Copy a space in Confluence Cloud after moving from Data Center
Short answer: Confluence Data Center has a built-in Copy Space. Confluence Cloud does not: the request for it, CONFCLOUD-3191, is open with 883 votes. In Cloud you create a new space and duplicate the page tree into it, or use a Marketplace app. None of the Cloud routes keeps comments, page history or the original authors, which Data Center's Copy Space could keep.
What Copy Space did in Data Center
In Data Center you open Space tools → Overview → Copy Space. You need to be a Confluence or space administrator and have the Create space permission. According to Atlassian's Data Center documentation:
- What to copy: pages and blog posts, pages only, blog posts only, or only the space settings.
- Content options: watchers, existing authors and dates, comments, attachments and labels.
- Copied by default: space description, permissions, space templates, look and feel, archived status, restrictions, sidebar and shortcut links, and mentions.
- Not copied: drafts, page and blog post history, likes, comments on attachments, favourites, Team Calendars, and data from third-party apps.
- Limits: one space at a time, on the same instance only, up to 2,000 pages per branch of the page tree, and a copy cannot be cancelled once it starts.
Copy Space comes with Data Center rather than being an app your team chose, so it is easy to leave off the list of things to replace. Add it to your migration checklist under built-in features, and ask teams whether they use it, for example to start a new project space from an old one or to rehearse a restructure on a copy.
What Confluence Cloud offers today
No whole-space copy
CONFCLOUD-3191 "Easily create a copy of an entire space" was created in 2005. On 3 November 2026 its status was Gathering Interest, with 883 votes and 408 watchers. Atlassian's most recent comment on it, from March 2022, gave no time estimate and suggested a Marketplace app, or creating a new space, copying its permissions and duplicating the pages.
Duplicate the page tree (native, any plan)
Create the new space, then open the source space's top page and choose More actions (•••) → Duplicate, pick the new space, and tick Include children. Atlassian's documentation says Duplicate copies attachments, labels and restriction settings, and does not copy comments, version history, watchers or starred status. Blog posts, space permissions and space settings are not part of the page tree. Step by step: how to copy a space in Confluence Cloud. For permissions, see copy space permissions.
Transfer Confluence data (to another site)
Atlassian Administration has Transfer Confluence data, in open beta, for organization admins. Atlassian describes it as moving spaces from one Confluence instance (the source) to another (the destination). It is not described as a way to make a second copy of a space on the same site. Useful if your migration landed content on the wrong Cloud site.
Export and import (a workaround)
Atlassian's knowledge base article How to copy or rename a space in Confluence describes exporting a space, changing its key and importing it again. Atlassian says these workarounds are not directly supported, and asks you to test on a staging site with a backup first. XML space export loses official support in Cloud on 1 December 2026 (details).
Side by side
| Item | Data Center Copy Space | Cloud: Duplicate + Include children | Cloud: Spacewright |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole space in one job | Yes | No: one page tree per operation, into a space you create first | Yes, the space is created for you |
| Pages, attachments, labels | Yes | Yes | Yes (latest attachment version; files over 250 MB are listed as failed) |
| Blog posts | Yes | No | Yes (option, ticked by default) |
| Comments | Optional | No | No |
| Page history | No (latest version only) | No | No |
| Original authors and dates | Optional | No | No: the person who runs the copy is the author |
| Watchers | Optional | No | No |
| Page restrictions | Yes | Yes, if kept ticked | Optional |
| Space permissions | Yes | No | Optional |
| The space's page templates | Yes | No | Yes (option, ticked by default) |
| Description, theme, space settings | Yes | No | Optional (Space look) |
| Logo, colours, sidebar and shortcuts | Look and feel, sidebar and shortcut links: yes (the page does not mention the logo) | No | No |
| Whiteboards and databases | – | Not stated in Atlassian's article | No; each is listed in the dry run and report |
| Links between copied pages | Not stated in Atlassian's page | Users report they point to the copies only when the whole tree is duplicated at once (check) | Switched to the new space; links that could not be switched are listed in the report |
| Personal spaces | Yes | – | No: personal spaces are not offered |
| Cancel a running copy | No | – | Yes; what was already created stays |
| Size limit | 2,000 pages per branch | None stated | No page count limit in the docs; pages over 5 MB and files over 250 MB are listed as failed. Big spaces can take hours. |
How to do it with Spacewright
- Open Spacewright → Copy a space from Confluence's Apps menu and choose the space.
- Enter a name and key for the new space. You need Confluence's own permission to create spaces.
- Choose what to copy: attachments, blog posts and space page templates are ticked by default; page restrictions, space permissions, archived pages and Space look are not.
- Click Dry run first. It creates nothing and shows how many pages, folders, blog posts and attachments would be copied, and lists what cannot be copied.
- Click Copy space. The copy runs in the background; follow it in the Jobs tab.
- When it is done, open the report page in the new space and check Not copied, Failed and Links that could not be switched.
Spacewright copies as the person who starts the copy, so it copies only pages that person can see. Details: Copying a space.
What Spacewright cannot replace
- Comments, page history, watchers and original authors. If a team relied on Data Center's "existing authors and dates" or "comments" options, keep the original space as the record and treat the copy as a fresh start.
- Whiteboards, databases and smart links in the page tree. Apps cannot copy them. They are listed under Not copied; pages inside them are copied.
- Space logo, colours and sidebar. Set them by hand in the new space.
- Other sites, Data Center and Server. Spacewright works only within one Confluence Cloud site. It does not move content from Data Center; use Atlassian's migration assistant for that.
- Keeping copies in sync. The new space is an ordinary space; later changes to the source do not reach it.
Full list: Limits and known gaps. Other Marketplace apps also copy spaces. Test any of them, including ours, on a small space first.
Sources
- Atlassian (Data Center documentation): Copy a Space
- Feature request: CONFCLOUD-3191 Easily create a copy of an entire space (Gathering Interest, 883 votes, 408 watchers on 3 Nov 2026)
- Atlassian: Move, copy, and hide content items (Duplicate and what it copies)
- Atlassian: Transfer Confluence data (between Confluence instances, open beta)
- Atlassian knowledge base: How to copy or rename a space in Confluence
- Atlassian: What migrates with the Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant
- Atlassian: Data Center end of life