Links point to the old space after copying Confluence pages
Short answer: a copied page keeps pointing wherever its links pointed, unless Confluence knows the target was copied too. That happens reliably only when all the pages are duplicated together in one operation. Full addresses typed into the text, and macros that name a space or page, are the usual leftovers. Check them with the list below.
Why it happens
| Cause | What you see |
|---|---|
| Pages were copied one at a time, or in several separate operations | Links between them open the original pages. Users on Atlassian Community report that duplicating the whole tree at once keeps those links pointing at the copies. |
Links were pasted as full addresses (…/wiki/spaces/OLD/pages/…) | Users report these stay as typed after copies and moves. |
| Macros name a page or space: Include page, Excerpt include, Page tree, Children display with a chosen parent | The macro still shows content from the source space. |
| Reports use a query with the old space: Content by label, Page properties report | The report lists the template's or source's pages, not the new ones. |
| "Create from template" buttons | They may still use a template from the source space. |
| Links from other spaces into the source | Unchanged, and that is correct: the source still exists. |
Check a copied space in ten minutes
- Sample links. On the home page and two or three deep pages, hover over or open internal links. The address should contain the new space key.
- Open every page with a reporting macro. Edit Content by label and Page properties report macros and look at the space and label settings.
- Open pages that include other pages. Include page and Excerpt include should point at pages in the new space.
- Look at page trees. A Page tree or Children macro with a fixed root should show the new space's pages.
- Search the new space for the old space's name and key. This finds places where they appear as text, such as hand-typed references.
- Try "Create from template" buttons, if the space has any.
How to fix what you find
- A few links: edit them by hand. In the link dialog, search for the page in the new space rather than pasting an address.
- Many links between pages: it is often faster to delete the copied pages and duplicate the whole tree again in one operation (steps). A Community Champion's advice in the thread below is to empty the target space and purge its trash before you copy again.
- Macros: edit each macro and choose the page or space again. A Content by label or Page properties report macro needs its space setting changed.
- Bulk changes: some Marketplace apps offer find and replace across many pages, with a preview. Use the preview: a wrong replace across a space is hard to undo.
- After moving content between two sites: Atlassian Administration has a link-fixing tool for data transferred between Cloud sites. It is for cross-site transfers, and only for a limited time after them.
To avoid the problem next time: link pages with Confluence's link tool rather than pasted addresses, keep a space under one home page, and copy it in one operation.
Where Spacewright helps
Spacewright, our app, switches links while it copies a space: page and blog post links, anchors, attachment links, smart links, page addresses, short links, and the space or page settings of Children, Page tree, Include page, Excerpt include, Content by label and Page properties report. Anything it cannot switch stays as it was and is listed in the copy report under Links that could not be switched, with the page and the reason, so you know exactly what to fix.
It does not yet switch links inside draw.io or Gliffy diagrams, Jira macros, other apps' macros that name a page by its title, or sidebar shortcuts, and it leaves links from other spaces alone on purpose. The full list is in Links Spacewright does not switch yet.
Sources
- Atlassian Community: Broken links when copying pages from one space to another (Jan 2026)
- Atlassian Community: Broken link on page when copying the space
- Atlassian Community: How do you copy a whole space in Confluence Cloud? (Oct 2026)
- Atlassian: Resolve broken links after transferring Confluence data (cross-site)
- Atlassian: Move, copy, and hide content items