HelloCon: A Confluence Greeting App

A simple Forge-powered macro that brings a friendly “Hello World” message right into your Confluence pages.

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Inspiration

As a beginner to Atlassian Forge, I wanted to create a simple yet meaningful app to understand the platform and development workflow. “Hello World” felt like the perfect starting point — something classic, but now running inside Confluence with Forge.

What it does

HelloCon is a Confluence macro built using Forge's UI Kit. Once installed, it allows users to insert a friendly “Hello World” greeting directly into any Confluence page using the / command. It's lightweight, beginner-friendly, and a great demonstration of how to build apps using Forge.

How we built it

I used the Forge CLI to scaffold the app with the confluence-macro template. After editing the macro to display a custom message, I deployed the app using forge deploy and installed it on my personal Confluence Cloud site. The app was then rendered inside a page using the macro command.

Challenges we ran into

Initially, I faced permission issues when trying to install the app on a site where I didn’t have admin rights. Additionally, it took a little effort to understand how macros are discovered via the / command and how to properly configure the manifest.yml file. There were also minor deprecation warnings during package installation, but they didn’t block functionality.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I successfully built and deployed a working Forge app from scratch, installed it inside Confluence, and saw my own macro rendered live. It felt amazing to go from zero to a fully running cloud-based app integrated into a real Atlassian product.

What we learned

I learned how to use the Forge CLI, manage environments, write macros using UI Kit, and deploy + install apps in Confluence. I also understood the importance of admin permissions, Forge environments, and how manifest.yml controls app structure and modules.

What's next for HelloCon: A Confluence Greeting App

I’m excited to build more advanced macros and experiment with custom UI in Forge. I plan to explore the Apprentice level next and try building Jira apps like the Issue Panel or Weather Gadget. Ultimately, I want to build smart automation tools inside Confluence and Jira to help teams work better.

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