Community resources
Community resources
Community resources
Use Case Spotlight: Real‑World Automation Examples to Clean Up and Organize Confluence
Welcome to my first community article!
Lately, I’ve been talking with customers who want cleaner, more trustworthy Confluence spaces but don’t have time for a big cleanup project. The same themes keep popping up: old project pages lingering in sidebars, multiple versions of the “right” page, and a “cleanup day” that never happens because other priorities win.
In this article, I’ll share four quick, low‑risk automations you can use to gradually address those issues by reducing clutter, clarifying what’s current, and helping people get to the right work the first time.
OK, let’s get started!
1. Flag Stale Pages and Notify Authors
Goal: Surface out-of-date content so it can be reviewed, updated, or archived by the author.
Over time, some pages simply fall out of use, but they still show up in search and can create confusion for users. Instead of mass deletion, you can label older pages and notify the people who originally created them so they can decide what to do.
How it works
Use the built-in "Notify people about inactive pages" automation template in Confluence to find older pages and email the page creator for each one.
Set it up
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In your Confluence space, go to Space settings → Automation and look for the Notify people about inactive pages template.
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Click Use template to create a new rule.
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Adjust the inactivity threshold (for example, pages not updated in 6 months) and any filters you care about (space, parent, labels).
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In the Send email action:
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Set the To field to Page creator.
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Keep or lightly customize the subject and message so it asks the author to review, update, or archive the page.
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(Optional) Add an action to Add label (for example, stale-content) to each inactive page so you can build “Stale content” overviews using Content by label or Page Properties Report.
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Turn the rule on, let it run once, and adjust the threshold or filters if the first batch feels too broad or too narrow.
2. Auto‑Archive Old Project Content (While Keeping History Safe)
Goal: Keep navigation and search focused on active work, while preserving history.
Finished projects and past documentation are still useful, but they don’t need to stay in the main tree forever. You can tie archiving to Jira lifecycle events so that when work is wrapped up, its related pages are automatically archived in Confluence.
How it works
When project‑level work is completed in Jira, linked Confluence pages are labeled and moved under an Archive area.
Note: This assumes Jira and Confluence are connected on cloud, the project shows Linked Confluence pages on issues, and you have permission to edit project automation rules and move pages in the target space.
Set it up
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In Jira, open the project that owns the work. Go to Project settings → Automation and create a rule.
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Use a trigger like Issue transitioned → To status = Done (or your final status).
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Add an Issue fields condition so this only runs for project‑level issues (for example, Issue type = Epic or your “Project” issue type).
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Add a Branch rule / related issues → Linked Confluence pages.
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Inside the branch, add actions to:
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Add label (for example, archived) so archived pages are easy to report on or search for later.
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Move page under an “Archive” parent page in the appropriate Confluence space to keep the main page tree focused on current work.
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Test the rule with one epic and its pages first. You can always move pages back if needed or enable it more broadly once you’re happy with the behavior.
3. Keep Confluence Pages in Sync with Jira Status
Goal: Make sure project and incident pages in Confluence match real‑time Jira status.
A common problem: Jira says “Done”, but the Confluence page still looks “In progress”. Instead of relying on manual updates, you can let Jira automation keep Confluence up to date so people always see the current state.
How it works
When Jira issues move through key statuses, automation updates linked Confluence pages with status, labels, and optionally, where they live in the page tree.
Set it up
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In Jira, open the relevant project and go to Project settings → Automation.
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Create a rule with an Issue transitioned trigger, and select the statuses you care about (for example, In Progress, Done, Resolved).
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Add an Issue fields condition to focus on project‑level types (for example, Issue type = Epic, Incident, or your “Project” type).
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Add a Branch rule / related issues → Linked Confluence pages.
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Inside the branch, add actions such as:
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Update Confluence page status (if you use page status).
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Add/remove labels like in-progress, completed, or closed.
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Move page under a “Completed” or “Incident Archive” parent when a final status is reached.
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Test with one issue + page pair, then roll out once you’ve validated the updates.
4. Use Templates + Index Pages to Keep Content Structured
Goal: Make content consistent and easy to find as it grows.
A lot of Confluence sprawl comes from everyone structuring pages differently. Templates plus a small metadata section give you enough structure to build helpful indexes and make related content easier to scan.
How it works
Use a standard template with a Page Properties table, then surface everything that uses that template on an index page with Page Properties Report.
Set it up
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Create a page for your template (for example, a runbook or project template).
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Add a small table at the top with fields like Owner / Team, Status, Last Reviewed, Next Review Date, and wrap it in the Page Properties macro.
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Save the page and either convert it to a template or treat it as a “primary” to copy.
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Add a clear label you’ll use on every page created from this template (for example, project-page).
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Create an index page (for example, “Projects overview”).
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Insert the Page Properties Report macro and configure it to:
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Look in the relevant space
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Filter by that label
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Ask teams to use the template going forward; the index will update automatically as they add pages, giving them a simple way to see all related work in one place.
The examples above are a great starting point because they are easy to test within a single space or project and are all reversible if needed! Start with one “stale page” labeling or a simple template plus an index as a tester, and then expand once the benefits become clear.
Ask for the group: I’d love to hear what you’re observing with your own customers or internal teams. Have you tried any other Confluence or Jira automations to keep content organized? What has worked well, what surprised you, or what are you considering testing next?
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Rachel Morris
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