diff --git a/playbooks/vars.yaml b/playbooks/vars.yaml
index eb6ffae18..1135e326b 100644
--- a/playbooks/vars.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/vars.yaml
@@ -12,4 +12,6 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-null: null
+# NOTE(portdirect): for use in the dev-deploy scripts, a valid vars.yaml is
+# required, so provide some nonsense, yet harmless input.
+dummy_value: "Lorem Ipsum"