diff --git a/node_utils.js b/node_utils.js
index 85988131d7..e3c6a7e8e2 100644
--- a/node_utils.js
+++ b/node_utils.js
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ function get_conf() {
 	read_config('config.json');
 	read_config('sites/common_site_config.json');
 
-	// detect current site
+	// set default site
+	if (process.env.FRAPPE_SITE) {
+		conf.default_site = process.env.FRAPPE_SITE;
+	}
 	if (fs.existsSync('sites/currentsite.txt')) {
 		conf.default_site = fs.readFileSync('sites/currentsite.txt').toString().trim();
 	}
@@ -44,4 +47,4 @@ function get_redis_subscriber() {
 module.exports = {
     get_conf,
     get_redis_subscriber
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}