Reading the QuantaCade Contact Metric

The QuantaCade Contact metric helps distinguish “the site has not talked to the service recently” from “the frontend heartbeat simply has not been needed yet.”

Two timestamps

DisplaySource
QuantaCade Contactlast_qc_contact_at, updated after successful registration/check-in/service synchronization and valid signed service contact.
Frontend heartbeatlast_heartbeat_at, updated only after a successful frontend_heartbeat check-in. The UI reminds you that the cadence is six hours.

How to interpret Not yet

A fresh installation can legitimately show “Not yet” for the frontend heartbeat even after a successful Test Connection, because registration contact and browser heartbeat are different events. Normal frontend HTML traffic will eventually trigger the same-site heartbeat when its six-hour throttle is due.

Use the Dashboard as a cross-check

The control or metric covered by Reading the QuantaCade Contact Metric is most useful when read beside the other Dashboard evidence. Connected status alone does not prove a particular task is healthy, and a Due count alone does not prove the wake-up service is broken. Compare WebCron readiness, lock counts, next/oldest timing, QuantaCade Contact, and Recent Activity before drawing a conclusion.

That combined view usually tells you whether the next action belongs in Joomla Scheduler, QCTNH service configuration, networking/WebCron, or the extension that owns the failing task.


Community Discussion

Want to compare scheduler workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCTNH feature? Visit the QC Task Nudge & Health Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.