diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/man.rst b/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/man.rst
index d1acb388..43b8125c 100644
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/man.rst
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/man.rst
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ distribution
    the targets /etc/lsb-release
 
 component
-   space delimited list of components to enable. Defaults to an empty string.
+   space delimited list of components to enable. Defaults to 'main'.
 
 
 BOOLEAN PARAMETERS
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/parameter/default/component b/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/parameter/default/component
index e69de29b..ba2906d0 100644
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/parameter/default/component
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__apt_source/parameter/default/component
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+main