diff --git a/group_vars/all/main.yml b/group_vars/all/main.yml
index 99619d7..370b3b8 100644
--- a/group_vars/all/main.yml
+++ b/group_vars/all/main.yml
@@ -2,9 +2,13 @@
 # Vars for every VPS in the fleet. Keep this file plaintext and readable
 # in diffs - actual secret values live in group_vars/all/vault.yml.
 
+# settings used to connect to remote host
 ansible_user: "ansible"
 ansible_port: 25456
 
+# remote used for all playbooks except firstrun
+deploy_user: ansible
+deploy_user_shell: /bin/bash
 
 ufw_allowed_tcp_ports:
   - "{{ ssh_port }}"
diff --git a/group_vars/firstrun/main.yml b/group_vars/firstrun/main.yml
index fa74e78..64311b4 100644
--- a/group_vars/firstrun/main.yml
+++ b/group_vars/firstrun/main.yml
@@ -6,10 +6,6 @@
 ansible_user: "root"
 ansible_port: 22
 
-# The non-root user created/used for all future Ansible runs
-deploy_user: ansible
-deploy_user_shell: /bin/bash
-
 # SSH public keys granted access to deploy_user on every host
 deploy_user_ssh_keys:
   - "{{ ssh_key_ansible }}"