Automation basics
Understand the general concepts and best practices of automation in Atlassian cloud products.
Create automation rules in Confluence
Automation is available in Confluence Premium and Enterprise.
Rules are automated workflows constructed in an “If This, Then That” format.
Each rule is made by combining different types of components: triggers, conditions, branches, and actions. Think of components as the building blocks of a rule. (If you’ve used automation in other non-Atlassian products, you may have also seen this described as the ingredients that make a recipe.)
Navigate to automation
To create a rule, administrators will first need to navigate to Confluence automation in the location where the rule will function:
Site admins and Confluence admins can create and enable rules that function across Confluence in Global automation.
Space admins can create and enable rules for individual spaces in Space automation.
While you may not think of yourself as an administrator, if you have a personal space you’re an admin of your space!
To navigate to Global automation:
Only site admins and Confluence admins can view Global automation.
Select the wheel icon () in the top-right corner to open Confluence administration.
Find Admin tools in the left-hand navigation.
Select Automation.
To navigate to space automation (space admins):
Only space admins can view Space automation.
Go to the space where you’d like to create a rule.
From the sidebar, select Automation.
Select Rules from the Automation card.
To access space Automation from a page (space admins):
Go to a space where you're an admin.
Open a page in view mode.
On the top right toolbar, select the lightning bolt icon or press a.
If you don’t see Automation in Confluence administration or Space settings, this might be why:
You're on the Space Overview page, a whiteboard, or a database. The automation icon appears only on pages in view mode.
You’re not an admin of the space you’re in (for Space automation).
You’re not a site admin or Confluence admin (for Global automation).
Your team has Cloud Standard or Cloud Free – automation is a premium feature in Confluence.
Once you’re in Global automation or Space automation, there are two ways to create rules:
Start with a template
Create a rule from scratch in the rule builder
Create a rule from a template
A rule template functions similarly to a page template: It provides a starting point with appropriate components pre-selected and arranged in the rule chain on the left.
To create a rule from a template:
Select the automation Templates tab.
Select a rule template.
(Optional) Rename the rule and configure the rule details.
You can also do this step later.
Use the rule summary on the left to make edits:
Select each component in the rule chain to see what it does – and to configure it.
Select Add component to add more conditions, branches, or actions.
Select Rule details to change the name and default functionality settings (like Owner and Actor).
When your rule is complete, select the Turn it on button (at the top) to save and enable it.
The rule chain contains the instructions for the rule. Once your rule is enabled, components will run in the order they appear from top to bottom.
Drag and drop to reorder them. Hover and select the X to remove them.
Although the feature allows you to add components in any order, they won’t necessarily work in any order.
After you enable your rule, confirm that it runs successfully by viewing Status in the automation audit log.
When you select Turn it on, your rule will save and you’ll return to the automation Rules tab. The name of your new rule will appear in the rules table, in alphabetical order. When new rules are created, they are enabled by default. If you don’t want your rule to begin running yet, find the row with the name of your rule and toggle the Enabled switch to the off position.
Create a rule in the rule builder
The rule builder is where you can build a new rule from scratch (instead of using a template from the Library). It guides you to add and configure components, starting with a triggering event. Each component you save will appear in a rule chain on the left.
To create a rule in the rule builder:
Select the Create rule button in the top-right of automation.
Select a trigger.
Configure it (if needed) and Save it.
Select the component type (condition, branch, or action) you’d like to add next.
Follow instructions to configure it (if needed) and Save it.
Continue adding components until your rule is complete.
(Optional) Select Rule details to change default functionality settings (like Owner and Actor).
Name your automation rule if you haven’t already.
Select the Turn it on button to save and enable your rule.
The rule chain contains the instructions for the rule. Once your rule is enabled, components will run in the order they appear from top to bottom.
Drag and drop to reorder them. Hover and select the X to remove them.
Although the feature allows you to add components in any order, they won’t necessarily work in any order.
After you enable your rule, confirm that it runs successfully by viewing Status in the automation audit log.
After you name your rule and select Turn it on, you’ll see a confirmation image of a green toggle switch. When new rules are created, they are enabled by default – so you’ll also see the rule’s activity status change from New to Enabled.
If you don’t want your rule to begin running yet, a functional switch in the top right can be toggled to the off position. Alternatively, select Return to list to go back to the automation Rules tab. The name of your new rule will appear in the rules table, in alphabetical order. Find the row with the name of your rule and toggle the Enabled switch to the off position.
Learn more about automation in Confluence.
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