AEM External Link Checker configuration issues on publish instances
External Link Checker on publish can trigger repeated warnings, remove valid external links, and contribute to performance issues on published pages. The issue occurs when the service validates external URLs on publish, exceeds its storage limit, or rewrites links that it marks as invalid. In affected environments, the behavior is limited to publish and does not appear on author. The resolution is to disable or adjust the Link Checker configuration on publish and confirm that warnings stop and links remain functional.
Description description
Environment:
- Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service
- Adobe Experience Manager Managed Services
- Adobe Experience Manager on-premise software
- Publish instances
Issue/Symptoms:
- Review publish logs for repeated warnings from
com.day.cq.rewriter.linkchecker.impl.LinkInfoStorageImpl. - Check whether logs indicate that external links for a host have reached the maximum configured number per host.
- Confirm whether external links on published pages appear briefly and then become unclickable after publishing.
- Verify whether publish performance issues or instability appear to align with Link Checker activity.
- Confirm that the same warnings and symptoms do not appear on author.
Root cause:
The Link Checker runs on publish unless it is explicitly disabled. It performs syntax and availability checks for external URLs, and a high volume of external or dynamic links can exceed the default storage limit per host. When the validator marks a link as invalid, the transformer can remove or rewrite that link on publish.
Resolution resolution
Try the following steps:
- Determine whether the issue is caused by repeated storage-limit warnings, external links being removed from publish pages, or broader publish performance problems.
- If the issue is related to storage-limit warnings, review the configuration for
com.day.cq.rewriter.linkchecker.LinkInfoStorageand adjustservice.max_links_per_hostor disable the service on publish as needed. - If external links are being removed, update the Link Checker Transformer configuration and set Disable Checking and/or Disable Rewriting to true.
- If Link Checker activity is contributing to publish-side instability, disable the Link Checker on publish by turning on both Disable Checking and Disable Rewriting.
- Apply the configuration by deploying the publish-runmode OSGi configuration in cloud environments or saving the configuration directly in the OSGi console for managed or on-premise environments.
- Republish the affected content and verify that external links remain clickable and that new Link Checker warnings no longer appear in publish logs.
- Monitor publish logs to confirm that the warnings do not return and that page behavior remains stable.
If warnings continue after the configuration change, links are still removed on publish, or publish performance remains affected after verification, submit a ticket to Adobe Support.