# Cylc set --pre=xtrigger?

**URL:** <https://cylc.discourse.group/t/cylc-set-pre-xtrigger/1147>\
**Category:** Cylc Support\
**Created:** [April 1, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://cylc.discourse.group/t/cylc-set-pre-xtrigger/1147 "2025-04-01T23:54:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TomC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/cylc.discourse.group/tomc/32/115_2.png) [@TomC](https://cylc.discourse.group/u/TomC)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://cylc.discourse.group/t/cylc-set-pre-xtrigger/1147/1 "2025-04-01T23:54:56Z")

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This perhaps is the same as [Set-outputs on an xtrigger](https://cylc.discourse.group/t/set-outputs-on-an-xtrigger/723) but I think it is slightly different. I was wondering if it was possible somehow to set the xtrigger pre-req for a task? I tried `cylc set --pre=W basic-workflow//20250123T0000Z/bar` for the below graph, but that didn’t work. I also tried `20250123T0000Z/W` (`bar does not depend on "20250123T0000Z/W:succeeded"`) and `20250123T0000Z/@W` (this one said `@W` is an illegal task name).

```auto
[scheduling]
    initial cycle point = 20250123
    runahead limit = P0

    [[xtriggers]]
        W = wall_clock(P20Y)

    [[graph]]
        P1D = @W => bar

[runtime]
    [[bar]]
        script = echo hello

```

NOTE: Only tested with 8.3.6 so far

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hilary.j.oliver](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/cylc.discourse.group/hilary.j.oliver/32/4_2.png) [@hilary.j.oliver](https://cylc.discourse.group/u/hilary.j.oliver)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 6:15am UTC](https://cylc.discourse.group/t/cylc-set-pre-xtrigger/1147/2 "2025-04-02T06:15:21Z")

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No you can’t do that yet. The workarounds would be:

- manually trigger the task, to run despite the unsatisfied xtrigger
- (or - for future tasks - remove the dependence on the xtrigger then reload or restart the scheduler)

HOWEVER, by a near-miraculous coincidence, just hours ago I just posted a draft code change to cover xtriggers with `cylc set`: [set command: manually satisfy or unsatisfy xtriggers by hjoliver · Pull Request #6695 · cylc/cylc-flow · GitHub](https://github.com/cylc/cylc-flow/pull/6695)

I’m hoping we’ll get this into Cylc 8.5 because the internals of it are needed for the upcoming “group trigger” feature [Group trigger by hjoliver · Pull Request #6395 · cylc/cylc-flow · GitHub](https://github.com/cylc/cylc-flow/pull/6395)