diff --git a/docs/rolereference.rst b/docs/rolereference.rst
index e3ab8e0fdbcb0e79bc50bd237ac76afe27f7afce..d2aae24c30223578e77aff1a43bf06366f7c46b5 100644
--- a/docs/rolereference.rst
+++ b/docs/rolereference.rst
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ preseed file per server.
 Parameters
 ~~~~~~~~~~
 
-**ansible_key** (string, optional, ``{{ lookup('file', '~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub') }}``)
+**ansible_key** (string, mandatory)
   SSH public key that should be deployed to authorized_keys truststore for
   operating system user ``root``. This is necessary for the bootstrap process
   to work since Debian does not allow password-based logins for root.