Confluence Cloud XML export end of life: what changes on 1 December 2026
Short answer: from 1 December 2026, XML site export and XML space export in Confluence Cloud reach end of life. They keep working, but Atlassian no longer fixes their bugs, takes support tickets about them or gives an SLA. CSV site and space export stay fully supported on every plan, and Atlassian recommends them instead.
What changes, and what does not
| From 1 December 2026 | |
|---|---|
| XML site and space export | Still work, without support. Use at your own risk. |
| CSV site export | Supported, all plans: Confluence settings → Backup Manager, then CSV. |
| CSV space export | Supported, all plans: Space settings → Export, then CSV. |
| Moving from Cloud to Data Center | Data Center can only restore XML, so CSV cannot be used. Atlassian asks you to contact its support. |
| XML import | Not part of this change, says Atlassian. |
If you use exports as backups
- Choose CSV instead of XML in the same export menus.
- Do one test: export a small space as CSV and import it on a test site, so you know what you get back before you need it.
- Users report that whiteboards and databases do not keep their content through space export and import (CONFCLOUD-79538, CONFCLOUD-77610). If you rely on them, plan another way to keep them.
If you used export and import to copy or template spaces
Some teams copied a space on the same site by exporting it, changing the space key inside the export files and importing it again. Atlassian's knowledge base still describes that route for CSV, but says it is not directly supported or maintained, that link fixing is not supported for it, and that you should test on a staging site with a backup first. With XML losing support, it is a good moment to switch to a route made for the job:
- Native: create the new space and duplicate the source's page tree into it in one operation. It copies pages, attachments, labels and restrictions; not blog posts or space settings. How to copy a whole space.
- For repeated copies of a standard space, see a space for every client or project.
- Between two Cloud sites: use Atlassian Administration's tools for transferring data between sites, not a same-site copy.
Where Spacewright helps, and where it does not
Spacewright, our app, copies a space to a new space on the same site, or creates a new space from a template space, without export files. It is not a backup tool and does not copy between sites, so it does not replace CSV export for backups or migrations. What it copies and what it does not: Copying a space and Limits and known gaps.
Sources
- Atlassian knowledge base: XML Site and Space Export end of life in Confluence Cloud
- Atlassian Community announcement: XML Site and Space Export — End of Life in Confluence Cloud (Jun 2026)
- Atlassian knowledge base: How to copy or rename a space in Confluence (last modified 17 Aug 2026)
- Feature requests: CONFCLOUD-79538 (whiteboards in space export and import), CONFCLOUD-77610 (database data missing after CSV import)