Installing Confluence on Linux

Installing Confluence

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In this guide we'll run you through installing Confluence in a production environment, with an external database, using the Linux installer.

This is the most straightforward way to get your production site up and running on a Linux server.

 

 

Other ways to install Confluence: 

  • Evaluation - get your free trial up and running in no time.
  • TAR.GZ – install Confluence manually from an archive file. 
  • Windows – install Confluence on a Windows server.

Before you begin

Before you install Confluence, there are a few questions you need to answer. 

 

Are you using a supported operating system?
Tell me more...

Check the Supported Platforms page for the version of Confluence you are installing. This will give you info on supported operating systems, databases and browsers.

Good to know:

  • We don't support installing Confluence on OSX for production sites.
  • The Confluence installer includes Java (JRE) and Tomcat, so you don't need to install these separately.
  • Confluence can't run on OpenJDK.
Do you want to run Confluence as a service?
Tell me more...

Running Confluence as a service means that Confluence will automatically start up when Windows is started.

If you choose to run Confluence as a service:

  • You must use sudo to run the installer to be able to install Confluence as a service. 
  • The installer will create a dedicated user account, confluence, that will run the service.

If you choose not to run Confluence as a service:

  • You will start and stop Confluence by running the start-confluence.sh file in your Confluence installation directory.
  • Confluence will be run as the user account that was used to install Confluence, or you can choose to run as a dedicated user.
  • Confluence will need to be restarted manually if your server is restarted.
Is your database set up and ready to use?
Tell me more...

To run Confluence in production you'll need an external database. Check the Supported Platforms page for the version you're installing for the list of databases we currently support. If you don't already have a database, PostgreSQL is free and easy to set up.

Good to know:

  • Set up your database before you begin. Step-by-step guides are available for PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, and SQL Server.
  • Use UTF-8 character encoding. See Configuring Character Encoding for more info.
  • If you're using Oracle or MySQL you'll need to download the driver for your database.
  • The embedded H2 database can be used for evaluating Confluence, but you'll need to migrate to another database before running in production. You may find it easier to use external database from the start.

Do you have a Confluence license?

Tell me more...

You'll need a valid Confluence Server license to use Confluence.

Good to know:

  • If you have not yet purchased a Confluence license you'll be able to create an evaluation license during setup.
  • If you already have a license key you'll be prompted to log in to my.atlassian.com to retrieve it, or you can enter the key manually during setup.
  • If you're migrating from Confluence Cloud, you'll need a new license.

 

Install Confluence

1. Download Confluence

Download the installer for your operating system – https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/download

2. Run the installer

  1. Make the installer executable.
     

    Show me how to do this...

    Change to the directory where you downloaded Confluence then execute this command:

    $ chmod a+x atlassian-confluence-X.X.X-x64.bin

    Where X.X.X is is the Confluence version you downloaded.

  2. Run the installer – we recommend using sudo to run the installer as this will create a dedicated account to run Confluence and allow you to run Confluence as a service.
     

    Show me how to do this...

    To use sudo to run the installer execute this command:

    $ sudo ./atlassian-confluence-X.X.X-x64.bin

    Where X.X.X is is the Confluence version you downloaded.

    You can also choose to run the installer as with root user privileges.

  3. Follow the prompts to install Confluence. You'll be asked for the following info:
     
    • Install type – choose option 2 (custom) for the most control. 
    • Destination directory – this is where Confluence will be installed.
    • Home directory – this is where Confluence data like logs, search indexes and files will be stored.
    • TCP ports – these are the HTTP connector port and control port Confluence will run on. Stick with the default unless you're running another application on the same port.
    • Install as service – this option is only available if you ran the installer as sudo. 
  4. Once installation is complete head to http://localhost:8090 in your browser to begin the setup process. 
    (Replace 8090 if you chose a different port during installation). 

 

Trouble starting Confluence?

If you're installing Confluence on a fresh Linux installation see Confluence generates Confluence is vacant error on install for troubleshooting options.

Set up Confluence

3. Choose installation type

  1. Choose Production installation. 
      
  2. Choose any add-ons you'd also like to install.

4. Enter your license

Follow the prompts to log in to my.atlassian.com to retrieve your license, or enter a license key. 

5. Connect to your database

  1. If you've not already done so, it's time to create your database. See the 'Before you begin' section of this page for details. 
     
  2. Select your database from the dropdown menu and choose External Database.
     

  3. Choose how you want to connect to your database:
     

    Direct JDBC connection...

    This option uses a standard JDBC database connection. Connection pooling is handled within Confluence.

    If you're using Oracle or MySQL there's an extra step: 

    • Download and and extract the appropriate Database JDBC Drivers.
    • Drop the JAR file into your <confluence-installation>/confluence/WEB-INF/lib folder before continuing with the setup wizard.

