Troubleshooting Problems and Requesting Technical Support

Scanning your Confluence Logs to Match Known Issues

Confluence provides an inbuilt log scanner that will check your Confluence logs for errors and attempt to match them against known issues in our knowledge base and bug tracker.

The log scanner is known as Hercules, or the Atlassian support bot. It uses a set of patterns that we have discovered in our knowledge base and issue tracker.

To use the Confluence log scanner:

1. Log in as a user with Confluence Administrator or System Administrator permissions.
2. Choose the cog icon  at top right of the screen, then choose Confluence Admin.
3. Choose 'Atlassian Support Tools' in the left-hand panel.
4. Choose the 'Log Scanner' tab.
5. Choose 'Scan' to scan the Confluence log file in its default location, or change the location if necessary then choose 'Scan'.
6. The log scanner will return a list of links, pointing to articles in our knowledge base and/or bug reports in our issue tracker.
   • The latest-reported problems are displayed first. By default only the most recent 10 matches are displayed. If you have more than 10 matches and want to display all results, click the 'Show All' link that appears on the top of the results page.
   • Choose a link to read the reported problem and possible solutions or workarounds.

Screenshot: The log scanner

Raising a Support Request with a Plugin Author

If you have a plugin-related issue, please check whether the plugin is supported by Atlassian or by the plugin developer.

• Visit the plugin's home page in the Atlassian Marketplace.
• Check the 'Supported By' entry under the version information on the right side.
• If the plugin is not supported by Atlassian, you need to contact the plugin author directly.

You can read more about Atlassian support for plugins.

Raising a Support Request with Atlassian

There are two ways to raise a support request with Atlassian:

• Method 1: (Recommended) Complete the support request form via your Confluence Administration Console, as described below. A possible problem with this method is that your mail may not be forwarded correctly, due to restrictions imposed by your mail server. For example, the zip of your log files might be too large for your mail server to forward.
• Method 2: Raise a support request via our support site on the Internet, as described below. Create a support zip file via your Confluence Administration Console, as described below, and attach the zip file to the support request.

Method 1: Using the Support Request Form via the Confluence Administration Console

The advantage of this method is that it is convenient. The disadvantage is that your mail may not be forwarded correctly due to a problem (for example, the zip file is too large) or due to a security restriction on your mail server.

You can also use this method to append system information to an existing support request.

To submit a support request via the Confluence Administration Console:

1. Log in as a user with Confluence Administrator or System Administrator permissions.
2. Choose the cog icon  at top right of the screen, then choose Confluence Admin.
3. Make sure that SMTP email is set up on your Confluence site and your mail server allows zip files.
4. Choose 'Atlassian Support Tools' in the left-hand panel.
5. Choose the 'Support Request' tab.
6. Provide as much information as possible, following these guidelines:
   • 'Contact Email' – This will default to the email address of the logged-in user.
     Note: This email address will be used to find your support account on the Atlassian Support System. If no matching account is found, a new account will be created. Confluence will also send all further notifications and updates to this address.
   • 'Summary' – Enter a short and meaningful description of the problem.
   • 'Description' – Enter as much information as possible, including any error messages that are appearing and any steps the support team can take to reproduce the problem.
7. In the section titled 'Support Data to Attach', select the types of additional information you would like to be included in a zip file that will be attached to your support request.
8. Choose the 'Send' button.
9. Confluence will submit your request via email to the Atlassian support site. If you do not already have a support account, Confluence will automatically request one for you. The submitted request will include all the system and environment information which you see on the support request form. It will also include a zipped copy of your Confluence log file. Refer to Working with Confluence Logs for information about the log files.
   Log files can be very big. It is possible that your email server may bounce the message if it is too large. With the default log4j configuration, the log file could be up to 20Mb in size. If you have customised the log settings, the maximum size could be even larger. Please check whether the email message has been successfully sent, and consult your email administrator if you need special provisions for this email message.
10. Once you have submitted your support request, you will receive email updates about its progress. These emails will give you the support request number.

You can view the status of your support request and add any additional information required by visiting the Atlassian Support System at any time.

Screenshot: The support request form on the Confluence Administration Console

Method 2 Raising a Support Request via the Internet

If your Confluence instance is not configured with SMTP mail or your Confluence instance is not running, you can raise a support request via the Atlassian Support System on the Internet.

To raise a support request via the Internet:

1. If you do not already have a free Atlassian support account, create one here.
2. Log in to https://support.atlassian.com and select 'Create New Issue'.
3. Lodge a detailed description of your problem in the new support request.
4. Fill in all applicable information about your system, such as application server, database, etc.
5. If Confluence is running, go to the 'System Information' screen in your Administration Console and copy the text of your system information into the request.
6. Create a support zip file, as described below to attach to the request. If your instance does not start up, refer to Working with Confluence Logs for information about the log files.
7. If your problem concerns user management or performance, please take a look at the additional requirements in Requesting Support for External User Management or Requesting Performance Support.
8. Once your request is lodged, wait to be notified by email of updates.

Creating a Support Zip File via the Confluence Administration Console

We recommend that you attach a support zip file to every interaction with the Atlassian support team. You can use this method to append system information to an existing support request. The tool described below will also dump your system information to the logs before zipping them.

To create a support zip file via the Confluence Administration Console:

1. Log in as a user with System Administrator or Confluence Administrator permissions.
2. Go to the Administration Console and choose 'Atlassian Support Tools' under 'Administration' in the left-hand panel. Choose 'Support Zip'. Ensure that everything is checked, then choose the 'Create' button.
3. Confluence will create the support zip file and display its location on the screen. Log in to the Confluence server to retrieve the file.
4. Attach the zip file to the support case you raised on our support system, as described above.

Screenshot: Creating a support zip file

Logging a Bug Report

If you have found a bug, the easiest way to report it is to:

• Create numbered instructions on how to reproduce the bug.
• Log it as a support request, as described above.
• The Atlassian support team will confirm your bug and lodge a bug report.

Alternatively, you can check to see if anyone else has reported the bug, then log a bug report yourself.

To log a bug report:

1. Go to the Confluence issue tracker.
2. Type keywords for your problem into the search box on the left under 'Query'.
3. Choose 'Search' to find any existing bug reports that match your problem.
4. Read through the summaries of the bugs shown. If any summary describes your problem, you may wish to set a watch to be notified of updates.
5. If there are no existing bug reports that match your problem, log the new bug in the issue tracker. Include information on how to duplicate the problem.

6. Sometimes it may be useful to include the result of the 500 error page, which you will find at this location:

   https://<domain><host>:<port>/500page.jsp

7. Once your issue is lodged, wait to be notified by email of updates.