diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 08bd72a..966b6b7 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@
           timeout: 900
           logfile: /var/log/elasticsearch/curator.log
           logformat: json
+          master_only: true
           actions:
             - action: delete_indices
               description: >-
diff --git a/elasticsearch/files/curator.yml b/elasticsearch/files/curator.yml
index 6bb8f1e..4bdec0c 100644
--- a/elasticsearch/files/curator.yml
+++ b/elasticsearch/files/curator.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
   ssl_no_validate: False
   http_auth:
   timeout: {{ server.curator.timeout|default(120) }}
-  master_only: False
+  master_only: {{ server.curator.get('master_only', False)|lower }}
 
 logging:
   loglevel: {{ server.curator.loglevel|default("INFO") }}