diff --git a/defaults/main/proxy_site_defs.yml b/defaults/main/proxy_site_defs.yml
index f72e16d..c9a208d 100644
--- a/defaults/main/proxy_site_defs.yml
+++ b/defaults/main/proxy_site_defs.yml
@@ -25,3 +25,8 @@
   # some of our sites require uploads, and those uploads
   # can be rather large; lets set a default max upload size:
   proxy_default_max_upload: 512M
+
+
+  # git repo vars for ssl certs
+  ssl_repo        : git@gitlab.thezengarden.net:zen/le-ssl-certs.git
+  ssl_repo_branch : master
diff --git a/tasks/main.yml b/tasks/main.yml
index 31238ae..a38efac 100644
--- a/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/tasks/main.yml
@@ -35,9 +35,9 @@
 
 - name: clone ssl certs
   git:
-    repo: git@gitlab.thezengarden.net:zen/le-ssl-certs.git
+    repo: "{{ ssl_repo }}"
     dest: "{{ proxy_site_ssl_directory }}"
-    version: master
+    version: "{{ ssl_repo_branch }}"
   notify: restart nginx