diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-up.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-up.yml
index a246082..5ff35e7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker-up.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker-up.yml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Configure SSH
         env:
           PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
-          DEPLOY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.DEPLOYMENT_USERNAME }}
+          DEPLOY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.DEPLOYMENT_USERNAME || 'ubuntu' }}
         run: |
           mkdir -p ~/.ssh/
           echo "$PRIVATE_KEY" > ~/.ssh/aws
diff --git a/web/deploy/terraform/README.md b/web/deploy/terraform/README.md
index 069e71f..5ecabdb 100644
--- a/web/deploy/terraform/README.md
+++ b/web/deploy/terraform/README.md
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ You must set the following [repository secrets](https://github.com/nimh-dsst/osm
 * `SSH_PROD_HOST`: The static IP address of the production ec2 instance
 * `SSH_STAGE_HOST`: The static IP address of the staging ec2 instance
 * `LETSENCRYPT_ADMIN_EMAIL`: The email address associated with the Let's Encrypt certificate
-
+* `DEPLOYMENT_USERNAME`: The username used to ssh into the ec2 instances. Defaults to `ubuntu`.
 You must also set the following [repository variables](https://github.com/nimh-dsst/osm/settings/variables/actions) before running the GitHub workflows:
 
 * `PRODUCTION_DEPLOYMENT_URI`: The URL of the production deployment. Probably `'opensciencemetrics.org'` (including single quotes `'`)