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Administering the Atlassian Companion App

Confluence administrator’s guide

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The Atlassian Companion app enables users to edit Confluence files in their preferred desktop application, then save the file back to Confluence automatically.

The download and re-upload of files is managed by the Atlassian Companion app, which needs to be installed on each user’s machine (not in the Confluence installation directory) to enable file editing.

On this page:

Download and install the Atlassian Companion app

To edit files, users need to install the Atlassian Companion app and have it running in the background. The first time a user clicks the Edit button in file preview, we prompt them to download and install the app. See Edit Files for details.

If your users aren’t able to install applications themselves, you may want to distribute the app to them or deploy using the Microsoft Installer.

Download the latest Companion version

Download the Atlassian Companion app for Mac or Windows.

Single sign-on considerations

If you’ve configured single sign-on (SSO) in such a way that your reverse proxy redirects the requests to your SSO gateway, and only successfully authenticated requests ever reach Confluence, your users won’t be able to edit files using the Atlassian Companion app. This is because the Atlassian Companion app uses JWT tokens to authenticate requests, and only Confluence can authenticate these requests, not your SSO authenticator.

To make sure requests from the Atlassian Companion app can be authenticated, you should configure your reverse proxy to always allow requests from the following URLs:

• /rest/token-auth/api/*
• /download/token-auth/attachments/*
• base-url>/plugins/servlet/imgFilter*
• /rest/analytics/ 1.0/publish/bulk (only necessary if you have opted in to data collection)

If an unauthenticated user tries to access these URLs directly, they would be redirected to the Confluence login screen. The wouldn’t be able to access any content or download files while unauthenticated.

There’s a known issue where the token-auth path is not included in the download URL that Confluence provides Companion. See CONFSERVER-63189 — Getting issue details. STATUS

Content security policy (CSP) considerations

If you have a restrictive content security policy, your browser will refuse to launch companion, and you’ll see a content security policy error in the browser console. This error occurs because Confluence 7.3 and later uses a hidden iframe to attempt to launch Companion’s custom protocol ( atlassian-companion ). To resolve this problem you will need to add atlassian-companion: to the default-src or frame-src list. For example:

The content security policy is most commonly configured in your reverse proxy.

Install the Companion app via Microsoft Installer (MSI)

We also provide a Microsoft Installer package (.msi file) to deploy the Atlassian Companion app for Windows across multiple users or machines. By default, the Companion app installs to the Program Files directory, but you can customize this.

If the link above downloads an .exe file instead of the MSI, copy the URL below into your browser to download the file.

Use the Microsoft Installer to install the Companion app for all users on a given computer:

If you deploy using the Microsoft Installer, the Companion app won’t automatically get the latest updates, including security and bug fixes, so some maintenance is required.

We may update the Companion app before or after we release a new version of Confluence. Check the Atlassian Companion app release notes to make sure you’re on the latest version.

Standard install switches

The Microsoft Installer supports standard install switches. For example, install with the TARGETDIR and APPLICATIONROOTDIRECTORY parameters to change the installation directory:

Set trusted domains

In Companion 1.2.0 and later, set your Confluence URL as a trusted domain so users don’t have to select ‘Trust this domain’ when they edit a file for the first time.

System administrators have two options for setting trusted domains/sites before rolling out the Companion app to all users. Either s et an environment variable called COMPANION_TRUSTED_DOMAINS on each user’s computer, or pass the parameter COMPANION_TRUSTED_DOMAINS to the Microsoft Installer (MSI). Set multiple trusted domains by using semicolons (;) as separators.

To set trusted domains when installing using the MSI:

Compatibility with virtual desktop environments

From Confluence 7.3 onwards, Atlassian Companion app should work in most session-based virtual desktops.

Recover edited files

When a user edits a file, that file is also downloaded and saved to the Atlassian Companion folder on their computer. Files are cleared every time the Companion app restarts.

How to delete the Cache folder

If you’d like to free up disk space, it’s safe to manually delete the cache folder. Deleting individual files in the cache folder may cause errors, so you should delete the entire Cache folder. If the cache folder is locked while Companion App is running, quit Companion, delete the cache folder, then open Companion.

For Windows, Companion 1.0.0, go to C:\Users\admin\AppData\Roaming\Atlassian Companion\Cache.

For Windows, Companion 1.1.0, go to C:\Users\admin\AppData\Local\Atlassian Companion\Cache.

For Mac, Companion 1.0.0 and 1.1.0, go to Home/Library/Application Support/Atlassian Companion/Cache.

Disable file editing

From Confluence 7.3 onwards, it is not possible to disable file editing completely. However, you can choose to revert to the previous Edit in Office functionality, which disables the Companion app integration.

Alternatives to the Atlassian Companion app

In some versions of Confluence, you can revert to the previous Edit in Office functionality. This is a workaround for customers who are unable to use the Companion app in their environment.

Go to > General Configuration > Office Connector.

Choose Enable Edit in Office for all users and save your changes.

This will disable Companion app functionality for all users in the site.

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Install Atlassian Companion

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If your site uses Atlassian Companion method to edit files, you will need to install the Atlassian Companion app before you can start editing. Learn more about Editing Files.

The way you install Companion will depend on your operating system, and your organisation’s environment.

Download the latest Companion version

Download the Atlassian Companion app for Mac or Windows.

Windows

These instructions are for Windows 10. The process is similar in earlier, supported Windows versions.

1. Download the Companion app from Windows download
2. Double click to run the Atlassian Companion-1.X.X Setup.exe file you just downloaded.
3. That’s it. You may briefly see a progress indicator like the one below.

Once installed, Companion runs in the background. You may need to click the Show hidden items arrow in the system tray to see it. Right click the Companion icon to see the version you have installed.

The first time you edit a file, you’ll be prompted to trust your Confluence site. Once that’s done, Companion is ready to use.

These instructions are for MacOS 10. Your version may look slightly different.

1. Download the Companion app from Mac download
2. Double click the Atlassian Companion.dmg file you just downloaded.
3. The install dialog will appear. Drag the Atlassian Companion icon to the Applications folder icon.

Launch the companion app:

1. In Finder, go to your Applications folder, and click Atlassian Companion.app, or
2. In Launchpad, select Atlassian Companion, or
3. In Spotlight, search for Atlassian Companion.

Once launched, Companion runs in the background. Click the Companion icon in the status area of the menu bar to see the version you have installed.

The first time you edit a file, you’ll be prompted to trust your Confluence site. Once that’s done, Companion is ready to use.

Linux

Atlassian Companion is not currently available for Linux.

Managed or restricted environments

If you’re not able to install applications on your computer, your administrator or IT team may need to do this for you.

Send them a link to Administering the Atlassian Companion App for information about MSI installation.

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Manage any business project

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Answers, support, and inspiration

Suggestions and bugs

Feature suggestions and bug reports

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Billing and licensing

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Confluence

Versions

Install Atlassian Companion

Files

On this page

Related content

Still need help?

The Atlassian Community is here for you.

If your site uses Atlassian Companion method to edit files, you will need to install the Atlassian Companion app before you can start editing. Learn more about Editing Files.

The way you install Companion will depend on your operating system, and your organisation’s environment.

Download the latest Companion version

Download the Atlassian Companion app for Mac or Windows.

Windows

These instructions are for Windows 10. The process is similar in earlier, supported Windows versions.

1. Download the Companion app from Windows download
2. Double click to run the Atlassian Companion-1.X.X Setup.exe file you just downloaded.
3. That’s it. You may briefly see a progress indicator like the one below.

Once installed, Companion runs in the background. You may need to click the Show hidden items arrow in the system tray to see it. Right click the Companion icon to see the version you have installed.

The first time you edit a file, you’ll be prompted to trust your Confluence site. Once that’s done, Companion is ready to use.

These instructions are for MacOS 10. Your version may look slightly different.

1. Download the Companion app from Mac download
2. Double click the Atlassian Companion.dmg file you just downloaded.
3. The install dialog will appear. Drag the Atlassian Companion icon to the Applications folder icon.

Launch the companion app:

1. In Finder, go to your Applications folder, and click Atlassian Companion.app, or
2. In Launchpad, select Atlassian Companion, or
3. In Spotlight, search for Atlassian Companion.

Once launched, Companion runs in the background. Click the Companion icon in the status area of the menu bar to see the version you have installed.

The first time you edit a file, you’ll be prompted to trust your Confluence site. Once that’s done, Companion is ready to use.

Linux

Atlassian Companion is not currently available for Linux.

Managed or restricted environments

If you’re not able to install applications on your computer, your administrator or IT team may need to do this for you.

Send them a link to Administering the Atlassian Companion App for information about MSI installation.

Troubleshooting

Companion is installed twice in Windows

It’s possible to have two versions of Companion installed simultaneously if you have installed Companion using the installer (.exe) and the MSI (.msi). If this happens, you should uninstall both versions from Add/Remove programs and then re-install Companion (either using the .exe or the .msi depending on how you want to be able to update Companion in future).

Remove residual files after uninstalling Companion in Windows

If you need to completley uninstall Companion you may want to check if any residual files remain.

The default installation directories are:

• EXE: %LOCALAPPDATA%/atlassian-desktop-companion
• MSI: Program Files (x86)/Atlassian Companion

The app stores temporary data and edited files in:

• %APPDATA%/Atlassian Companion
• C:\Users\ \.atlassian-companion

Companion creates the following registry entries:

• Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\atlassian-companion
• Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\atlassian-companion
• Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\atlassian-desktop-companion

You can do a registry search for «atlassian» to locate them. These are used for both the MSI and EXE.