Export API

Start a Markdown export from outside Confluence, such as a CI pipeline, a nightly script or a workflow tool. Send one HTTP request with an API token, and Markdown Exporter exports a page, a page tree or a whole space in the background. The result lands in the token owner's My exports, and can be attached to a Confluence page with people @mentioned there.

This is separate from the REST API, which uses OAuth 2.0 (3LO) and returns the Markdown in the response. The Export API needs no OAuth app: an admin creates a token and you send it in a header.

Because responses are fixed messages and carry no data, a request tells you whether the export started, not where the file is. You find the result in My exports, on the page you attached it to, or in the token's call log.

---

Step 1: Create an API Token

1. Go to Confluence Settings → Markdown Exporter → Export API
2. Enter a name (for example docs-sync) and choose when it expires: 30 days, 90 days, 180 days or 1 year
3. Create the token and copy it now; it's shown only once

Tokens look like mdx.xxxx.xxxx. Store them like passwords, for example as a secret in your CI system.

A token acts as the person who created it. Exports only include pages that person can view, and files can only be attached to pages they can edit.

Step 2: Copy the Endpoint

The endpoint URL is shown on the Export API page. It's specific to your site.

Step 3: Send a Request

curl -X POST 'YOUR_ENDPOINT_URL' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"pageId": "123456", "name": "Engineering docs"}'

A 202 response with "status": "accepted" means the export started.

---

Request Fields

Send either pageId or spaceId, not both. Every other field is optional; options you leave out use the exporter's defaults.

Field	Type	What it does
pageId	string	Numeric ID of the page to export
spaceId	string	Numeric ID of the space to export
includeChildren	boolean	Export the page's descendants too. Default true
output	"zip" or "md"	A ZIP of .md files, or one Markdown file. Default "zip"
name	string	Used in the file name (1 to 100 characters). Default Markdown export
attachments	boolean	Include attachments (ZIP only)
frontMatter	boolean	Add YAML front matter
obsidian	boolean	Write links between pages as [[wikilinks]]
macroStyle	"callout", "blockquote" or "plain"	How panels are written
filenamePattern	string	For example {title}-{date}; must include {title} or {id}
attachTo	string	Numeric ID of a page to attach the file to
mention	array	Up to 10 Atlassian account IDs to @mention on the attachTo page
requestId	string	Up to 128 characters. A repeated requestId starts nothing, so retries are safe

The body can be up to 16 KB.

---

Responses

Status	status	Meaning
202	accepted	The export started
400	invalid-json, invalid-request, missing-scope, mention-needs-page	The body is not valid; the token's call log says which field
401	unauthorized, token-expired	Missing, invalid, expired or revoked token
403	no-edit-access, owner-inactive	The token owner can't edit the attachTo page, or is no longer active
404	not-found	The page or space doesn't exist, or the token owner can't view it
405	method-not-allowed	Use POST
409	duplicate	This requestId was already used
413	payload-too-large	The body is larger than 16 KB
429	rate-limited	More than 30 exports this hour for this token
500	internal-error	Unexpected error; the call log has details

---

Managing Tokens

The Export API settings page lists each token with its expiry date and its recent calls, so you can see why a request was refused. Revoke a token there when you no longer need it.

Export API runs wait in the same line as other background exports and count toward the site's monthly background-export allowance.