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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.

On this page:

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 only run on Oracle JDK or AdoptOpenJDK.
Does your Linux server have a font config package installed?
Tell me more...

Many Linux distributions don't include a suitable font config package by default, so you will need to install one before you can run the Confluence installer.

See Confluence 6.13 or later fails with FontConfiguration error when installing on Linux OS for commands to install a suitable package on several popular Linux distributions.

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 Linux 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.
Are ports 8090 and 8091 available?
Tell me more...

Confluence runs on port 8090 by default. If this port is already in use, the installer will prompt you to choose a different port.

Synchrony, which is required for collaborative editing, runs on port 8091 by default. If this port is already in use, you will need to change the port that Synchrony runs on after your Confluence installation is complete. See Administering Collaborative Editing to find out how to change the port Synchrony runs on. You won't be able to edit pages until Synchrony has an available port.

See Ports used by Atlassian Applications for a summary of all the ports used.

Is your database set up and ready to use?
Tell me more...

To run Confluence 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:

Do you have a Confluence license?

Tell me more...

You'll need a valid 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.
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Do you want to store your attachment data on object storage?
Tell me more...

By default, Confluence stores attachments in the home directory (e.g. in a file system).

If your team has large or increasing data sets and requires the ability to scale efficiently, we recommend you use S3 object storage. Amazon S3 is currently the only Confluence-supported object storage solution.

Good to know:

  • Amazon S3 object storage is an optional attachment storage method available to anyone on a Data Center license and running Confluence in AWS.
  • If you're a new customer, see S3 object storage for setup instructions.
  • If you're an existing customer, you'll need to migrate your attachment data to S3 object storage from the file system or another storage method. See Attachment storage configuration for steps to do this.
  • Even if you use S3 object storage, other non-attachment data will still be stored in your home directory.


There’s a known issue during setup where a load balancer (or proxy) pings the server and breaks Confluence installation or migration to Data Center. See CONFSERVER-61189 - Getting issue details... STATUS
During installation, you need to disable load balancer health checks and make sure you don’t open multiple tabs that point to the same Confluence URL.

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 installing Confluence?

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

FontConfiguration error? See Confluence 6.13 or later fails with FontConfiguration error when installing on Linux OS to find out how to install a suitable font configuration package.

Set up Confluence

3. Choose installation type

  1. Choose Production installation. 
      
  2. Choose any apps 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 and connection options. 
     
  2. For MySQL and Oracle, follow the prompts to download and install the required driver.  

  3. Enter your database details.  Use test connection to check your database is set up correctly.

    Advanced setup options...

    If you want to specify particular parameters, you can choose to connect By connection string. You'll be prompted to enter:

    • 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.

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 Management:
 
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 Management 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 Management (formerly 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>

If you plan to run Confluence behind a reverse proxy, check out Proxy and SSL considerations before you go any further. 

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

Troubleshooting

Running into problems installing Confluence?

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

Last modified on Feb 14, 2023

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