diff --git a/group_vars/matrix_servers b/group_vars/matrix_servers
index b63763fce..1969df5d0 100755
--- a/group_vars/matrix_servers
+++ b/group_vars/matrix_servers
@@ -4040,6 +4040,7 @@ etherpad_systemd_required_services_list_auto: |
     ([postgres_identifier ~ '.service'] if postgres_enabled else [])
   }}
 
+etherpad_database_type: postgres
 etherpad_database_postgres_hostname: "{{ postgres_connection_hostname if postgres_enabled else '' }}"
 etherpad_database_name: matrix_etherpad
 etherpad_database_postgres_username: matrix_etherpad