Understanding the order data archiving

Overview
The plugin automatically archives all essential WooCommerce order information required to fully reconstruct an order later.

This includes:

• Billing details
• Shipping details
• Order totals and taxes
• Payment information
• Order status and lifecycle timestamps

All information is stored as metadata.

When an order is archived:

• The data is copied exactly as it exists in WooCommerce
• The original meta_key and meta_value are preserved
• No information is modified

This ensures the archived order remains accurate and complete.

Where Order Metadata Is Stored #

WooCommerce stores order metadata differently depending on whether High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) is enabled.

When HPOS Is Enabled #

Order metadata is stored in:

wc_orders_meta

This table contains:

• All default WooCommerce order metadata
• All custom metadata added by plugins or custom development
  

When HPOS Is Disabled (Legacy Storage) #

Order metadata is stored in:

wp_postmeta

This table contains:

• All WooCommerce order metadata (default and custom)
  

Automatic Table Detection #

You do not need to configure anything manually.

For each order, the plugin automatically:

1. Detects whether HPOS is enabled
2. Reads metadata from the correct table:
   • wc_orders_meta (HPOS enabled), or
   • wp_postmeta (HPOS disabled)
3. Archives the data correctly

Default Metadata That Is Archived #

Below are the core WooCommerce metadata fields archived automatically.

Billing Address Fields #

These fields store the customer’s billing information:

• _billing_first_name → First name
• _billing_last_name → Last name
• _billing_company → Company name
• _billing_address_1 → Address line 1
• _billing_address_2 → Address line 2
• _billing_city → City
• _billing_state → State/Region
• _billing_postcode → Postal code
• _billing_country → Country
• _billing_email → Email address
• _billing_phone → Phone number

Shipping Address Fields #

These fields store the delivery details:

• _shipping_first_name → First name
• _shipping_last_name → Last name
• _shipping_company → Company name
• _shipping_address_1 → Address line 1
• _shipping_address_2 → Address line 2
• _shipping_city → City
• _shipping_state → State/Region
• _shipping_postcode → Postal code
• _shipping_country → Country
• _shipping_phone → Phone number

Core Financial & Order Status Fields #

These fields contain financial, transaction, and lifecycle information:

• _order_key → Unique identifier used for payment and order links
• _order_currency → Currency used
• _prices_include_tax → Whether product prices include tax
• _customer_user → Registered customer ID (0 for guest orders)
• _customer_ip_address → Customer IP address at checkout
• _customer_user_agent → Browser and device information
• _created_via → How the order was created (checkout, admin, API, etc.)
• _cart_discount → Cart discount amount
• _cart_discount_tax → Tax on cart discount
• _order_shipping → Shipping cost
• _order_shipping_tax → Shipping tax
• _order_tax → Total tax
• _order_total → Final order amount
• _payment_method → Payment gateway ID
• _payment_method_title → Display name of payment method
• _transaction_id → Payment gateway transaction reference
• _date_paid (or _paid_date) → Payment completion date
• _date_completed (or _completed_date) → Order completion date

Default Metadata Archiving Process #

For each order being archived:

1. The plugin detects whether HPOS is enabled.
2. It retrieves metadata from:
   • wc_orders_meta (HPOS enabled), or
   • wp_postmeta (HPOS disabled)
3. All default metadata rows are copied to the archive database.
4. The original meta_key and meta_value are preserved exactly.

This guarantees that archived orders remain structurally identical to the original data.

Custom Metadata Archiving #

What Is Custom Metadata? #

Custom metadata refers to any additional order data added by:

• Third-party plugins
• Custom development
• Extended checkout fields
• Payment gateway extensions

These fields are not part of WooCommerce’s predefined core metadata.

Examples of Custom Metadata #

• Subscription plugin data
• Custom checkout fields
• Additional payment gateway data
• Business-specific internal order fields

Where Custom Metadata Is Stored #

Custom metadata is stored in the same table as default metadata:

• HPOS Enabled → wc_orders_meta
• HPOS Disabled → wp_postmeta

WooCommerce does not use a separate table for custom order metadata.

What Qualifies as Custom Metadata? #

Any metadata entry that is not part of WooCommerce’s built-in core fields is treated as custom metadata.

These fields are typically created dynamically by:

• Third-party plugins
• Custom code
• Extended integrations

Custom Metadata Archiving Behavior #

When custom metadata archiving is enabled:

1. The plugin retrieves all metadata rows for the order from:
   • wc_orders_meta (HPOS enabled), or
   • wp_postmeta (HPOS disabled)
2. Archiving is not limited to predefined keys.
3. Every additional meta_key → meta_value pair is included.
4. Custom metadata is stored alongside default metadata in the archive table.

No additional configuration or separate storage logic is required.

Summary #

• The plugin archives all core WooCommerce order metadata by default.
• It automatically detects whether HPOS is enabled.
• All original meta_key and meta_value pairs are preserved exactly.
• When custom metadata archiving is enabled, all additional metadata is included.
• Default and custom data are archived using the same storage logic.

This ensures complete, accurate, and reliable order reconstruction when needed.