diff --git a/nova/compute.sls b/nova/compute.sls
index 24b7bc3..fdb8cec 100644
--- a/nova/compute.sls
+++ b/nova/compute.sls
@@ -51,6 +51,12 @@
   - names:
     - {{ compute.user.public_key }}
 
+user_nova:
+  user.present:
+  - name: nova
+  - home: /var/lib/nova
+  - shell: /bin/bash
+
 /var/lib/nova/.ssh/id_rsa:
   file.managed:
   - user: nova