---
title: Collector state
slug: concepts/collector-state
docTags: GOo15ntkoXThxPf_Z8vVm
createdAt: 2025-09-05T09:32:34.532Z
---

## States

A collector can have one of three states:

- **Initial**
  The collector has been added, but there is no communication yet between Historian and the collector.
- **Active**
  The collector has made contact with Historian and is actively gathering data.
- **Paused**
  The collector has been paused and is not actively gathering data.

At first, a collector will be in the `initial` state. After starting, the collector will be `active`, and can switch between being `paused` and `active`.

![](https://app.archbee.com/api/optimize/q2ez4Myy1Okvv4IuodiZe-3gwJW_0yatv93Xm1Ice6_-20250905-093340.svg)

## Heartbeat

The collector heartbeat shows a timestamp or the label `just now` if data from the collector was recently received. The `just now` label is shown when data was collected less than a minute ago.

If no data was received from the collector for more than a minute, the status icon will turn red. This either means the collector service has been stopped or the communication between the collector and the Historian isn’t working.

## Health

General collector health messages are:

- **Collecting**
  The collector is actively gathering data.
- **Paused**
  The collector is paused and is not gathering data.
- **Collector closed**
  The collector has been shut down and is not gathering data.

Any other health messages are collector type specific.