Capable + Confluence for Engineering/Engineers

Capable for Confluence is an all-in-one toolkit that supercharges Confluence for engineering teams. It enhances technical workflows, boosts collaboration, and streamlines documentation within Confluence’s familiar interface. Engineers get powerful new features – from Markdown support to architecture diagrams – integrated seamlessly into their pages, so they can focus on building and innovating without jumping between tools.

Document infrastructure, APIs, and internal tools using Markdown

Capable’s Markdown macro lets engineers write rich documentation faster by using plain Markdown syntax – whether starting from scratch or pulling from external sources like GitHub. Easily author specs, runbooks, or design docs in Markdown and embed them in Confluence pages for a smooth developer experience. You can even import existing Markdown files or Gists from the web, so there’s no need to rewrite content that already lives in code repositories. This means documentation stays in sync with code and benefits from version control practices. Writing in Markdown also feels natural for developers, speeding up the creation of README-style guides and technical notes.

  • Write in Markdown or Import – Use a template or start fresh in Markdown, or embed docs directly from an external URL (e.g. a GitHub README) for instant documentation reuse.

  • Faster, Versioned Documentation – Leverage the lightweight Markdown format developers love, track changes with Git if needed, and keep Confluence pages updated with minimal effort.

  • Seamless Developer Experience – No context switching – engineers can write and edit in Markdown right inside Confluence, maintaining flow and consistency with their coding workflow.

Example: A DevOps engineer documents an “Infrastructure as Code” setup by pasting in Terraform config snippets using Markdown. Capable automatically formats the code blocks and headings, so the engineer quickly creates an internal wiki page for the infrastructure, complete with a Markdown-generated table of contents and code examples – all without manual formatting.

Share live API references in Confluence with embedded Swagger/OpenAPI

Engineering teams can embed live API documentation directly into Confluence using Capable’s OpenAPI (Swagger) macro. Instead of linking out to an external Swagger UI, you can present your RESTful API specs in place on your Confluence pages. The macro renders interactive docs that let users browse endpoints, try out calls, and view responses in real time. It’s as if you had a built-in Swagger viewer in Confluence – ensuring everyone is always looking at the latest API contract.

  • Live, Interactive API Docs – Display OpenAPI/Swagger definitions with interactive endpoint explorers and example responses, so developers can try API calls and see data without leaving the page.

  • Easy Integration – Embed your API spec (YAML/JSON or URL) directly into Confluence, keeping documentation centralized and accessible to the whole team.

  • Always Up-to-Date – When the API spec changes, the Confluence page reflects it (just update the spec file or link). This ensures the docs in Confluence never go stale, reducing confusion and duplication.

Example: An API team maintains documentation for a microservice by embedding its OpenAPI spec on a Confluence page. Frontend developers can open the page and use the interactive API console to test endpoints of the service, all while reading the implementation notes – no need to switch to an external API docs site. When the team updates an endpoint or data model, they just update the OpenAPI file and the Confluence page automatically shows the new fields, keeping everyone in sync.

Prototype and showcase UI components using Tailwind and HTML

Capable gives engineers the flexibility to design custom content in Confluence using the HTML macro with Tailwind CSS. Need a specialized layout or interactive widget in a page? Simply drop in HTML and style it with Tailwind utility classes – no separate hosting or heavy plugins required. The HTML macro is powerful and straightforward, letting you enrich Confluence with dynamic content tailored to your team’s needs.

  • Custom HTML in Confluence – Embed HTML code directly into a page, to create rich content beyond Confluence’s native capabilities. You have the freedom to build forms, dynamic tables, or any custom UI needed for internal tools.

  • Built-in Tailwind CSS Support – Use Tailwind CSS classes in your HTML snippet for quick styling and responsive design. This means you can make your embedded content look great (buttons, alerts, panels, etc.) without writing extensive CSS – the macro comes with Tailwind’s utility styles ready to go.

  • Dashboards & Tools – Build status boards within Confluence. For example, you might create a custom layout and content for your homepage that embeds custom HTML and styles that fit your organization style. The HTML macro makes such use-cases possible, all inside a Confluence page.

