diff --git a/defaults/main.yml b/defaults/main.yml
index c598fa4..8f696d8 100644
--- a/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/defaults/main.yml
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ humio_socket_bind: "0.0.0.0"
 humio_http_bind: "0.0.0.0"
 humio_data_path: "/var/humio"
 
+#check for ephermal setting, will force bootstrap id not to be written
+humio_ephemeral: false
+
 # This exists for specific situations where someone may have different
 # base locations for each Humio process running on the system. Under
 # most conditions this can be left at the defaults where it simply mirrors
diff --git a/templates/server.conf.j2 b/templates/server.conf.j2
index b9cb5d7..bbb7da3 100644
--- a/templates/server.conf.j2
+++ b/templates/server.conf.j2
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #jinja2: trim_blocks:False
+{%- if humio_ephemeral %}
+{%- else %}
 BOOTSTRAP_HOST_ID={{ "%d%02d" | format(humio_host_id|int, item) }}
+{%- endif %}
 DIRECTORY={{ humio_data_paths[item|string] }}/{{ humio_host_id }}-{{ item }}/data
 {%- if humio_data_secondary_path %}
 PRIMARY_STORAGE_PERCENTAGE={{ humio_data_percentage }}