> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rootly.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Exporting Retrospectives
> Export retrospective content to external documentation providers like Google Docs, Confluence, Notion, SharePoint, Quip, Coda, and other knowledge bases.
## Overview
Rootly can export retrospective content to external documentation providers, allowing teams to use their preferred tools while benefiting from Rootly's incident management features.
### Supported Providers
Rootly supports the following external document providers:
* Google Docs
* Confluence
* Notion
* SharePoint
* Dropbox Paper
* Coda
* Quip
* Datadog
Each provider has its own authentication and configuration requirements. Contact your administrator if you need access to a specific provider.
## Rootly Editor vs External Providers
### When to Use the Rootly Editor
The built-in collaborative editor is ideal when:
* Multiple team members need to edit simultaneously
* You want data blocks and variables that update automatically
* You prefer keeping incident data within Rootly
* You want to publish a retrospective accessible via a public URL
### When to Use External Providers
External providers work well when:
* Your organization standardizes on a specific documentation tool
* You need to share retrospectives with stakeholders outside Rootly
* You want documents accessible in your existing knowledge base
* Compliance or governance requires specific storage locations
### Using Both
Many teams combine approaches:
1. **Draft in Rootly:** Use the Rootly Editor for initial drafting and collaboration
2. **Export for distribution:** Export to an external provider when ready to share broadly
3. **Link back:** The external document links back to the incident in Rootly
Exporting happens at specific points (when you click Export) rather than in real-time.
***
### What Gets Exported
When exporting to your external providers, Rootly processes your retrospective content to ensure compatibility.
### Content That Exports
| Content Type | How It's Handled |
| :------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------- |
| **Rich text** | Formatting preserved (bold, italic, headings, lists) |
| **Tables** | Converted to provider-native table format |
| **Data blocks** | Rendered as static content at export time |
| **Liquid variables** | Resolved to actual values at export time |
| **Code blocks** | Formatted appropriately for each provider |
| **Links** | Preserved as clickable hyperlinks |
### Incident Data Blocks in External Documents
If your retrospective document contains data blocks:
* **Timeline:** Rendered as a formatted table with event date, source, user, and description
* **Follow-ups:** Rendered as a list with title, priority, status, assignee, and due date
Data blocks become static content in external documents. They won't update automatically if the incident data changes after export.
### Provider-Specific Formatting
Rootly adjusts content formatting for each provider:
| Provider | Special Handling |
| :-------------- | :------------------------------------------ |
| **Confluence** | Inline code converted to Confluence macros |
| **Google Docs** | Tables formatted with borders and styling |
| **Notion** | Content structured for Notion's block model |
| **Others** | Standard HTML-to-provider conversion |
***
## How to Export
The **Export** button in the editor header provides access to all export options for your retrospective.
### Export Dropdown
Click **Export** in the editor header to access these options:
| Option | Description |
| :--------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Publish retrospective** | Publishes the retrospective, making it accessible via a public URL and notifying subscribers |
| **Export to new document** | Opens a modal to create a new export to any connected provider |
| **Update exported document** | Opens a modal to update a previously exported document (only visible if exports exist) |
Once a retrospective is published, the Export dropdown updates to include additional options:
| Option | Description |
| :------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **View published retrospective** | Opens the published retrospective in a new tab |
| **Copy link** | Copies the published retrospective URL to your clipboard |
| **Save as PDF** | Downloads the published retrospective as a PDF file |
| **Document settings** | Customize what gets appended to the published document (e.g., timeline, action items, incident metadata) |
If you have no external integrations configured, click **Manage integrations** to connect a document provider. Contact your administrator to set up integrations in **Configuration → Integrations**.
***
## Publishing a Retrospective
Publishing makes your retrospective accessible to your team and, for non-private incidents, available via a public URL that can be shared with stakeholders outside of Rootly.
### How to Publish
Click **Export** in the editor header.
If the incident has already been resolved, the retrospective is published immediately. If the incident is still active, a confirmation dialog asks you to confirm that you want to publish before the incident is resolved.