Example: A front-end developer is exploring layout options for a new button component. They use V0.dev to generate a responsive HTML snippet styled with Tailwind CSS, then embed it directly into a Confluence page using the Capable HTML macro. The result is a live, styled component mockup – complete with headings, color-coded badges, and status icons – that stakeholders can see and comment on in context. By embedding the prototype in Confluence, the developer gets quick feedback without needing to spin up a staging environment or share screenshots, accelerating the design-review loop.

Track and approve technical requirements with built-in workflows

Capable’s Approval workflow features bring structured reviews and sign-offs to Confluence – perfect for tracking engineering requirements and specifications through multi-stage approvals. Instead of an informal “LGTM” in comments or a scattered email chain, you can formally require approvers to review a Confluence page (like an architecture proposal or product requirement document) and record their approvals with timestamps and comments. These approvals are embedded in the page content, providing an audit trail for compliance and clarity.

  • In-Page Approval Requests – Insert an approval macro into any Confluence page (e.g. at the top of an RFC or design doc). This lets designated reviewers approve or reject the content right on the page. Everyone sees the current status (Pending, Approved by X, etc.), so there’s full transparency.

  • Real-Time Notifications – Automatically notify reviewers via Slack or email when their approval is needed. Engineers get instant alerts and can approve on-the-go, speeding up the review process.

  • Audit Trail & Compliance – Every decision is logged. Capable adds an approval history banner and keeps a detailed log of who approved what and when. For industries with compliance requirements, you have a clear record of requirement sign-offs. You can even set up multiple approvers and Capable supports setting quorum rules or expiration times for approvals, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Example: Before implementing a new feature, a development team creates a Technical Design page in Confluence. They add Capable’s approval workflow to require sign-off from a senior engineer and a product manager. Each approver gets a Slack notification and an email with a link to the page. Within Confluence, they click “Approve” (or add feedback and reject if needed). The page now shows an Approved status with a green check and lists who approved it. Weeks later, during an audit, the team easily demonstrates that all high-level requirements went through proper approval, since the page has an embedded log of the approval dates and approvers.

Collaborate on architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and system designs

Visualizing complex systems is much easier with Capable’s robust diagramming support, including an integration of Excalidraw for free-form sketches. Engineers can create architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and system designs right inside Confluence using a drag-and-drop editor – no external diagramming app needed. The Excalidraw macro provides a whiteboard-like canvas for informal designs, and Capable also supports structured diagrams in Mermaid, PlantUML, and many other formats for more formal visuals.

Capable’s diagram tools support many formats – from hand-drawn Excalidraw sketches to generated charts and UML diagrams – enabling engineers to visualize systems directly in Confluence. With an extensive library of shapes and icons (including popular libraries for cloud architecture, networking, etc.), teams can quickly assemble diagrams and even save them as templates for reuse. Multiple editors can collaborate on the same diagram, making it ideal for real-time design discussions.

  • Excalidraw Integration – Brainstorm and sketch system designs with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. It’s perfect for whiteboard-style diagrams – draw boxes, arrows, or even import an icon set (for example, cloud service icons) to map out infrastructure or user flows. The drawings are editable right on the Confluence page, so anyone with access can refine the diagram.

  • Multiple Diagram Types – In addition to freeform Excalidraw, Capable supports text-based diagrams (Mermaid, UML, BPMN, etc.) and others. You can create sequence diagrams, ER diagrams, flowcharts, and more by simply writing the diagram code or using a visual builder. Capable’s macro supports Mermaid, PlantUML, Vega-Lite, C4, WireViz and many more out-of-the-box. This means nearly any technical diagram an engineer needs can be created without leaving Confluence.

  • Collaboration and Libraries – Because diagrams live on Confluence pages, the latest version is always visible to the team – no separate files to manage. Engineers can collaborate by editing the page (no more emailing Visio files around). Plus, Capable lets you share diagram templates and use libraries of shapes to maintain consistency. For instance, a team can create a template for a microservice architecture diagram (with preset shapes for databases, APIs, etc.), so every new design starts with a consistent look.

