Documentation for Confluence 2.5.4 - 2.5.8.
Documentation for [Confluence Cloud] and the latest Confluence Server is available too. 
This is the directory into which the downloaded Confluence application has been unpacked. Confluence does not modify or store any data in this directory.
Important Files and Directories
confluence/WEB-INF/classes/confluence-init.properties : This file tells Confluence where to find the Confluence Home Directory. This file is modified by the administrator when installing Confluence.
confluence/WEB-INF/classes/osuser.xml : This file is modified when connecting Confluence to an external user management system such as an LDAP server or JIRA instance in Confluence 2.0 and earlier.
confluence/WEB-INF/lib/ : This directory is used when deploying plugins, especially those plugins that cannot automatically be loaded through the Administration Console.
confluence/WEB-INF/classes/log4j.properties :Confluence's logging configuration file.
confluence/WEB-INF/classes/ehcache.xml : This is where you can configure the size of Confluence's internal caches
confluence/WEB-INF/classes/styles/site-css.vm : Confluence's main stylesheet, modify at your own risk
conf/server.xml : SSL configuration.The temp directory is configured in the Java runtime and some Confluence components write temporary files or lockfiles into this directory.
Typically, this directory is /tmp on Unix systems, or C:\Temp on Windows.
To change the location of this directory, you should start the Java Virtual Machine in which confluence is running with the argument:
-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/your/own/temp/directory.
This is the directory in which Confluence stores its configuration information, search indexes, custom decorators and page attachments. Also, if you're using the embedded HSQL database, the database is also stored in this directory. Administrators can expect the Confluence Home Directory to grow quite large in a busy site.
The location of this directory is configured by the Confluence administrator during installation (see confluence-init.properties above).
Important Files and Directories
confluence.cfg.xml : Confluence's core configuration file; includes the configuration for connecting to its database.
default-formatting.properties : Some auxiliary configuration data concerning default number and date formats.
attachments/ : All file attachments in the Confluence site are stored under this directory. This is the only place Confluence keeps attachment files.
backups/ : If Confluence is configured to produce daily backups, these are kept in this directory. Administrators should occasionally delete old or unwanted backups from this directory to prevent it from growing too large.
config/ : Miscellaneous global and per-space configuration files are kept in this directory.
database/ : If Confluence is being run from the embedded HSQL database, the database files will be kept in this directory.
index/ : The full-text search index is kept in this directory. Removing or modifying files in this directory may cause search to no longer function. Rebuilding the search index from Confluence's global administration screen will completely regenerate the contents of this directory.
plugins/ : Dynamically uploaded plugins are stored in this directory. Administrators can install new plugins by copying them into this directory and triggering a scan from the plugin management page.
temp/ : Confluence stores temporary files in this directory, especially during backups and exports. A daily job within Confluence deletes files that are no longer needed.
thumbnails/ : Stores temporary files for image thumbnails. The contents of this directory can be safely deleted, as Confluence will regenerate thumbnails as required.
velocity/ : Storage for customised page layouts, globally and per-space.
All other data - page contents, links, archived mail and so on is kept in the database. If you have configured Confluence to use the embedded HSQL database, the database will store its files under database/ in the Confluence Home Directory. Otherwise, the database management system you are connecting to is responsible for where and how your remaining data is being stored.
Tip
All of Confluence's persistent data is stored either in the Confluence Home Directory, or the database. If you have backup copies of both of these, taken at the same time, you will be able to restore Confluence from them (see Restoring Data from other Backups).
Except where otherwise noted, content in this space is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia License.