    In the setup wizard:

    • Driver Class Name – the Java class name for your database driver. If you're not sure, check the documentation for your database.
    • Database URL – the JDBC URL for your database. If you're not sure, check the documentation for your database.
    • Username and Password – A valid username and password that Confluence can use to access your database.
    Datasource...

    This option asks the application server (Apache Tomcat) for a database connection. You'll need to manually add the datasource to the server.xml file before you can continue.

    To set up a datasource follow our guide for your database:

    In the setup wizard:

    • Datasource Name – this is JNDI name of the datasource, as configured in the server.xml file.
      Some servers will have JNDI names like jdbc/datasourcename; others will be like java:comp/env/jdbc/datasourcename.

6. Populate your new site with content

Choose whether you'd like Confluence to populate your site with content:
 
Demonstration space...

 This option will create a space that you and your users can use to get to know Confluence. You can delete this space at any time.

Import data from an existing site...

Use this option if you have a full site export of an existing Confluence site. This is useful when you’re migrating to another database or setting up a test site.  

Good to know:

  • You can only import sites from the same or earlier Confluence version.
  • The system administrator account and all other user data and content will be imported from your previous installation.

In the setup wizard:

  • Upload a backup file – use this option if your site export file is small (25mb or less).

  • Restore a backup file from the file system – use this option if your backup file is large. Drop the file into your <confluence-home>/restore directory then follow the prompts to restore the backup.

  • Build Index – we’ll need to build an index before your imported content is searchable. This can take a long time for large sites, so deselect this option if you would rather build the index later. Your content won't be searchable until the index is built.

7. Choose where to manage users

Choose to manage Confluence's users and groups inside Confluence or in a JIRA application, such as JIRA Software or JIRA Service Desk:
 
Manage users and groups in Confluence...

Choose this option if you're happy to manage users in Confluence, or don't have a JIRA application installed.

Good to know:

  • If you do plan to manage users in a JIRA application, but have not yet installed it, we recommend installing JIRA first, and then returning to the Confluence setup.
  • You can add external user management (for example LDAP, Crowd or JIRA) later if you choose.
Connect to JIRA...

 Choose this option if you have a JIRA application installed and want to manage users across both applications.

Good to know:

  • This is a quick way of setting up your JIRA integration with the most common options. 
  • It will configure a JIRA user directory for Confluence, and set up application links between JIRA and Confluence for easy sharing of data.
  • You'll be able to specify exactly which groups in your JIRA app should also be allowed to log in to Confluence. Your license tiers do not need to be the same for each application. 
  • You'll need either JIRA 4.3 or later, JIRA Core 7.0 or later, JIRA Software 7.0 or later, or JIRA Service Desk 3.0 or later.

In the setup wizard:

  • JIRA Base URL – the address of your JIRA server, such as http://www.example.com:8080/jira/ or http://jira.example.com/

  • JIRA Administrator Login – this is the username and password of a user account that has the JIRA System Administrator global permission in your JIRA application. Confluence will also use this username and password to create a local administrator account which will let you access Confluence if JIRA is unavailable. Note that this single account is stored in Confluence's internal user directory, so if you change the password in JIRA, it will not automatically update in Confluence.
  • Confluence Base URL – this is the URL JIRA will use to access your Confluence server. The URL you give here overrides the base URL specified in Confluence, for the purposes of connecting to the JIRA application.
  • User Groups – these are the JIRA groups whose members should be allowed to use Confluence. Members of these groups will get the 'Can use' permission for Confluence, and will be counted in your Confluence license. The default user group name differs depending on your JIRA version:
    • JIRA 6.4 and earlier: jira-users. 
    • JIRA Software 7.x and later: jira-software-users
    • JIRA Core 7.x and later: jira-core-users
    • JIRA Service Desk 3.x and later: jira-servicedesk-users
  • Admin Groups – provide one or more JIRA groups whose members should have administrative access to Confluence. The default group is jira-administrators. These groups will get the system administrator and Confluence administrator global permissions in Confluence.

8. Create your administrator account

Enter details for the administrator account.  

Skip this step if you chose to manage users in a JIRA application or you imported data from an existing site. 

9. Start using Confluence

That's it! Your Confluence site is accessible from a URL like this: http://<computer_name_or_IP_address>:<port>

Here's a few things that will help you get your team up and running:

Troubleshooting

Running into problems installing Confluence?
  • Some anti-virus or other Internet security tools may interfere with the Confluence installation process and prevent the process from completing successfully. If you experience or anticipate experiencing such an issue with your anti-virus/Internet security tool, disable this tool first before proceeding with the Confluence installation.
  • The Linux OOM Killer can sometimes kill Confluence processes when memory on the server becomes too low. See How to Configure the Linux Out-of-Memory Killer.

 Head to Installation Troubleshooting in our Knowledge Base for more help.  

Last modified on Sep 5, 2016

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