diff --git a/hosts/build04/default.nix b/hosts/build04/default.nix
index 51f2d6d..08750a9 100644
--- a/hosts/build04/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/build04/default.nix
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
   # set in srvos, remove when reinstalling
   networking.hostId = "deadbeef";
 
-  nixCommunity.remote-builder.key = "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIEmdo1x1QkRepZf7nSe+OdEWX+wOjkBLF70vX9F+xf68 builder";
-
   system.stateVersion = "23.11";
 
   systemd.network.networks."10-uplink".networkConfig.Address = "2a01:4f9:3051:3962::2";
diff --git a/hosts/darwin02/default.nix b/hosts/darwin02/default.nix
index fdd2580..8c36a95 100644
--- a/hosts/darwin02/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/darwin02/default.nix
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@
 
   nixCommunity.darwin.ipv6 = "2a09:9340:808:60b::1 64 fe80::1";
 
-  nixCommunity.remote-builder.key = "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIEmdo1x1QkRepZf7nSe+OdEWX+wOjkBLF70vX9F+xf68 builder";
-
   nix.settings.sandbox = "relaxed";
   nix.settings.extra-platforms = [ "x86_64-darwin" ];
 
diff --git a/modules/shared/remote-builder.nix b/modules/shared/remote-builder.nix
index 989bb5a..4860bc0 100644
--- a/modules/shared/remote-builder.nix
+++ b/modules/shared/remote-builder.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ in
 {
   options.nixCommunity.remote-builder.key = lib.mkOption {
     type = lib.types.singleLineStr;
-    default = null;
+    default = "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIEmdo1x1QkRepZf7nSe+OdEWX+wOjkBLF70vX9F+xf68 builder";
     description = "ssh public key for the remote build user";
   };