What Is QCBM Receiver?

QCBM Receiver is the Windows companion for QC Backup Manager. It runs on a Windows computer and collects completed, verified QCBM Recovery Packages from one or more paired Joomla sites over outbound HTTPS.

Receiver is designed for administrators who want a second copy of QCBM backups on storage they control, such as a Windows PC, an attached drive, or a Windows-accessible network/NAS location. QCBM Receiver requires an effective Max or All Access entitlement on the Joomla site.

What Receiver Does

QCBM remains responsible for creating the backup and producing the canonical Recovery Package. Receiver does not create a different backup format. It asks the paired site for Recovery Packages that are ready for that device, downloads them, independently verifies the expected file size and SHA-256 hash, and records the verified delivery with QCBM.

Once a package is verified locally, Receiver can keep it under its own local retention rules. If you explicitly enable the delete-after-download option, QCBM can remove the hosting copy only after the verified receipt has been accepted.

How the Joomla Site and Receiver Are Paired

Pairing starts in QCBM → Settings → QCBM Receiver. QCBM generates a one-time code that expires after 15 minutes. Receiver exchanges that code for a device-specific credential; it does not need or store a Joomla administrator password.

The site lists active devices under Paired Receivers, where an administrator can revoke a device when it should no longer have access.

Where Receiver Stores Backups

Each paired site connection has its own destination folder. The destination can be on the Windows computer, an attached external drive, or Windows-accessible network/NAS storage, provided the Receiver background service can reliably reach and write to it.

Receiver tests the destination for write access when the connection is saved. Local retention is separate from QCBM's hosting-side retention, so you can choose different policies for the two copies.

Why Receiver Runs as a Windows Service

The Receiver installer configures a Windows background service so collection does not depend on leaving the desktop interface open. By default, a site connection checks for work periodically; the current Receiver default is 15 minutes, and the interval can be adjusted to at least one minute.

Receiver polling can also advance QCBM's own due scheduled-backup work on quiet Joomla sites. When Receiver is running, QCBM therefore does not require a separate cron setup solely to keep QCBM scheduled backups moving.

What Makes a Receiver Copy Trustworthy

A download is not treated as complete merely because bytes reached Windows. Receiver compares the finished file with the authoritative size and SHA-256 supplied by QCBM. Only a matching package is acknowledged as verified.

Interrupted transfers can resume from Receiver's managed .partial file. A verified receipt also prevents the same paired device from unnecessarily collecting the same Recovery Package again.

What Receiver Does Not Replace

Receiver does not replace QCBM's backup profiles, Recovery Packages, server-side retention, or the QCBM Recovery Runner. It is the collection and local-custody companion for those verified packages.

If your goal is to restore a site, use the recovery workflow documented for the Recovery Package. If your goal is simply to keep another verified copy off the hosting account, Receiver is the appropriate feature.

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.