diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 0538613e7f221d8d371438314be8501f4ea19abc..c4536534e69b7537aa081b100f98eee6feca5c48 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 stages:
   - deploy
 
+variables:
+  SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: $DOKKU_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY
+
 deploy:
   stage: deploy
   only: