diff --git a/Provision/Context/server.php b/Provision/Context/server.php
index 94861fd..8423ce9 100644
--- a/Provision/Context/server.php
+++ b/Provision/Context/server.php
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ class Provision_Context_server extends Provision_Context {
       'script_user' => 'server: OS user name; default current user',
       'aegir_root' => 'server: Aegir root; default ' . getenv('HOME'),
       'master_url' => 'server: Hostmaster URL',
+      'master_db' => 'server: database connection string',
     );
     foreach (drush_command_invoke_all('provision_services') as $service => $default) {
       // TODO: replace this file scanning nastiness, with a hook!
@@ -68,6 +69,8 @@ class Provision_Context_server extends Provision_Context {
 
     $this->setProperty('master_url');
     $this->setProperty('admin_email', 'admin@' . $this->remote_host);
+    $this->setProperty('master_db');
+    $this->creds =  array_map('urldecode', parse_url($this->master_db));
     $this->load_services();
   }