diff --git a/debian/conf/gitlab b/debian/conf/gitlab
index 9918667d2a..651b242a7e 100755
--- a/debian/conf/gitlab
+++ b/debian/conf/gitlab
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ RAILS_ENV="production"
 
 # Read debian specific configuration
 . /etc/gitlab/gitlab-debian.conf
+. /etc/gitlab-common/gitlab-common.conf
 
 for i in $(grep -v '#' /etc/gitlab/gitlab-debian.conf | cut -d= -f 1)
 do
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ done
 
 # app_user defines the user that GitLab is run as.
 # The default is "git".
-app_user=${gitlab_user}
+export app_user=${gitlab_user}
 
 # app_root defines the folder in which gitlab and it's components are installed.
 # The default is "/home/$app_user/gitlab"