diff --git a/cmd/hepto/config.go b/cmd/hepto/config.go
index 62ef6eae3e3571ea3792aafeacb0e7e2a2ff4135..4c29a4a5d924ef52ba98d6ed99c7a082a2c2337e 100644
--- a/cmd/hepto/config.go
+++ b/cmd/hepto/config.go
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func (c *Config) FlagSet() *flag.FlagSet {
 	// Node settings
 
 	fs.StringVar(&config.Node.Name, "name", "", "Hepto node name")
-	fs.StringVar(&config.Node.Role, "role", "node", "Node role inside the cluster")
+	fs.StringVar(&config.Node.Role, "role", "", "Node role inside the cluster")
 	return fs
 }
 
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ func (c *Config) Validate() error {
 	if c.Node.Name == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("must provide a valid node name")
 	}
+	if c.Node.Role != "master" && c.Node.Role != "node" && c.Node.Role != "full" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("role must be 'master', 'node' or 'full'")
+	}
 	// Initialize logging, default to warn level
 	zapLogger, logrusLogger, err := utils.NewLoggers(config.LogLevel, os.Stderr)
 	if err != nil {