on the Categories page, is also the order in which they will appear in the drop-down menu when selecting a category for transactions, recurring items, or rules, as well as the order in which the categories appear listed on the Budget page.
### How to reorder the categories
You can easily change the order of the categories using drag-and-drop on the Categories page. Simply click and drag a category up or down the list using the re-order icon (the second icon from the right), and drop the category into place by letting go of the mouse.
{% hint style="info" %}
If you drag-and-drop a category group, all nested categories will be moved together with it.
{% endhint %}
## Archiving
If there is a category that you no longer use, but still wish to keep for reference as it is associated with past transactions, then you’d be looking at archiving the category.
Archived categories will not show up when creating or updating transactions, in budgets, or in the overview spending summary, yet will still show up as an option for filtering on the Trends, Stats and Analyze pages.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Archiving a category group will also archive all its children categories.
{% endhint %}
### How to archive a category
1. Open the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page
2. Locate the relevant category and click on the arrow icon to the far-right of the row
3. In the ‘Edit Category’ panel that opens on the right, click on the orange “Archive” button.
A confirmation message will appear at the bottom left of the screen, and the category will be moved to a collapsed section at the bottom of the list of categories. You can click on “show archived categories” to expand the section and see the archived categories:
### How to change a category's 'Archived on' date
1. Open the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page
2. At the bottom of the list of categories, click on "Show archived categories"
3. Locate the relevant category in the list and click on the arrow to the far-right of the row
4. In the 'Edit category' panel, click on the 'Archived on' date to change it
5. Click on the orange "Save" button at the bottom
### How to unarchive a category
1. Open the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page
2. At the bottom of the list of categories, click on "Show archived categories"
3. Locate the relevant category in the list and click on the orange "unarchive" button
A confirmation message will appear at the bottom left of the screen, and the category will be moved into the list of all active categories.
## Merging
If you have two categories that you wish to merge into one, you can use the “Merge and delete” option. Any transactions, rules or recurring items using the merged category will be updated to use the new category instead, and then the merged category will be deleted.
{% hint style="info" %}
The budget associated with the merged category will be deleted. Budgets do not get merged into one, and the budget of the category you had merged into will remain unaffected.
{% endhint %}
For example, let’s consider that you have two categories: “Movies” and “Cinema”. If you merge “Movies” into “Cinema”, then “Movies” will be deleted. The transactions, rules and recurring items that used the category “Movies” will be updated to use the category “Cinema” instead. The budget for the “Cinema” category will remain unchanged.
### How to merge and delete a category
1. Open the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page
2. Locate the relevant category and click on the arrow to the far right of the row
3. In the 'Edit category' panel, click on the red "Merge and delete" button
4. Next, under "Re-categorize Transfer items to", click to select the category that you would like to merge into
5. To confirm, click on the "Merge & Delete" button
## Deleting
If you accidentally created a category or no longer wish to track a certain category, you can delete it. Once a category is deleted, the associated transactions and recurring items change to “uncategorized”, and the category’s budget is deleted along with any rules that use the category.
### How to delete an individual category
1. Open the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page
2. Locate the relevant category and click on the arrow to the far right of the row
3. In the 'Edit category' panel, click on the red "Delete" button
4. In the popup confirmation dialog, click on "Delete this category" to confirm
{% hint style="danger" %}
As deleting a category is irreversible, please make sure to first review and consider the [merge](#how-to-merge-and-delete-a-category) and [archive](#how-to-archive-a-category) options before proceeding with the deletion.
{% endhint %}
### How to delete categories in bulk
1. Open the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page
2. Select the categories you would like to delete by clicking the checkbox to the left of each category.
{% hint style="info" %}
Selecting a category group will also select all of its subcategories. Likewise, selecting all subcategories within a group will also select the category group.
{% endhint %}
3. Once you've selected at least one category, click the red "Delete selection" button that appears above the table
4. In the popup confirmation dialog, review the information before proceeding. Deletion is a nuclear action and cannot be reversed.
5. To proceed, click "Yes, delete". Alternatively, you can choose to [archive](#archiving) the categories instead.
---
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