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How to delete old page versions in Confluence Cloud in bulk

Every save adds a version to a page's history, and in a busy space that adds up to hundreds of versions per page. Confluence Cloud lets you delete a version, but only one at a time from one page. Here are Atlassian's steps, the point where they stop being practical, and a way to clear old versions across spaces with a preview first.

The short answer

There is no built-in bulk delete for page history in Confluence Cloud. Atlassian's suggestion CONFCLOUD-27701, "Ability to administer number of page versions for a given space or page", was in the status Gathering Interest when checked on 7 November 2026. Its March 2022 update from Atlassian says removing old versions would not be part of the first release of Confluence automation, though it might be considered later.

What you can do without an app: delete versions of a page yourself, one by one, or script the REST API.

Delete one version by hand

Atlassian's article Create, update, and manage written content gives the steps.

  1. Open the page.
  2. Open the page menu and select Version history.
  3. Select Delete next to the version you want to remove.

Three things from the same article change how you plan a clean-up:

  • It is permanent. A deleted version does not go to the trash, so you cannot restore it.
  • Numbers move. After you delete a version, the other versions are renumbered: delete version 2 and version 3 becomes version 2. Re-read the list before each click instead of working from a list you wrote earlier.
  • Permissions apply. Atlassian's article on deleting content says the Delete option shows only if you have permission to delete the item, and page restrictions can also stop you.

For scripters: the REST API

The Confluence Cloud REST API has a DELETE call for one version of a content item, on /wiki/rest/api/content/{id}/version/{versionNumber}; read the content versions section of the API reference for its permissions and limits. A script has to list every page, list every version, choose which to keep and call it once per version, backing off when Atlassian rate limits the calls. Because of the renumbering above, read the version list again after every delete. There is no preview and no undo, so test it on a copy of a space first.

Where doing it by hand stops

  • A space with 300 pages and 40 versions each is 12,000 deletions, each with its own menu and click.
  • Nothing in the steps above says "keep the last 10" or "keep anything from this year". You decide version by version.
  • The articles describe no preview of what a clean-up would remove, and no record of what was removed.

Option: Version Cleaner for Confluence

Disclosure. Atesen Software, which publishes this guide, makes Version Cleaner for Confluence, an Atlassian Forge app on the Atlassian Marketplace. The manual steps above work without it.

  1. Choose the scope. Up to 20 spaces, or up to 100 page links or identifiers with their child pages if you want them. For a space run you can include blog posts.
  2. Set what to keep. Keep the latest 1 to 1,000 versions, keep versions newer than 0 to 3,650 days, or both. When both rules are on, a version is selected only if it breaks both. The current version of a page is never selected.
  3. Run the preview. It lists the affected pages and how many versions would go, and you can download it as a CSV. Nothing is deleted. The preview checks that you are allowed to edit each page, and a page that fails the check is left out.
  4. Confirm. Type DELETE. The deletion runs in the background on Atlassian's infrastructure, oldest eligible version first, and carries on if you close the browser. Before each deletion it reads the page's versions again and applies your rule again. You can stop the remaining work at any time; versions already deleted stay deleted.
  5. Keep a record. Export a CSV of every deleted version: page, version number, author account ID, date, message and deletion time. It holds no page content and is removed after 90 days.
  • Limits. One preview or job covers at most 5,000 affected pages. A page with more than 5,000 versions is skipped. Drafts and trashed content are not scanned. A preview expires after 24 hours.
  • Permanent. The app cannot restore a deleted version, and the CSV is a record of what went, not a backup.
  • Permissions. The permission check happens when the preview is built. The queued deletion runs as the app and does not repeat your permission check, so a change to your access between preview and deletion does not stop an approved job.
  • Where it runs. On Atlassian Forge, with Atlassian-hosted storage and no external network calls.

Price and trial. It is sold through the Atlassian Marketplace, billed by Atlassian, not by us. Preview works without a licence; an active licence is needed to start a deletion. The listing has a free trial button, and its Pricing tab shows the current plans for your user tier. We do not quote a price here because the Marketplace sets it.

See Version Cleaner on the Atlassian Marketplace About Version Cleaner Read the documentation

Which route fits

  • One or two pages: Version history, then Delete.
  • You maintain scripts and can test on a copy: the REST API.
  • Many pages or whole spaces, with a rule such as "keep the latest 10", a preview and a record: an app such as Version Cleaner.

Cleaning up a wiki often also means tidying who can see it. Read how to see all restricted pages in a Confluence space and how to change page restrictions on many Confluence Cloud pages at once.

Atesen Software is independent. Atlassian and Confluence are trademarks of Atlassian, and this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Atlassian. The Atlassian pages and ticket cited here were checked on 7 November 2026; menus and options can change.

Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.