Set Up Automatic Scheduled Backups in QC Backup Manager

Automatic backups in QC Backup Manager are configured on individual Backup Profiles. The Profile defines what QCBM backs up and when that Profile becomes due; Joomla Scheduled Tasks provide the recurring checks that notice due Profiles and start persistent Backup Sets.

Scheduling requires the QCBM scheduled-backups feature. In current QCBM 1.5.13, scheduled backups are available with Pro, Max, or All Access entitlement.

Before You Enable a Schedule

Make sure the site is ready to create a recovery point before automation begins:

  • Managed Private Storage is healthy and has sufficient free space.
  • A four-digit Recovery PIN is configured in QCBM Settings.
  • The Backup Profile contains the backup type, archive, exclusion, retention, and export behavior you intend to automate.
  • The Profile is published.
  • Joomla Scheduled Tasks are running reliably on this site.

Configure the Profile Schedule

  1. Open Components > QC Backup Manager > Profiles.
  2. Edit the Profile you want QCBM to run automatically.
  3. In Schedule, choose the scheduling rule that fits the backup policy.
  4. Complete the time, weekday, or day-of-month fields shown for that rule.
  5. Choose the Retry wait after a failed attempt.
  6. Save the Profile and make sure it is published.

The exact schedule is part of the Profile. Creating or editing a Joomla Scheduled Task does not replace the Profile schedule.

Available Schedule Rules

QCBM supports the current Profile schedule choices:

  • Manual — the Profile is not due automatically.
  • Hourly — runs at the selected minute of the hour.
  • Daily — runs at the selected local time.
  • Weekly — runs at the selected local time on the selected weekdays.
  • Monthly — runs on the selected day of the month at the selected time; when a month is shorter than the selected day, QCBM uses that month's final day.
  • Every scheduler check — eligible at recurring scheduler checks, with QCBM enforcing a minimum cooldown so it does not start a new Backup Set on every page-triggered scheduler request.

Weekly schedules require at least one weekday.

Choose the Retry Wait

The retry setting controls how soon QCBM may retry the same scheduled occurrence after a failed, running, or pending attempt. Current choices are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours.

The retry wait does not move the Profile's normal calendar schedule. It prevents repeated attempts for the same occurrence while the prior attempt is still recent.

Understand the Joomla Task's Role

The default QC Backup Manager Scheduled Backups Joomla task checks every 15 minutes. It asks QCBM which published Profiles are due. QCBM then applies each Profile's exact schedule using the Joomla site timezone.

The task interval is therefore a polling interval, not the exact backup time. For example, a Profile due at 02:00 can start on the first successful task check at or after 02:00.

Only Due Published Profiles Run

A scheduler check does not blindly create a Backup Set for every Profile. QCBM evaluates published scheduled Profiles and starts work only when the Profile's occurrence is due. An unpublished Profile is not eligible for scheduled creation.

QCBM also avoids duplicate persistent work. If an active scheduled Backup Set already exists, later scheduler checks continue that saved job instead of starting another. If an active manual persistent backup is using the backup-create operation, scheduled creation waits.

Verify the Schedule

Open Backups and review the Scheduled Backups card. Under Published profile schedules, QCBM shows each published scheduled Profile, its schedule description, its next due time, and its last successful scheduled backup.

The same card shows the scheduler task state, last scheduled run, last scheduled result, and whether the scheduled runner setting is enabled.

Test Before Depending on Automation

After configuring a schedule, create and verify at least one Backup Set using that Profile. Then confirm Joomla's task runner is executing QCBM tasks. Automatic scheduling is only useful when the Profile policy, storage, Recovery PIN, and Joomla scheduler are all healthy.

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.