This page last changed on Feb 21, 2011 by smaddox.
 | These instructions apply to:
- The Standalone distribution of Confluence. The Standalone distribution includes Apache Tomcat as the standalone application server. If you want to install an EAR/WAR distribution for deployment on your own existing application server, please refer to the Confluence Installation Guide.
- Mac OS X systems. For other operating systems please refer to the Confluence Installation Guide.
- Installation via a zipped download file. For a simpler installation procedure for evaluation purposes, please consider using the Confluence Installer instead.
- Preparation for a production instance of Confluence.
Also, please check the version of Confluence which you are installing. Refer to the documentation home page to verify the latest Confluence version and to find documentation for older versions. |
On this page:
1. Before you Start
Please check the following points:
- Ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements to run Confluence. For more information, please read the detailed system requirements.
- Have your Confluence license key ready. You can obtain a trial, free or commercial license now, or retrieve your existing license key.
- You must be able to use a command prompt and install Java to continue. If not, please contact your system administrator to assist you or consider the Confluence Hosted evaluation option.
- We recommend that you run Software Update to ensure that your operating system is up to date.
2. Check for the JDK (Java Development Kit)
The jdk is installed on OS X by default. From Applications > Utilities, open Terminal. Run java -version to see if its installed.
3. Download and Unzip the Confluence Installation File
- If you have not downloaded Confluence already, download the Standalone tar.gz file for Macs.
- Create a folder in your user's home folder called 'confluence'. The Confluence application and data will live in two separate folders underneath this folder once you are done.
- Ensure that there are no spaces in the folder name, or in the names of any of its parent folders.
- Find the downloaded tar.gz file in the Finder. Drag it to the confluence directory in your home folder. Double-click on the file to extract it to a directory called confluence-2.7.0-std or something similar.
- Set up an environment variable which tells Confluence where your Java Virtual Machine is installed.
- Inside the Confluence Installation directory, find the bin/setenv.sh file.
- Open the setenv.sh file with TextEdit.
- Add the following line as the first line of the file:
export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/Home
- Save the file.
- Create a new folder named data inside the 'confluence' folder in your user's home folder. This new folder is called the Confluence Home directory.
- Do not put your Confluence Home directory inside the Confluence Installation folder ('confluence-2.7.0-std') or your installation will have problems with upgrades.
4. Define your Confluence Home Directory
Now you need to define the Confluence Home directory. This is where Confluence will store its configuration information, indexes and attachments.
Tip: Another term for 'Home directory' would be 'data directory'.
We suggest using different paths for your installation and home directories. This will facilitate upgrades.
 | Examples of Installation and Home Directories Installation directory: /Users/example/confluence/confluence-2.7.0-std
Home directory: /Users/example/confluence/data |
- Open your Confluence Installation directory (created when you unzipped Confluence — see above).
- Under the Installation directory, find this file: /confluence/WEB-INF/classes/confluence-init.properties
- Open the confluence-init.properties file in a text editor such as Textedit.
- Scroll to the bottom and find this line:
# confluence.home=c:/confluence/data
- Remove the '#' and the space at the beginning of this line, so that Confluence no longer regards the line as a comment. The line should now begin with confluence.home
- Change the Confluence Home directory to the Confluence Home directory you have just created:
- Place the cursor after the '=' sign.
- Find the the Confluence Home directory which you created earlier and drag it to TextEdit. This will insert the full path of the folder into the file.
- Make sure that you did delete the leading '#' character, and that the path after the '=' sign starts with a '/' character. The line should now look something like this:
confluence.home=/Users/example/confluence/data
5. Check the Ports
If you have another application running on your machine which is using the same ports that Confluence uses by default, you may need to change the port which Confluence will use. For example, if you have a Standalone installation of JIRA running on this machine, JIRA might be already using the port which Confluence requests by default.
By default, Confluence listens on port '8080'. If this port is already in use in your installation, follow these instructions to change the ports:
To change the ports for Confluence Standalone, open the file conf/server.xml under your Confluence Installation directory. The first four lines of the file look like this:
You need to modify both the server port (default is 8000) and the connector port (default is 8080) to ports that are free on your machine.
Hint: You can use netstat to identify free ports on your machine. See more information on using netstat on Windows or on Linux.
For example, here are the first four lines of a modified server.xml file, using ports '8015' and '8090':
To access Confluence in this configuration, point your web browser to http://localhost:8090/.
You will find more information on this page.
6. Select an External Database
This step is optional for users evaluating Confluence. However, if you are installing Confluence for production purposes, this step is mandatory. Please refer to the database requirements listed on our System Requirements topic for help in choosing an external database.
External databases are those listed on our Supported Platforms topic, excluding HSQLDB, which is bundled with Confluence and should not be used in production.
When you have chosen your external database, follow the database setup guide for setting up your database to work with Confluence.
You can learn more about migration from an existing installation or use of the evaluation database here. You will continue to use the Database Setup Guide during the Confluence Setup Wizard. (See step 8 below.)
7. Start Confluence
- Go to your Confluence Installation directory (created when you unzipped Confluence — see above).
- Open the bin folder and run OS X - Run Confluence In Background.
- Once Confluence is running, open a web browser and visit http://localhost:8080/.
Hint: If you changed the port earlier, use the port you specified in step 5 above.
8. Next Step is the Confluence Setup Wizard
The Confluence Setup Wizard should appear in your web browser, prompting you to enter your license key. Follow the instructions on the screens, and read more guidelines on the Confluence Setup Wizard.
If the web browser shows an error instead of the Setup Wizard, check the Installation FAQ.
RELATED TOPICS
Change listen port for Confluence Standalone
Running Confluence Over SSL or HTTPS
Confluence Setup Guide
Confluence Configuration Guide
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