Confluence Markdown Bridge

Confluence Markdown Bridge is built for teams stuck with the on-prem Confluence wiki editor.

Instead of fighting the editor, you write and maintain your pages in Markdown, convert them to Confluence Wiki markup, and import them through Insert > Markup.

If you do not want an intermediate .wiki file, you can also copy the generated Confluence Wiki markup directly to the clipboard from VS Code.

For existing pages, you can export the Confluence page as .doc, convert that export back to Markdown, make your changes locally, and convert the result back to Confluence Wiki markup for re-import.

The goal is simple: keep your real editing workflow in Markdown and use Confluence only as the publishing target.

Why this extension exists

The on-prem Confluence editor can be slow, awkward, and frustrating for structured content.

This extension gives you a cleaner workflow:

• Write new pages in Markdown.
• Convert Markdown to Confluence Wiki markup.
• Paste the result into Confluence via Insert > Markup.
• Export existing Confluence pages as .doc.
• Convert those .doc exports back to Markdown.
• Edit the page comfortably in VS Code.
• Convert the updated Markdown back to Confluence Wiki markup and import it again.

No more editing large pages directly in the Confluence wiki editor.

Core workflows

1. New page: Markdown to Confluence

1. Write your page in Markdown.
2. In VS Code, run Markdown to Confluence Wiki: Convert File or Markdown to Confluence Wiki: Copy to Clipboard.
3. If you used Convert File, open the generated .wiki file and copy its contents.
4. If you used Copy to Clipboard, the markup is already in your clipboard.
5. In Confluence, use Insert > Markup.
6. Select Confluence Wiki.
7. Paste the generated markup.

2. Existing page: Confluence export back to Markdown

1. Export the existing Confluence page as .doc.
2. In VS Code, run Confluence DOC to Markdown: Convert File.
3. Edit the generated Markdown file.
4. Run Markdown to Confluence Wiki: Convert File.
5. Re-import the generated .wiki file through Insert > Markup.

What it converts

• Confluence .doc export -> Markdown
• Markdown -> Confluence Wiki markup

The .doc input is expected to be a Confluence export, not a generic Word document. These files are typically MHTML/HTML-backed exports and are handled accordingly.

Commands

• Markdown to Confluence Wiki: Convert File
• Markdown to Confluence Wiki: Copy to Clipboard
• Confluence DOC to Markdown: Convert Current File
• Confluence DOC to Markdown: Convert File

Markdown to Confluence Wiki: Copy to Clipboard is the fastest path when you want to paste directly into Confluence without keeping a .wiki export file.

Legacy Markdown to DOC command paths still exist in the codebase for regression purposes, but they are not the main documented workflow of this extension.

Requirements

• pandoc is required for Confluence .doc export -> Markdown
• Markdown -> Confluence Wiki does not require pandoc

Settings

This extension currently does not require any user-facing settings for the main workflow.

• Markdown to Confluence Wiki writes the .wiki file next to the source Markdown file.
• Confluence .doc or .docx to Markdown writes the generated .md file next to the source document.
• If pandoc is needed, the extension expects it to be available on your system path.

Notes for Confluence on-prem

• Markdown works well for headings, lists, links, images, blockquotes, fenced code blocks, tables, and common inline formatting.
• Tables are more reliable when converted to Confluence Wiki markup before import.
• Empty table cells are emitted in a Confluence-friendly way for on-prem import workflows.
• Raw HTML colors like <span style="color:red">Text</span> and <u>underline</u> are converted when they appear in the Markdown source.
• Confluence-specific macros and the full long tail of wiki syntax are intentionally not covered yet.

Summary

Confluence Markdown Bridge lets you treat Markdown as your source of truth and Confluence on-prem as the final destination.

Write in Markdown. Convert when needed. Import into Confluence. Avoid the editor pain.