The Installation Directory

The 'Confluence Installation directory' is the directory into which the Confluence application files and libraries have been unpacked (unzipped) when Confluence was installed. Confluence does not modify or store any data in this directory. This directory is also sometimes called the 'Confluence Install directory'.

Important Files and Directories

  • 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. See Working with Confluence Logs.

Memory Settings
The file used to edit JAVA_OPTS memory settings will depend on the method used to install Confluence, as well as the operating system used for your installation.

  • Windows Users
    • Confluence — bin/setenv.bat
    • Confluence Installer — wrapperwin32.conf
  • Mac/Linux Users
    • Confluence — bin/setenv.sh
    • Confluence Installer — wrapperosx.conf

The Temp Directory

The temp directory is configured in the Java runtime and some Confluence components write temporary files or lockfiles into this directory.

For EAR/WAR installations typically, this directory is /tmp on Linux systems, or C:\Temp on Windows.

For Standalone installations the temp directory is located in the installation directory as /temp.

To change the location of this directory, start the Java Virtual Machine in which confluence is running with the argument:

-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/your/own/temp/directory.

The Confluence Home Directory

The Confluence Home directory is the folder where Confluence stores its configuration information, search indexes and page attachments. Another term for 'Home directory' would be 'data directory'. We also refer to this as the 'local home directory' in Data Center.

Administrators can expect the Confluence Home Directory to grow quite large in a busy site.

The location of this directory is configured by the system administrator during installation (see confluence-init.properties above).  If your Confluence instance is clustered, you will also have a shared home directory which will contain some data (such as attachments and backups) that would otherwise reside in the home directory.

Important Files and Directories

  • confluence.cfg.xml : Confluence's core configuration file; includes the configuration for connecting to its database.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Database

All other data, including 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 and other important directories. Otherwise, the database management system you are connecting to is responsible for where and how your remaining data is 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).

RELATED TOPICS

Confluence Home and other important directories
Confluence Installation Directory
Embedded HSQLDB Database
Database Configuration

 

  • No labels

Except where otherwise noted, content in this space is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia License.