> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://netter.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Triggers

> Triggers decide when a pipeline runs without anyone clicking. Attach them to database steps.

A **trigger** fires a run automatically. Triggers live on `database` steps—not on roots, not on transforms. When a database is triggered, the platform refreshes its **ancestor closure**: every step that contributes to that database.

## Trigger types

| Type         | When it fires                                                                   |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Schedule** | On a cron expression (e.g. every hour, every weekday at 6am UTC).               |
| **Manual**   | When someone clicks **Refresh** on the database, or **Run all** on the project. |

Triggers are configured from the database step's inspector. A single database can carry one schedule trigger plus the implicit manual one.

## Cascade

Triggers aren't the only way runs start. When an upstream database is refreshed, every downstream pipeline that reads from it cascades automatically. This is configuration-free—wire the `data_read` step to the upstream database and the dependency is tracked from then on.

Cascades are debounced and idempotent: rapid upstream refreshes coalesce into a single downstream run, and unchanged refreshes are skipped (see [Runs](/docs/pipelines/runs) for cascade events).

## Schedule mechanics

Schedules run in the platform's worker, not in your browser. Each fire creates a Run scoped to the triggered database's ancestor closure. Schedules continue to fire even if a previous run is still in progress; if you don't want overlap, set the interval longer than the run takes.

## Disabling a trigger

You can pause a trigger from the database step inspector. A paused trigger stays configured but does not fire until you resume it. Cascade is paused by suppressing the downstream `data_read` or the database itself.