### What Happens When You Publish
* The retrospective status changes from **Draft** (yellow chip) to **Published** (green chip) in the editor header
* The published document is accessible via a public URL for non-private incidents
* Subscribers are notified that the retrospective has been published
* The Export dropdown updates to show additional options: view the published document, copy its link, save as PDF, and access document settings
### Document Settings
After publishing, you can customize the published retrospective by clicking **Document settings** in the Export dropdown. Document settings let you control what gets appended to your published document, such as:
* Incident timeline
* Action items / follow-ups
* Incident metadata (severity, services, roles, timestamps)
This allows teams to tailor what stakeholders see in the published version without modifying the editor content.
### Re-publishing
If you make changes to the retrospective after publishing, your published document gets updated automatically. The published URL remains the same — only the content is updated.
Publishing and exporting are independent actions. Publishing makes the retrospective available via a Rootly URL. Exporting pushes the content to an external provider like Confluence or Google Docs. You can do both.
***
### Exporting to a New Document
To export your retrospective to an external provider for the first time:
Click **Export** in the editor header.
This opens a modal where you can configure the export.
Select the provider (Confluence, Google Docs, Notion, etc.) from the dropdown. Each provider shows its icon for easy identification.
The title defaults to "Retrospective - \[Incident Title]". You can customize it.
Some providers require additional configuration:
* **Confluence:** Select a space key for the destination
* **Notion:** Select a parent page
* Other providers may have their own options
The export is created in the background. You'll be notified when it completes.
### Updating an Existing Export
If you've already exported the retrospective and want to push updated content:
Click **Export** in the editor header.
This option only appears if you have previously exported the retrospective.
Select the export you want to update from the list. Each entry shows the provider name and document title.
A warning confirms that the external document's content will be replaced with the current retrospective content. Click **Update** to proceed.
Updating an export overwrites the external document with the current retrospective content. This is a one-way operation — changes made in the external document will be replaced.
### Working with Exported Documents
Once a retrospective is exported to an external provider:
* A link to the external document is stored on the incident
* The document lives in your external provider's system
* You can open external documents directly from the **More actions** menu in the editor header
* Edits in the external document do **not** sync back to Rootly
### Document Links
After exporting, you can reference external document URLs using Liquid variables:
* `{{ incident.confluence_page_url }}`
* `{{ incident.google_drive_url }}`
* `{{ incident.notion_page_url }}`
* `{{ incident.sharepoint_page_url }}`
### Managing Integrations
Click **Manage integrations** in the Export dropdown to go to **Configuration → Integrations** (Docs & Retrospective category), where you can connect or configure document providers.
### How Workflows and Exporting Work Together
Workflows and the Export button serve different purposes:
* **Workflows** can automatically create external documents (e.g., in Confluence or Google Docs) when an incident resolves or another trigger fires. These workflows do not create or modify the Rootly document — they only affect external providers.
* **The Export button** in the editor lets you manually export the Rootly document's content to a new external document or update an existing one at any time.
If you want the Rootly document to be created automatically, set up a separate **Create Rootly Retrospective** workflow. Otherwise, create it manually from the Retrospective tab.
The Rootly document and external documents are independent paths. A workflow that creates a Confluence page will not write to or create the Rootly document, and vice versa. If you create the Rootly document before a workflow fires, the workflow will not override it.
***
### Best Practices
* **Set up workflows for initial creation:** Configure workflows to automatically create external documents when incidents resolve, so you don't have to manually export each time.
* **Use Update for changes:** After editing a retrospective, use **Update external document** to push changes to the existing export.
* **Include data blocks before exporting:** Add Timeline and Follow-ups blocks before exporting so they're rendered in the external document.
* **Verify liquid variables have values:** Empty variables create gaps in the external document. Check that referenced fields exist for the incident.
## Frequently Asked Questions
The connection to the external provider may have expired. Re-authenticate the integration in **Configuration → Integrations** or contact your administrator.
Data blocks must have data to render. If the incident has no timeline events or follow-ups, the blocks may appear empty. Add data to the incident before exporting.
Ensure the incident has the expected data. Variables without values resolve to N/A. Check that referenced fields (Jira ticket, assigned roles, etc.) exist for this incident.
Export is one-way. Edits made directly in the external provider don't sync back to Rootly. Make edits in Rootly and use **Update external document** to push changes.
Click **Export** in the editor header and select **Update external document**. Choose the export you want to update from the list and confirm. The external document will be overwritten with the current retrospective content.
Yes. Use **Export to new document** for each provider you want to export to. Each export is tracked independently and can be updated separately.