Completely disables the XML-RPC API which was introduced in WordPress 3.5 and above which lets remote clients post, upload and edit content.
Notes:
If you are using the WordPress smart phone app or the Jetpack plugin, please note that they need this service enabled.
If you activate this plugin your WordPress phone app will not be able to connect to your site and Jetpack will not be able to connect to wordpress.com where site visitor data (and other stuff) is stored.
Other plugins and services that use the XML-RPC API will also not function properly.
Download the plugin
Download directly from the WordPress plugins site at:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/deactivate-xml-rpc-service/
It’s been downloaded 3,210 times.
Or from GitHub
https://github.com/DeveloperWil/deactivate-xml-rpc-service
How to install the plugin
- Download the plugin zip file & unzip it
- Copy the folder deactivate-xml-rpc-service into the directory /wp-content/plugins/
- Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in the WordPress admin area.
- The XML-RPC API service is now deactivated.
To reactivate the XML-RPC API service:
- Deactivate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in the WordPress admin area.
How to use the plugin
Activate the plugin and the WordPress XML-RPC API service will be disabled.
FAQs
Does the plugin do anything else?
Nope.
Is there an admin settings page for this plugin?
Nope. It just switches the XML-RPC off and on via plugin activate and deactivate respectively.
How can I check if the plugin is working?
Easy, go to http://xmlrpc.eritreo.it/ and enter your website URL. If you have the plugin enabled, your site should fail the test for XML-RPC.
My Jetpack plugin isn’t working!
Nope. This plugin switches off the XML-RPC API. Jetpack needs this API to work correctly. Deactivate this plugin.
My WordPress phone app can’t connect to my WordPress website!
Nope. This plugin switches off the XML-RPC API. The official WordPress phone app needs this API to work correctly. Deactivate this plugin.
Known issues
None.
Support
Use the plugin support forum on wordpress.org or submit an issue on GitHub. If there are any bugs we’ll try to fix as quickly as we can.