Copying a space
A copy creates a new space on the same Confluence site with the pages, folders and blog posts of the source space, in the same order, including folders at the top level of the space, next to the home page. Links inside the copied content that pointed at the source space are switched to the new space. The source space is only read, never changed.
Start a copy
- Open Spacewright and choose the tab Copy a space.
- Search by name or key and choose the space to copy.
- Enter a name and a key for the new space. The key may contain only letters and digits, must differ from the source key and must not be in use.
- Choose what to copy (below).
- Click Dry run first to check, then Copy space.
Copy options
| Option | Ticked by default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Attachments | Yes | Copies the latest version of each file attached to the copied pages and blog posts. Files over 250 MB are listed as failed. |
| Blog posts | Yes | Copies the space's published blog posts. |
| Space page templates | Yes | Copies the page templates that belong to the space, with their links switched. |
| Page restrictions | Yes | Gives each copied page and blog post the same view and edit restrictions as the original, as soon as it is created and before anything is written into it. You are added to those restrictions so the copy can be filled in. When it is not ticked, restricted pages, and everything inside a page with view restrictions, are not copied and are listed in the report under Not copied. Restricted content is never copied without its restrictions. Restricted folders are not copied (Spacewright cannot copy folder restrictions). |
| Space permissions | No | Gives the new space the same permissions as the source space. When it is not ticked, Confluence gives the new space its usual default permissions. |
| Archived pages | No | Also copies archived pages. In the new space they become normal pages. |
| Space look | No | Copies the space description, theme and space settings. The colours, the logo and the sidebar are not copied. See copy the space look. |
| Rename the copied titles | No | Adds a prefix or suffix to every copied title, or replaces text in titles. See rename the copied titles. |
Always copied: pages, folders, page order, labels and content properties. A site admin can change which options are ticked by default (except archived pages, space look and title renaming, which always start unticked).
Dry run
A dry run reads the source space and creates nothing. It shows:
- the number of pages, folders and blog posts that would be copied;
- the number and total size of attachments (when Attachments is ticked);
- how many items cannot be copied (whiteboards, databases and smart links) and how many would be skipped (archived pages, drafts, or an option that is not ticked);
- those items, each with where it is in the source space (for example Top level of the space) and why (the first 50 items);
- planning notes, such as title clashes or pages that move because their parent is skipped.
Dry runs also appear in the Jobs tab.
What happens during a copy
The copy runs in the background in this order:
- Read the source space: the pages at its top level and everything under them; then the folders, whiteboards, databases and smart links that are not under a page, found through Confluence search (see content at the top level), and everything inside them; then the blog posts; then the restrictions of everything found.
- Create the new space.
- Create every page, folder and blog post in tree order, still empty. A restricted page or blog post is created under a neutral title ("Spacewright: restricted page being copied") and gets its view and edit restrictions at once, before its children, attachments or content. If Confluence refuses those restrictions, it is not filled in and is listed under Not copied, and so is everything inside it.
- Copy the space page templates.
- Copy attachments.
- Copy labels and content properties.
- Fill in each page's content, switching links to the new space and filling in template values.
- Write the copy report page. It is restricted so that only the person who ran the copy can see it, because it can name restricted pages; share it if others need it. If Confluence does not allow that, the report counts restricted pages without naming them.
- Add a line to the admins' audit log.
Pages look empty until step 7 reaches them, and restricted pages keep their neutral title until then. Wait until the job shows done before you edit the new space.
The copied pages are created by the person who ran the copy, and their page history starts fresh. Page versions written by the copy carry the note "Copied by Spacewright".
Progress, cancel and resume
- Jobs tab: lists your last 30 copies and dry runs (site admins see everyone's). Open one to see its status, current step and progress bar. The bar is an estimate. A job and its details are deleted 30 days after it ends; the report page in the new space stays.
- Large spaces are copied in slices of about 10 minutes each. Spacewright starts the next slice by itself.
- When Confluence asks apps to slow down (rate limits), the copy pauses and continues by itself.
- An item that fails three times is skipped and listed in the report; the rest of the copy goes on.
- A copy that has not moved for 20 minutes is restarted by an hourly check. You can also press Resume if stuck. Before it redoes a step, Spacewright looks for what it already created, so resuming does not make duplicate pages.
- Cancel stops the copy before its next step. Whatever was already created stays: the new space and its pages are not deleted, and no report is written. Delete the new space in Confluence if you do not want it.
- Two copies at a time: on one site, at most two copies run at once. Others wait their turn.
After the copy
- Open the report from the job (Open the copy report) and check the sections Not copied, Failed and Links that could not be switched. Whiteboards, databases and smart links listed under Not copied are still in the source space; add them to the new space by hand if you need them.
- The new space is an ordinary Confluence space. Spacewright does not keep it in sync with the source space.