Configure QCBM Operational, Export, and Audit History Retention

QCBM has separate age limits for operational logs/jobs, export history, and audit history. These settings control diagnostic/operational database records; they do not control how many Recovery Packages a Backup Profile retains and they do not delete the separate permanent backup-run ledger used by Download Backup Log.

Configure the periods based on how long you need troubleshooting and accountability evidence, not based on backup-storage capacity alone.

Where to Configure History Retention

  1. Open Components > QC Backup Manager > Settings.
  2. Find Notifications and History.
  3. Set Operational logs/jobs retention (days).
  4. Set Export history retention (days).
  5. Set Audit history retention (days).
  6. Save Settings.

Each value is constrained to 1 through 3650 days.

Operational Logs/Jobs Retention

The default operational period is 90 days. QCBM applies this age limit to:

  • operational log rows;
  • finished job rows;
  • notification records.

Queued or running jobs are excluded from age cleanup so active work is not removed just because its original creation date is old.

Export History Retention

The default export-history period is 180 days. It applies to individual export rows and grouped export-run rows after those records are no longer in active pending/uploading/running states.

This setting controls historical transfer evidence, not the remote Recovery Package itself. Cleaning an old export-history row is not the same action as deleting the exported package from Google Drive, OneDrive, Local/Server Path, SFTP, FTP, or FTPS.

Audit History Retention

The default audit-history period is 365 days. QCBM applies it to the audit log used to record administrative/operational actions such as integrity checks, destination actions, deletion events, and other audited QCBM activity.

If your organization has a longer compliance or change-management requirement, increase the value before older audit rows age out.

These Settings Are Not Profile Backup Retention

Backup Profiles have separate retention controls for complete, verified Backup Sets: retained count and optional local-storage size limits. Those Profile rules determine which old recovery artifacts QCBM may remove.

The three Settings values in this article govern operational history tables instead. Changing them does not tell QCBM to keep more or fewer Recovery Packages.

The Permanent Backup Log Is Separate

QCBM's dedicated Download Backup Log CSV is built from the permanent backup-run history table. That ledger is not one of the operational/export/audit tables listed in the age-cleanup routine.

This lets QCBM keep a durable record of backup runs while still aging out lower-level logs, finished job rows, transfer detail, and audit events according to your Settings.

When Cleanup Runs

Age-based history cleanup is performed as part of QCBM retention cleanup. The canonical QC Backup Manager Retention Cleanup Joomla task runs daily by default, and the Run Retention Cleanup button invokes the same cleanup logic manually.

Choose Retention Periods Deliberately

Short periods reduce database growth but leave less diagnostic history after an intermittent problem. Longer periods give support/administrators more evidence but retain more operational data.

For sites with infrequent maintenance, choose values long enough that a problem discovered weeks or months later still has useful context. For high-volume sites, monitor table growth and adjust without confusing these settings with Backup Set retention.

Verify the Result

After saving new periods, the change affects future age cleanup; it does not need to create a backup. Run retention cleanup manually only if you intentionally want QCBM to apply the new age thresholds immediately to eligible historical records.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCBM feature? Visit the QC Backup Manager Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.