diff --git a/lib/defaults.js b/lib/defaults.js
index d15a5b7b..d7fe17c8 100644
--- a/lib/defaults.js
+++ b/lib/defaults.js
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 module.exports = {
+  // database host defaults to localhost
+  host: 'localhost',
+
   //database user's name
   user: process.env.USER,