Microsoft has announced the formal phase-out of native XSLT support in the Edge browser. The company cites low usage rates and security concerns as the primary reasons for this decision, noting that less than 0.001% of web pages currently utilize XSLT transformation functions.
The transition begins with the release of Edge version 159 later this year, which will disable the XSLTProcessor JavaScript API and XML processing instructions by default. However, CSS-based XML styling will remain unaffected by these changes.
For enterprise environments, Microsoft provides a temporary workaround by allowing administrators to manually enable XSLT via the XSLTEnabled policy. This measure is intended to facilitate the migration of legacy systems to modern web standards.
The final stage of the retirement plan is scheduled for the release of Edge version 176 in the summer of 2027. At that point, the XSLTEnabled policy will be removed, and native XSLT support will be permanently eliminated from the browser.
