Migrate from Confluence to Outline

Export

1. 1

   Step 1

   Export the space

   Use Confluence's space export and take HTML. PDF is fine as a reading copy and a poor import format. Do this while you still have admin on the space.

2. 2

   Step 2

   List the pages people search for

   Most of a Confluence space is stale. Star or list the pages that show up in search, and migrate those first.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Save the attachments

   The HTML export includes files if you choose that option. Check one page that has a screenshot before you assume the rest did.

Import

1. 1

   Step 1

   Create the Outline collection

   Self-host Outline or use the hosted product, and connect the auth provider first. An empty collection with no login is not a migration.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Paste the pages that matter

   Create the page in Outline and bring the text across. There is no claim here of a Confluence importer that keeps the tree, the macros, or the comments.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Fix internal links

   Links that pointed at a Confluence page URL will 404 after you leave. Update the ones in the pages you migrated.

What breaks

• Macros and whiteboards

  Status macros, excerpts, Jira issue lists, and whiteboards do not render in Outline. Replace them with a sentence or a link.

• Permissions

  Space permissions do not export. Set collection membership in Outline. Guests are a new decision, not a copied one.

• The license

  Outline's community edition is Business Source License, not an OSI license. Internal hosting is the allowed use. Do not stand it up as a wiki you sell.