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Delete a space

To remove a space and all of its content from Confluence, you can send it to the trash.

You must have space admin permissions to send a space to the trash. Members of the confluence-administrators group can also trash spaces, including personal spaces.

Once trashed, a space can only be restored or permanently deleted by a Confluence admin. If you prefer the option of restoring the space yourself later, you can archive it instead.

You may want to create a CSV export of the space as a backup first, to have the option of restoring from the export later.

To send a space to the trash:

  1. Select Space settings from the sidebar of the space you want to trash, then Send space to trash from under the Manage Space section.

  2. Select Send this space to trash.

  3. Confirm you want to Send to trash.
    You can Archive instead or Cancel the process at this point. 

Send a space to the trash from your Space settings.

Trashed spaces

Once a space is sent to the trash, it remains trashed indefinitely until a Confluence admin either restores the space or permanently deletes the space.

Spaces sent to the trash can be restored or deleted from Confluence administration.

You must be a Confluence admin to restore or permanently delete a trashed space.

The space key of a trashed space cannot be reused unless the space is permanently deleted.

Similarly, you cannot create a new personal space immediately after sending a current personal space to the trash. The trashed personal space must be permanently deleted before a new one can be created.

Restore a space 

Restoring a space will immediately return the space and all of its content to Confluence.

To restore a space:

  1. Select Confluence administration ().

  2. From under the Data Management section of Settings, select Trashed spaces.

  3. For the space that you want to restore, select Restore space under Action.

  4. Confirm restoration by selecting OK.

Permanently delete a space

Permanently deleting a trashed space (and all its content) cannot be undone.

To permanently delete a space:

  1. Select Confluence administration ().

  2. From under the Data Management section of Settings, select Trashed spaces.

  3. For the space that you want to delete, select Permanently delete under Action.

  4. Confirm deletion by selecting Delete this space.

Depending on the size of the space, deletion can take up to a few hours. A progress bar will let you know the time elapsed, estimated time remaining, and the percent completed.

Additional Help