# Force to gather fact even if gathering is set to smart

**URL:** <https://forum.ansible.com/t/force-to-gather-fact-even-if-gathering-is-set-to-smart/21310>\
**Category:** Ansible Project\
**Created:** [April 29, 2016, 8:40am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/force-to-gather-fact-even-if-gathering-is-set-to-smart/21310 "2016-04-29T08:40:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jurgen\_Haas2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@Jurgen\_Haas2](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Jurgen_Haas2)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 8:40am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/force-to-gather-fact-even-if-gathering-is-set-to-smart/21310/1 "2016-04-29T08:40:59Z")

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How can I force setup to run on a play even if the Ansible config file is set to gathering strategy of smart.

When I include  
`gather_facts: True`

for a play, it is just ignored while the facts file for a host is available in ~/.ansible/facts - this is in Ansible version 2.0.2.0

What am I doing wrong or is that even by design?

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**Author:** ![Paul\_Totterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Paul\_Totterman](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Paul_Totterman)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/force-to-gather-fact-even-if-gathering-is-set-to-smart/21310/2 "2016-05-01T11:41:41Z")

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Hi,

> How can I force setup to run on a play even if the Ansible config file is set to gathering strategy of smart.

Ansible 2.1:

- New meta action, `meta: clear_facts` which will remove existing facts for the current host from current memory and facts cache.

Cheers,  
Paul