I am unable to replicate this on multiple sites and servers

I cannot reproduce the problem, same environment (thanks for detailed information) and different sites work in backend and frontend.

I am also unable to replicate this

This could be a server configuration issue as I assume your test clean install is on the same web server - perhaps related to mod_security. You should check your server error logs (or ask your web host if you dont have access).

I tested this issue on Joomla 6.0.2, and I am facing the same problem. Tags are not being saved in the database.

Unable to reproduce this issue in 5.4 and 6.1

@komalm can you describe your stack in details please

@alikon

Stack/Environment
Joomla version: 6.0.2
PHP version: 8.3.21
Database: MySQL
Web server: Apache
Browser tested: Chrome (latest)

I followed all the steps mentioned above to reproduce the issue.

Investigation: Joomla Issue #46734 - Tag Persistence
Issue Summary
Issue: #46734 - Tags added to articles are not persisted after save (Joomla 6.0.2)

Reported By: Crocodile442 on Jan 21, 2026

Description: When adding tags to an article and saving, the tags do not persist. After reopening the article, the tags field is empty. This occurs consistently and without any error messages.

Reported Environment
Joomla version: 6.0.2
PHP version: 8.3.x
Database: MySQL / MariaDB
Web server: Apache
Browser tested: Firefox (latest), Chrome (latest)
Expected vs Actual Result
Expected: The tag remains assigned to the article after saving
Actual (Reported): The tag is missing when the article is reopened, with no error or warning shown
Investigation Results
Test Environment
Joomla Version: 6.0.2
PHP Version: 8.3
Database: MySQL (joomla_db)
Database Prefix: qu11k_
Test Date: January 31, 2026
Testing Methodology

1. Browser Testing (AJAX Tag Entry Mode)
   I performed comprehensive browser testing to verify tag persistence:

Test 1: Create New Article with Single Tag
Adding tag to new article
Review
Adding tag to new article

Steps:

Created new article "Tag Test Article"
Added tag "testtag" using AJAX mode
Saved & Closed the article
Article saved in list
Review
Article saved in list

Reopened the article to verify tag persistence
Reopened article showing tag persisted
Review
Reopened article showing tag persisted

Result: ✅ Tag "testtag" persisted successfully

Test 2: Add Multiple Tags to Existing Article
Adding second tag to article
Review
Adding second tag to article

Steps:

Reopened "Tag Test Article"
Added second tag "asdfsadf"
Saved & Closed
Reopened to verify both tags persist
Result: ✅ Both tags "testtag" and "asdfsadf" persisted successfully

Test 3: Tag Entry Mode Configuration
Tags Data Entry Configuration
Review
Tags Data Entry Configuration

Configuration Checked:

Tag Entry Mode: AJAX (default)
Also tested switching to "Nested" mode
Result: ✅ Tags persist in both AJAX and Nested modes

2. Database Verification
   To confirm tags are actually being saved at the database level, I queried the tag mapping table:

Tag Mappings in Database
SELECT * FROM qu11k_contentitem_tag_map ORDER BY tag_date DESC LIMIT 10;
Results:

+---------------------+-----------------+-----------------+--------+---------------------+---------+
| type_alias | core_content_id | content_item_id | tag_id | tag_date | type_id |
+---------------------+-----------------+-----------------+--------+---------------------+---------+
| com_content.article | 4 | 22 | 2 | 2026-01-31 17:11:51 | 1 |
| com_content.article | 4 | 22 | 3 | 2026-01-31 17:11:51 | 1 |
| com_content.article | 2 | 21 | 2 | 2026-01-31 17:07:05 | 1 |
+---------------------+-----------------+-----------------+--------+---------------------+---------+
Tag Details
SELECT id, title, alias FROM qu11k_tags WHERE id IN (2, 3);
Results:

+----+----------+----------+
| id | title | alias |
+----+----------+----------+
| 2 | asdfsadf | asdfsadf |
| 3 | testtag | testtag |
+----+----------+----------+
Article Details
SELECT id, title FROM qu11k_content WHERE id IN (21, 22);
Results:

+----+------------------+
| id | title |
+----+------------------+
| 21 | asfadsf |
| 22 | Tag Test Article |
+----+------------------+
Database Verification: ✅ All tag mappings are correctly stored in qu11k_contentitem_tag_map table

Complete Testing Recording
The entire testing process was recorded and is available here:

Complete browser testing session
Review
Complete browser testing session

This recording shows:

Creating new article with tags
Saving and reopening to verify persistence
Adding multiple tags
Checking tag configuration
All verification steps
Conclusion
IMPORTANT

Issue Status: NOT REPRODUCIBLE

After comprehensive testing on the current Joomla 6.0.2 installation, the reported issue does NOT persist.

Evidence Summary
✅ Browser Testing: Tags persist correctly when:

Creating new articles with tags
Adding tags to existing articles
Using both AJAX and Nested tag entry modes
Saving and reopening articles multiple times
✅ Database Verification: Tag mappings are correctly stored in qu11k_contentitem_tag_map table with proper relationships

✅ No Errors: No JavaScript console errors or PHP errors during tag operations