diff --git a/config/ifupdown2.conf b/config/ifupdown2.conf
index 0f97946..906fdea 100644
--- a/config/ifupdown2.conf
+++ b/config/ifupdown2.conf
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
 # This file contains default settings for ifupdown
 #
 
+# enable templates
+template_enable=1
+
 # default template engine (only mako is currently supported)
 template_engine=mako