Export and Import a Confluence Space

This guide walks you through the process of exporting content from one version of Confluence (5.6.x) to another (6.6.x).

Exporting a space

1. Navigate to the space you wish to export.
2. Click on Space Tools > Content Tools.
3. In Space Tools page, click on Export tab.
4. In the Export Formats section, select XML and click on the Next >> button.
5. In the Export XMLOptions section, select Full Export (should default to this option).
6. Click the Export button to start the process.
7. Wait. Depending on how many documents you have in your space, this can take a few seconds to several minutes. Confluence will switch to a "In Progress" report page and periodically update the status of the download. Don't get discouraged if the original Time Remaining estimate lists some ridiculous number (it's just an estimate).
8. Once it completes the process, click the Download here link just below the completion bar. You should receive a zip file with all the contents and attachments.

Note: you can modify the contents of a space by modifying the entities.xml file found in the zip file. It would unwise to do this but if you need to programmatically change something throughout an entire space, you can do that.

Importing a space

1. Log into your target wiki instance with Confluence administration permission.
2. Under the cog, click on General configuration and then Backup & Restore. Even though this says it's a restore feature, it also acts as a space importer as well.
3. Under the Upload and restore a site/space backup, disable the Build Index checkbox. With this checkbox disabled, the upload will be faster. Otherwise, if you wish to build the index, you should do so after office hours depending on your server attributes.
4. Click on Choose File and navigate to where you downloaded your exported zip file and click on Open.
5. Click on Upload and Restore.
6. Confluence will take you to an import progress page that estimates the upload process. This may take a moment or two depending on the size of the space you are importing.
7. Once completed, you should check the newly imported space to confirm it's contents.