To export a Confluence Cloud space, a space admin opens Space settings, chooses Export space and selects CSV; a broad Cloud-site scope uses the site backup in Backup manager instead. Confluence Data Center has a site backup, covered below. Keep the official export instructions open while you work.
Space export or site backup
| Space export | Site backup (Cloud) | |
|---|---|---|
| Use when | Only some spaces are in scope | Most of the site is in scope |
| Format | CSV (ZIP), with attachments and comments | We found no file format named on the backup page we read on 7 Oct 2026 |
| Limits | Everything the exporter can view; all content for a site admin | Up to 30 GB of site data plus 800 GB of attachments; one backup stored at a time |
- Who can run it, space export: Atlassian says space admins can export a space to PDF, CSV, HTML or XML.
- Who can run it, site backup: In the Atlassian pages we read on 7 Oct 2026, we found no role named.
- Who can run it, Data Center: A System Administrator.
Atlassian says Cloud XML export reaches end of life on December 1, 2026, so choose CSV, which Atlassian says is available on all plans. Atlassian also says your organization may choose to prevent people from exporting data in particular product instances or with certain classification levels, so the export option may be missing from the menu.
Before you start, read How to export your GitHub repositories, issues and pull requests and How to export your GitLab projects.
Export a space
For CSV, you export everything you can view, including attachments and comments by default. A site admin running a CSV space export gets all content.
- Next to your space's name in the sidebar, select More actions (•••), then Space settings.
- Open General > Export space.
- Select CSV.
- Select Export space and download the ZIP, which Confluence creates as a zipped archive of the CSV files. Atlassian says exporting 100 pages should generally complete within a few minutes.
If an export stalls or fails, Atlassian advises that you try exporting smaller subsets of pages to identify content causing delays. Atlassian says the PDF option lets you choose specific content items.
Back up the whole Cloud site
- Select the wheel icon in the top-right corner to open Confluence administration.
- Open Settings > Data management > Backup manager.
- Select Backup attachments if attachments are in scope. Whoever owns the records decides that.
- If Backup manager shows a format choice, select CSV, as the end-of-life notice below says.
- Choose Create backup for cloud.
- Download the backup within 14 days. A new backup replaces the stored one, so download before anyone makes another.
We found no file format named on the backup page we read on 7 Oct 2026. Its XML end-of-life notice says the backup exports in CSV format and tells admins to select CSV as the export format in Backup manager, and we found no such step on the backup page. Check what Backup manager shows you.
Confluence databases appear in the backup without their content, and spaces in the trash are left out. Atlassian says the backup does not include the full set of user and group settings.
Confluence Data Center
A System Administrator opens Administration menu > General Configuration > Backup and restore > Back up site or spaces, selects Site, ticks Save permanently (otherwise the file is removed after 72 hours) and Include attachments, then selects Back up and confirms with Back up now.
This follows Atlassian's Confluence 10.2 page, last modified on 30 Jul 2024. Atlassian says: "We don't recommend you rely on XML backups as your main backup method."
Check the export on your computer
Keep the space ZIPs or the site backup on your computer while you check that the spaces and attachments in scope are all there.
- Open each ZIP and confirm it unpacks and holds files for the space or site you meant. Record the file name and size.
- Compare the number of pages Confluence shows for each space with the pages you can find in the export. This check is ours.
- A CSV export holds everything the exporter can view, and all content for a site admin. Write down who ran each export and which spaces it covered, so you know what scope the files reflect.
- For a site backup, write down what Atlassian says is left out: databases appear without their content, trashed spaces are not backed up and the full set of user and group settings is not included.
- Confirm the file you downloaded is the backup you made, because Confluence stores only one backup at a time and a new one replaces it. If the 14 days have passed, make a new backup.
Check pages, attachments and history separately
| Export route | Before you treat the package as complete |
|---|---|
| Cloud CSV space export | Record the exporting account and scope. Check a page with comments and a page with an attachment; a site admin's scope is all content. |
| Cloud site backup | Record the attachment option and download time. Check database content and trashed spaces separately from ordinary pages. |
| Data Center site XML | Record the Confluence version and Include attachments choice. A restore cannot target an earlier version or Confluence Cloud. |
For each space, keep a local inventory of expected pages, exported pages, comments checked, attachment files checked and earlier page versions checked. Open the selected page and its attachment from the downloaded package; record what you can recover. A ZIP that unpacks has passed a file-integrity check, not a restore check.
If your purpose is recovery, have whoever runs your systems restore a copy in an isolated compatible test environment and compare those selected pages, comments, attachments and versions. Keep the result and the target version with the inventory before relying on that backup.
Review the inventory before sharing records
Use your space inventory to request an eligibility review. Keep the raw Confluence export on your computer, and agree the scope, permissions and sample-review steps before sharing records.
Wiki pages usually point at work tracked elsewhere. The Asana export guide covers projects and tasks, the Notion export guide covers a second workspace, the Google Workspace export guide covers shared drives, and the GitLab export guide covers engineering projects.