How to clear the apps (plugins) cache in Confluence Data Center
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the Data Center platform.
Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Summary
If the Confluence apps cache gets out of sync or corrupted, it can cause your apps to stop working correctly. This can affect the performance and stability of Confluence Data Center.
Important: Do not delete the cache directories while Confluence is running. Doing so will corrupt the OSGi state and may leave the plugin system in an unrecoverable state. Always shut down Confluence on the node first before deleting any directories listed below.
Solution
Steps to clear the apps cache
Repeat these steps on each node, one by one.
Shutdown Confluence.
Ensure the user running Confluence has full read/write privileges to the confluence-home directory.
Delete the following directories in the Confluence home directory:
This will remove the app cache files only and will not permanently remove any apps. These directories will be recreated during the next Confluence startup. However, some third-party apps may store metadata in these directories, so we recommend creating a temporary backup of the directories.
<confluence-home>/bundled-plugins<confluence-home>/plugins-cache<confluence-home>/plugins-osgi-cache<confluence-home>/plugins-temp<confluence-home>/bundled-plugins_language(in recent Confluence versions, you may not see this directory. It's safe to skip.)
Start Confluence
When all nodes are done, you can optionally reset all Confluence apps back to their default state through the database if any of the apps are still generating lots of log errors or are not working correctly.
Note for Helm Chart or Kubernetes deployments: If you are running Confluence in a containerized environment, verify that your deletions are made on the persistent volume mounted at the Confluence home directory, not on an ephemeral filesystem layer that would be reset on pod restart. Otherwise, the cache directories will simply be recreated from the container image on the next startup, and the cache clear will have no effect.
Additional Steps for Migration Issues:
Re-authenticate your cloud site by selecting 'Change Account' in the Migration Assistant and logging in again.
Create a new migration plan after clearing the cache.
Verification
After Confluence has started, verify that the cache clear was successful:
Check the application log: tail atlassian-confluence.log and look for the line: Plugin system started This confirms the OSGi framework loaded successfully after the cache clear.
Check Manage apps in the UI: Navigate to Administration → Manage apps and confirm: All apps display as "Enabled" No apps show a "Failed" or error badge No unexpected apps appear as disabled
Functionally test the affected app
For the specific app that triggered the cache clear, exercise its primary functionality — for example, render its macros on a page, open its admin configuration page, or call its REST endpoint. Confirm that the original issue is no longer present.
When this won't help
Clearing the apps cache addresses issues with the OSGi runtime state and the plugin framework cache. It will not help in the following scenarios:
If the app appears installed and enabled in UPM but its data is corrupted or missing (for example, the app's macros render but show wrong data), the issue is in the app's own database tables — not in the cache. Cache clearing will not fix this. Refer to the app's vendor documentation for data recovery, or contact the vendor's support team.
If the same app continues to fail on all nodes even after clearing the cache and reinstalling the app fresh, the issue is most likely in the app itself (incompatibility with the Confluence version, a vendor bug, or a missing dependency). Contact the Marketplace vendor with the support zip and the relevant error logs.
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