Confluence 8.9 beta release notes
Development releases are not production ready. Development releases are snapshots of the ongoing Confluence development process. While we try to keep these releases stable, they have not undergone the same degree of testing as a full release, and could contain features that are incomplete or may change or be removed before the next full release.
No upgrade path. Because development releases represent work in progress, we cannot provide a supported upgrade path between development releases, or from any development release to a final release. You may not be able to migrate any data you store in a Confluence development release to a future Confluence release.
Atlassian does not provide support for development releases.
Issues with this development release?
Please raise an issue to tell us about it.
Highlights of 8.9.0-rc1
Released 25 March 2024
Contains:
- Minor bug fixes
Highlights of 8.9.0-beta2
Released 19 March 2024
This Confluence release supports only Data Center licenses. If you have a Server license, check out your options for upgrading.
Macro search improvements
For: END USERS
Thanks to a more effective algorithm, macro search now delivers more accurate results, reducing time spent scrolling through irrelevant macros, and increasing your productivity!
This change has been made to both inline macro suggestions and the macro modal accessed through the editor toolbar. We're confident this update will streamline your workflow, and we look forward to your feedback.
Seamlessly copy links to comments
For: END USERS
With our latest design enhancement, sharing comment links has never been easier. The link location is now more visible, with just one click required.
Hover your cursor over a comment date to display the link icon, then click on it. This will copy the link URL to your clipboard., so you can conveniently paste the link to share it wherever it’s needed.
See Links for more information.
Customize your profile pic!
For: END USERS and ADMINS
Modify and refresh your profile picture as often as you like. Previously, only admins could delete profile pictures, and users were unable to rotate images when uploading a new profile picture. Now users can rotate uploaded images, choose to set an initials avatar, and are also empowered to delete their own profile photos without involving an Administrator.
Explore all profile picture options.
Resize images in a flash
For: END USERS
You can now resize an image by using the drag handle, located on the sides of the image. Your image will proportionally grow as you drag the handle away from your image, and shrink when you drag it in the other direction.
You can still resize using our existing range of toolbar options, such as precise pixel width — if you’re more a numbers person.
Screenshot: animation showing an image being dragged to resize.
More accessibility improvements
For: END USERS
We have continued to address accessibility issues in this release, with a new color palette for text and table background colors, and improved keyboard shortcut support when creating content in pages and blogs, including inserting links and files. Keyboard navigation improvements have also been made in Team Calendars, the space sidebar and when managing watchers.
See the list of resolved tickets for further information.
Updated editor color palettes
For: END USERS
In preparation for the release of dark theme, we’ve updated the text color and table cell background color palettes to use design tokens. These updated palettes now use colors that also improve accessibility contrast.
As a result of this change, once dark theme is released in the coming months, all colors in the editor will be converted to match the updated color palettes. That means you will no longer be able to customize these palettes using the temporary workaround.
Tighten security with websudo allowlists
For: ADMINS
Configure and enable your own Confluence allowlist for websudo commands. This additional layer of security means that certain superuser operations can be performed only from pre-approved IP addresses or subnets.
This feature is deactivated by default. Discover how to activate it here.
Upgrade notes
Hazelcast updated for better performance
This release contains an upgrade to Hazelcast IMDG 5.3.6 as part of our focus on keeping Confluence Data Center secure and up to date. This recent upgrade enhances our platform by improving JMX metrics, which translates to more efficient garbage collector operations, and optimized memory consumption. This version does not support rolling upgrades (ZDU).
Some customers who use Windows may experience a conflict between Confluence and Active Directory (dns.exe) both trying to use port 54327. If this happens, exclude the port from the port range.
Follow the steps on our troubleshooting page for full details.
Advance notice: OpenSearch opt-in feature for Confluence
A reminder that we’re working to introduce OpenSearch as an opt-in feature in a future Confluence Data Center release. OpenSearch is a search tool that provides the same front-end search experience as our current search tool, Lucene. You can use one or the other, but not both at the same time. OpenSearch will provide more advanced indexing options leading to less processing requirements.
While we work on this change, make sure you keep checking the OpenSearch upgrade guide for updates and any deprecation information to ensure a smooth transition, if you decide to opt in.
Supported platforms changes
End of support for PostgreSQL 12
As previously announced, PostgreSQL 12 is no longer supported.
Advance Notice: End of support for Java 11
Confluence 8.9 will be the last release to support Java 11.
Java 11 will not be supported in Confluence 9.0 and later versions.
For more information on these notices, see End of Support Announcements for Confluence.
See full list of supported platforms
Infrastructure changes
Confluence 8.9 contains changes that may affect apps. Head to Preparing for Confluence 8.9 to find out how these changes will impact app developers.