In Confluence Cloud, open the space’s More actions menu, choose Space settings, then go to Content > Hidden. This view lists orphaned and hidden items so you can inspect them. An orphan is a page or live doc with no incoming links; it is not necessarily private or absent from search.
Find the orphaned-pages list
- Open the Confluence Cloud space you want to check.
- In the sidebar, select More actions (•••) next to the space name, then choose Space settings.
- Open Content and select Hidden.
- Review the listed items. The view lets you view, edit, or delete them; choose an action based on each item’s purpose and who should be able to access it.
Atlassian’s Confluence Cloud instructions for moving, copying, and hiding content define an orphan this way: “If you do not have any incoming links, your page or live doc will be an orphan.” The definition is about incoming links, not whether a page appears as a child in the visible content tree.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What the Hidden view does—and does not—mean
Hidden items have been moved to the space’s root level, so people will not find them by browsing the ordinary nested content tree. Hiding does not make a page private: hidden and orphaned items can still appear in search results and can be opened by anyone who has the URL and permission to view them. If your goal is to prevent access, use the appropriate page restrictions, archive, or trash action instead of relying on hiding.
Other ways to investigate a space
| Tool | Useful for | Limits to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Hidden view | The in-product list of orphaned and hidden items to review. | Use it as the primary Cloud location for finding orphans; it is not a privacy control. |
| Content tree macro | A supplementary inventory of a space’s structure, including pages and live docs. | Set the macro’s root to @none to include all pages and live docs in the space, including orphaned items and the overview page. It is not a dedicated orphan list. See Atlassian’s content tree macro instructions. |
| Page analytics | Investigating inbound content links and activity associated with links to an individual page, using its Links tab. | Content insights are available on Standard, Premium, and Enterprise; expanded all-content analytics are limited to Premium and Enterprise. Full-page analytics for sites, spaces, and content have a one-year lookback. For a site migrated from Data Center, analytics data covers only the period after migration completed. See Atlassian’s content insights documentation and analytics documentation. |
| Content manager | Space-admin cleanup in Premium and Enterprise, with filters and bulk actions. | Its Last active filter is not an orphan report. It excludes pages with children as a permission-safety measure because nested content inherits view permissions from its parent by default. Review permission inheritance before moving or bulk-cleaning nested content. See Atlassian’s content manager instructions. |
| Advanced search | Narrowing content by type, date, labels, or pages under a selected item. | It can help locate content but is not Atlassian’s designated Cloud orphan list. See Atlassian’s search instructions. |
Choose what to do with an orphan
No incoming links may mean a page is obsolete, but it can also be intentionally standalone or still valuable to readers who reach it through search, a direct URL, or an external reference. Before changing it, check its purpose, content, permissions, and whether it should be linked from another relevant page. Then edit or move it if it remains useful, or delete it only when you have confirmed it is no longer needed.
#1 Best Overall
Do not use the Data Center SQL procedure for Cloud
Atlassian’s article How to Locate All Orphaned Pages in Confluence is explicitly for Data Center and contains a SQL procedure. It is not a Confluence Cloud workflow; use the Cloud space’s Space settings > Content > Hidden view instead.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #3
- Used Book in Good Condition
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