Example: A system architect is designing a new microservices architecture. Using Capable’s diagram macro, she opens an Excalidraw editor on a Confluence page and quickly sketches out services, databases, and their interactions. She uses a library of AWS icons to represent each component for clarity. As she draws, a colleague jumps into the Confluence page and adds a few missing components (collaborative editing in action). They settle on a design and save the page – now the entire team can see the architecture diagram alongside the design rationale text. Later, if changes are needed, anyone can edit the diagram on the page, ensuring the visual stays up-to-date with the system.

Compare versions, monitor systems, and streamline visual design

Capable for Confluence comes with a suite of specialized macros that cater to engineering use cases. These plug-in tools extend Confluence’s functionality, helping development teams visualize changes, monitor systems, and share information more effectively. Here are some of the most useful engineering-focused macros included in Capable:

  • Diff Macro – Instantly compare two versions of code or text side-by-side, with highlighted differences. This is great for code reviews or document revisions – you can show before/after changes on a Confluence page without external tools.

  • Service Status Macro – Display the live status of external services (AWS, Atlassian Cloud, Zoom, etc.) or your own systems via their Statuspage APIs. Embed a status monitor in your page to keep the team aware of outages or uptime, updated in real time.

  • Color Palette Macro – Share consistent UI color codes with your team. This macro presents a palette of colors (in HEX/RGB) that designers and front-end engineers can copy with one click – ensuring everyone uses the exact same color values for charts, UIs, or diagrams.

  • RSS Feed Macro – Bring in industry news or any RSS feed directly into Confluence. Engineers can stay updated on relevant blog posts, library updates, or documentation changes within an internal dashboard page. The feed updates automatically, so it’s a “live” news panel in your wiki.

  • Image Comparison Macro – Compare two images with an interactive slider overlay. Useful for before-and-after screenshots – for example, UI/UX changes can be showcased by placing the old and new design and letting viewers drag a slider to see differences. This macro provides a dynamic visual diff for images, aiding design reviews and QA.

By centralizing these capabilities in Confluence, Capable saves engineers time and reduces the number of separate tools or browser tabs they need to use. The result is enhanced productivity and centralized visibility – all the information and utilities an engineering team needs are at their fingertips on Confluence pages.

Keep engineering spaces organized with advanced search

As engineering knowledge bases grow, keeping content organized and up-to-date becomes critical. Capable supercharges Confluence’s search, allowing advanced content management so you can easily find what you need – and clean up what you don’t. Engineers can craft specific queries and even save them, turning search results into dynamic indexes of content. This makes it simple to identify outdated pages or requirements that need revisiting.

  • Powerful, Filterable Search – Capable extends Confluence search with more muscle. You can filter and sort results by criteria like labels, last updated date, author, or even by content type (find pages that contain certain macros or attachments). This helps pinpoint information across thousands of pages quickly, which is invaluable in large engineering spaces.

  • Saved Searches – Create custom search queries (for example, “Pages in Project X space not updated in 6+ months”) and save them. These saved searches act as smart lists of content. An engineering manager can regularly check a saved search for stale design docs and schedule updates. It’s an easy way to keep documentation relevant by catching aging pages before they become a problem.

  • Embedded Search Results – With Capable, you can embed live search results on a Confluence page. For instance, you might have a “Engineering TODOs” page that shows all pages with a “Needs Update” label or all open design review pages awaiting approval. The list will update itself, so team members always see the current status without manually curating the page. This reduces clutter and ensures nothing gets lost – outdated content is surfaced and can be addressed proactively.

Example: An engineering team lead creates a Documentation Maintenance page. On it, she embeds a Capable search results macro that lists all pages in the engineering space that haven’t been updated in over 9 months. This live list lets the team easily identify which systems or specs might be out of date. Each week, she reviews a few items from the list, assigns an engineer to refresh the content, and once updated, those pages drop off the list automatically. Over time, their Confluence space stays current and useful, with far less effort than a manual audit.

In conclusion, Capable for Confluence dramatically enhances engineering workflows by bringing development-friendly tools into your team’s central knowledge hub. From writing docs in Markdown and auto-generating API docs, to visualizing system designs and tracking approvals, Capable turns Confluence into a powerful engineering platform. It helps engineers spend less time wrangling documents and chasing information, and more time building great products.

Ready to streamline your engineering documentation and collaboration? Try Capable for Confluence today (and discover how much more your team can achieve with the right tools at hand!).