# How to Export Confluence to Obsidian (With Wikilinks)

# How to Export Confluence to Obsidian (With Wikilinks)

Confluence and Obsidian serve different needs. Confluence is where teams collaborate on documentation. Obsidian is where individuals build a personal knowledge base, connect ideas, and think in networks of linked notes.

If you use both, you've probably felt the friction: Confluence content doesn't transfer cleanly to Obsidian. Copy-pasting loses formatting. Downloading HTML is useless. Internal links between pages become broken references.

[Markdown Exporter for Confluence](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/102037374) solves this with a dedicated **Obsidian mode** that converts Confluence page links to `[[wikilinks]]` automatically.

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## The Problem With Standard Confluence Export

Confluence's built-in export options are HTML and PDF. Neither works with Obsidian:

- **HTML** — Obsidian doesn't render HTML as notes. You'd need to strip tags manually.
- **PDF** — read-only, not searchable in Obsidian's graph, and not linkable.

Even if you extract text, internal links (`[See also: Architecture Overview](/wiki/spaces/PROJ/pages/...`) become long URLs that Obsidian doesn't recognise as note links. Your knowledge graph breaks.

---

## What Obsidian Mode Does

When you enable Obsidian mode in Markdown Exporter, every internal Confluence page link is converted to `[[Page Title]]` format:

**Before (standard export):**
```markdown
See the [Architecture Overview](https://yoursite.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PROJ/pages/123456/Architecture+Overview) for context.
```

**After (Obsidian mode):**
```markdown
See the [[Architecture Overview]] for context.
```

Obsidian resolves wikilinks by note title, so as long as the referenced page is in your vault, the link works — and shows up in the graph view.

---

## Step-by-Step: Export Confluence to Obsidian

### Step 1 — Install Markdown Exporter

Install [Markdown Exporter for Confluence](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/102037374) from the Atlassian Marketplace. It requires Confluence Cloud and takes about 30 seconds to install.

### Step 2 — Open the Exporter

Navigate to the Confluence page or space you want to export. Click **•••** (More actions) → **Export to Markdown**. For a full space, open it from the **Apps** menu in global navigation.

### Step 3 — Enable Obsidian Mode

In the export options panel, toggle **Obsidian Wikilinks** on. This switches internal link output from standard Markdown links to `[[Page Title]]` format.

### Step 4 — Configure YAML Front Matter (Optional)

Enable **YAML front matter** to include metadata at the top of each exported note:

```yaml
---
title: Architecture Overview
author: Jane Smith
date: 2026-04-23
space: PROJ
confluence_id: "123456"
---
```

This is useful if you use Obsidian plugins like Dataview to query note properties, or if you want to track which Confluence page each note came from.

### Step 5 — Select Scope and Export

Choose your scope:
- **Single page** — exports one `.md` file
- **Page tree** — exports a parent page and its children as a structured ZIP
- **Full space** — exports everything in the space as a ZIP with folder hierarchy

Use the in-tree search to find specific pages if you only need a subset.

### Step 6 — Add to Your Obsidian Vault

Extract the ZIP into a folder inside your Obsidian vault. Obsidian will immediately index the notes. If you enabled wikilinks mode, the internal links between pages will resolve — and they'll appear in the graph view.

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## What the Export Preserves

| Content Type | Obsidian Output |
|---|---|
| Headings | `#`, `##`, `###` |
| Bold / Italic | `**bold**`, `*italic*` |
| Tables | Standard Markdown tables |
| Code blocks | Fenced with language tag |
| Lists | Ordered and unordered |
| Images & attachments | Downloaded, referenced with relative paths |
| Internal page links | `[[Page Title]]` wikilinks |
| External links | Standard `[text](url)` |
| Info / warning panels | Blockquotes |

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## Tips for Obsidian Users

**Use a dedicated folder.** Keep your Confluence imports in a subfolder like `confluence/` so they don't mix with your personal notes. You can still link across folders.

**Sync regularly with a script.** If your team's Confluence content changes often, set up a regular export and overwrite the vault folder. Links won't break as long as page titles stay the same.

**Combine with Dataview.** If you include YAML front matter, you can build Dataview queries over your Confluence notes — e.g. all pages in a specific space, or notes modified after a certain date.

**Check complex macros.** Most Confluence content converts cleanly. Heavily customised layouts or third-party macros may need a quick review after export.

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## Getting Started

Install [Markdown Exporter for Confluence](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/102037374) free from the Atlassian Marketplace.

Full documentation is at [/docs/markdown-exporter-for-confluence](/docs/markdown-exporter-for-confluence).

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_Questions? Reach out via our [support portal](https://yamuno.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals)._