User Guide

1. Installation

Pulse is distributed as a NuGet package. Add it to your Umbraco 17+ project:

Or via the Package Manager Console:

Pulse automatically creates the database tables it needs on first startup — no manual migration steps required. It supports both SQL Server and SQLite.

After installing, start your Umbraco site and log into the backoffice. You will see a new Pulse section in the left-hand navigation.

2. Running Your First Scan

Open the Pulse section from the backoffice sidebar and you will land on the Overview tab.

1. Click the Scan button in the top-right corner.
2. Watch as all 42 health rules are evaluated in real-time. A progress indicator shows which rule is currently running and the overall completion percentage.
3. When the scan completes you will see your overall health score, per-category breakdowns, and a filterable list of results.

3. Understanding the Health Score

After a scan, Pulse calculates an overall score from 0 to 100. The score is a weighted aggregate of the results across all five categories:

Each category receives its own score, displayed as colour-coded cards on the Overview tab. A sparkline chart tracks how your score changes over time.

4. Severity Levels

Every rule result is assigned one of four severity levels so you can prioritise your work:

The severity bar on the Overview tab gives you an at-a-glance breakdown of how many rules fall into each level.

5. Scan Rules

Pulse ships with 42 built-in rules organised across five categories.

6. One-Click Remediation

Several rules offer a Fix button directly in the results drilldown. Available actions include:

• ✓ Empty content recycle bin — permanently deletes all trashed content.
• ✓ Empty media recycle bin — permanently deletes all trashed media.
• ✓ Disable stale users — disables individual back-office user accounts.
• ✓ Delete unused document types — removes doc types with zero published content.
• ✓ Delete unused data types — removes data types not referenced by any doc type.
• ✓ Delete unused compositions — removes orphaned document type compositions.
• ✓ Publish unpublished changes — publishes pending draft changes on content nodes.
• ✓ Republish content — republishes previously unpublished content nodes.

After performing a fix, click Rescan on that rule to verify the issue has been resolved. The updated result is reflected in your overall score immediately.

7. Custom Scans & Presets

The Custom Scan tab lets you pick a subset of rules and run a targeted scan.

1. Navigate to the Custom Scan tab.
2. Select the rules you want to evaluate using the checkbox list.
3. Click Run Custom Scan.

Custom scan results are read-only — they do not overwrite your persisted score, trigger notifications, or affect your score history.

Saving Presets

If you run the same combination of rules frequently, save them as a preset:

1. Select the rules you want.
2. Click Save Preset and give it a name (e.g. "Pre-deployment check").
3. Next time, load the preset from the dropdown to instantly select those rules.

8. Suppressions

Sometimes a rule result is a known exception you have decided to accept. Rather than letting it drag your score down, you can suppress it.

• • Suppress an entire rule — all items for that rule are excluded from scoring.
• • Suppress a single item — only the specific flagged item is excluded.

When creating a suppression you can optionally provide a reason and an expiry date. Expired suppressions are automatically removed and the items return to your score.

All active suppressions are listed on the Suppressions tab where they can be reviewed or removed.

9. History & Trend Analysis

Pulse stores up to 90 historical scan snapshots. The History tab displays:

• • A score chart showing how your site health has changed over time.
• • Trend alerts that automatically detect sudden score drops, consecutive declines, and new critical issues.

Use this data to correlate score changes with deployments, content updates, or configuration changes.

10. Scheduled Scans

Automate your health monitoring by configuring a scan schedule from the Settings area:

You can also set your preferred time (UTC hour) and preferred day of week. Changes saved in the backoffice take effect immediately — no application restart required.

11. Notifications

Pulse can alert you when something needs your attention.

Email Digests

When enabled, Pulse sends email notifications when:

• • Your score drops below a configured threshold.
• • New urgent or critical issues are detected.
• • Your score drops by more than a configured amount between scans.

Configure recipient email addresses, the "from" address, and a cooldown period to prevent inbox flooding. Use the Test Email button to verify your SMTP settings.

Backoffice Banners

When enabled, a dismissible banner appears at the top of the Pulse dashboard when new issues are detected. Each notification can be dismissed individually or all at once.

12. Issue Assignments & Collaboration

Pulse turns scan results into actionable work items your team can track.

Assigning Issues

1. Open a rule drilldown and click Assign on any flagged item.
2. Select a backoffice user from the picker.
3. The assignee receives an email notification with details of the issue.

Comments & Progress Tracking

• • Add comments to an assignment to discuss the issue or document the fix.
• • Edit or delete your own comments. Administrators can manage all comments.
• • Mark an assignment as completed when the issue is resolved.

To-Do List

Every user has a personal to-do list showing their open assignments across all rules. Access it from the dashboard to see what needs your attention.

13. Achievements

Pulse includes a gamification layer to keep your team engaged with site health:

• ✓ Earn badges by running scans, fixing issues, exporting reports, completing the guided tour, and more.
• ✓ View your progress on categorised achievement cards.
• ✓ Achievements are unlocked automatically as you use Pulse — no manual steps required.

14. Multi-Site Support

If your Umbraco installation has multiple root content nodes, Pulse provides a site picker at the top of the dashboard.

• • Select a site to run a scan scoped to that content tree only.
• • Each site's results are stored and displayed independently.
• • Rules that support site scoping evaluate only the content under the selected root node.

15. CSV Export

Download a full scan report as a CSV file from the dashboard:

1. Run a scan or view existing results.
2. Click the Export CSV button.
3. The file includes every rule, its severity, category, result detail items, and timestamps.

Use CSV exports to share reports with stakeholders, attach to project documentation, or archive for compliance audits.

16. Configuration Reference

All configuration is optional. Add the Umbraco:Pulse section to your appsettings.json to override defaults:

{
  "Umbraco": {
    "Pulse": {
      "Enabled": true,
      "ScanIntervalHours": 24,
      "InitialDelaySeconds": 60,
      "BatchSize": 500,
      "LargeMediaThresholdMB": 5,
      "MaxContentDepth": 7,
      "MaxDocTypeProperties": 50,
      "StaleUserDays": 90,
      "StaleContentDays": 180,
      "ThinContentWordThreshold": 300,
      "ReadabilityMinScore": 30,
      "ListViewContentThreshold": 50,
      "Schedule": {
        "Preset": "Daily",
        "CustomIntervalHours": 24,
        "PreferredHourUtc": 2,
        "PreferredDayOfWeek": "Sunday"
      },
      "Notifications": {
        "EmailEnabled": false,
        "ScoreThreshold": 70,
        "NotifyOnNewCritical": true,
        "NotifyOnScoreDrop": true,
        "ScoreDropThreshold": 10,
        "BackofficeBannerEnabled": true,
        "CooldownHours": 24
      }
    }
  }
}

Settings Quick Reference