diff --git a/ansible_ssh_env.sh b/ansible_ssh_env.sh
index dedadad13..76c4b081a 100644
--- a/ansible_ssh_env.sh
+++ b/ansible_ssh_env.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-: ${OPT_WORKDIR:=$HOME/.quickstart}
+export OPT_WORKDIR=${OPT_WORKDIR:=$HOME/.quickstart}
 
 #ssh config
-: ${SSH_CONFIG=$OPT_WORKDIR/ssh.config.ansible}
-: ${ANSIBLE_SSH_ARGS="-F ${SSH_CONFIG}"}
+export SSH_CONFIG=${SSH_CONFIG=$OPT_WORKDIR/ssh.config.ansible}
+#make sure ssh config exists
+touch $SSH_CONFIG
+export ANSIBLE_SSH_ARGS=${ANSIBLE_SSH_ARGS="-F ${SSH_CONFIG}"}