Your WordPress site includes this line on every page:
<link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="https://yoursite.com/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml" />This is a manifest file for Windows Live Writer — a desktop blogging application that Microsoft released in 2007 and discontinued in 2017. The software hasn’t received an update in nearly a decade, and its parent suite (Windows Live Essentials) was pulled from Microsoft’s download servers.
Yet WordPress still adds this link to every single page of every WordPress site on the internet.
What is Windows Live Writer?
Windows Live Writer was a desktop application that let you write blog posts offline and publish them to WordPress (and other platforms) remotely via XML-RPC. The wlwmanifest.xml file told the application about your site’s capabilities — which features were supported, what the content types were, etc.
At its peak, it was a decent tool. Some people genuinely liked writing in it. But Microsoft killed the entire Windows Live Essentials suite, and the open-source successor (Open Live Writer) has minimal active development.
Why should you care?
Dead technology. Windows Live Writer cannot be downloaded from Microsoft anymore. The manifest link serves software that doesn’t exist in any practical sense.
It reveals your WordPress installation path. The manifest URL includes /wp-includes/, confirming your WordPress directory structure. Minor, but unnecessary information disclosure.
Free cleanup. Removing it takes one line of code and has absolutely zero downside.
The quick fix
// Remove Windows Live Writer manifest link
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'wlwmanifest_link' );Done.
The one-click solution
OvKit includes Remove WLW Manifest under Features → Cleanup. One toggle removes the dead link.
What happens after you fix this?
- The wlwmanifest link disappears from every page
- Zero risk of breakage — nothing in the modern WordPress ecosystem uses this
- Marginally cleaner HTML source
FAQ
### Is there any reason to keep the WLW manifest link?
No. Not unless you are literally using Windows Live Writer installed from a 2017-era installer. If you are, there are much better options available today — including the WordPress mobile app and the Gutenberg editor itself.
### Can I also delete the wlwmanifest.xml file from my server?
You could, but it’s a WordPress core file that will reappear on the next update. Just removing the tag from is sufficient — without the link, nothing discovers or requests the file.
### Should I remove this alongside the RSD link?
Yes. They’re both relics of the same era (desktop blogging clients + XML-RPC). Remove both, and disable XML-RPC while you’re at it.
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