Overview
Page Branching adds a byline below the page title on Confluence pages. From there you can create branches, open the branch list, check status, update, merge, compare changes, and delete branches – all without leaving the page.
Branch pages live under a dedicated parent page called Branches in your space, so they stay neatly grouped and out of the way of your main page tree. You can also open the Forge Branches space page from the app navigation to see every active branch in the space.
📷 Screenshot needed: Annotated screenshot of the Page Branching byline on an original page, labelling: branch count, branches menu, status indicator.
Creating branches
You can create a branch from any Confluence page where you have create and edit permission.
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Open the page in view mode.
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Find the Page Branching byline below the page title.
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Click Create branch (or open the branches menu and choose create).
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Enter a branch name and confirm.
You are redirected to the new branch page. Edit it like any other Confluence page – the original page is not changed until you merge.
📷 Screenshot needed: The Create branch dialog with a sample branch name.
Managing branches on the original page
On an original (non-branch) page, the byline shows how many branches exist. Open the branch list to:
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Navigate to a branch
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See branch status at a glance
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Merge or delete a branch
📷 Screenshot needed: The branch list popover on an original page, showing several branches with their status badges.
Working on branches
On a branch page, the byline shows the branch name and the status compared to the original page (for example, up to date or outdated).
From the branch byline you can:
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Update / Sync – pull the latest changes from the original page into the branch
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Merge – apply branch changes to the original page
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Diff – compare the rendered branch and original side by side (see Comparing branches)
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Delete – remove the branch
You can also merge changes from the original page into the branch when you need to align a long-lived branch with the latest content.
📷 Screenshot needed: Branch page byline with the actions menu open (Update, Merge, Diff, Delete) and the status indicator visible.
Space Branches overview
Open the Branches entry in your space (provided by the Page Branching Forge space page) to see every active branch in the space in one table. From there you can jump to a branch or run a Bulk merge on several branches at once. See Bulk Merge.
📷 Screenshot needed: The Branches Forge space page with a table of active branches and the Bulk merge action visible.
Branch permissions
Page Branching uses Confluence’s native permission model. Branch pages inherit access from the space Branches parent page, which keeps things predictable and easy to govern: whoever can see and edit your Branches area can collaborate on branches there.
If you need branches to be visible to a smaller group, simply set page restrictions on the Branches parent or on an individual branch page, just like you would on any other Confluence page.
Attachments and labels
Branch creation and merge focus on page body content – the part you write in the editor. Attachments and labels are managed directly on the original page, where they remain a single source of truth and won’t accidentally be overwritten by a merge.