Broken links in a Sitecore content tree — references pointing to items that no longer exist — can cause issues in published output and are frustrating to track down manually. Fortunately, Sitecore has a built-in tool for this right inside the Control Panel. Here's how to use it.
Steps to Find Broken Links
Step 1 — Open the Sitecore Control Panel
Log into Sitecore and navigate to the Control Panel from the Sitecore menu (the orange globe icon in the desktop view).
Step 2 — Open the Broken Links scanner
Inside the Control Panel, locate the Reports section and click Scan the data for broken links.
Step 3 — Select your databases and scan
Choose the databases you want to scan — typically master and/or web depending on whether you're checking draft content or published content. Click the Scan button. Depending on the size of your content tree, this may take a few seconds to a couple of minutes.
Once the scan completes, a list of items containing broken links is displayed. Clicking on any item in the results opens it directly in the Content Editor, where you can review and fix the broken reference.
Running this scan regularly — especially after bulk content deletions or restructuring — is a good habit. It keeps your content tree clean and prevents broken references from making it to your published site.