diff --git a/indexer/src/main/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.java b/indexer/src/main/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.java
index 364b880518c..e25da4a27d5 100644
--- a/indexer/src/main/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.java
+++ b/indexer/src/main/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.java
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ public class HadoopDruidIndexerConfig
       final @JsonProperty("targetPartitionSize") Long targetPartitionSize,
       final @JsonProperty("partitionsSpec") PartitionsSpec partitionsSpec,
       final @JsonProperty("leaveIntermediate") boolean leaveIntermediate,
-      final @JsonProperty("cleanupOnFailure") boolean cleanupOnFailure,
+      final @JsonProperty("cleanupOnFailure") Boolean cleanupOnFailure,
       final @JsonProperty("shardSpecs") Map<DateTime, List<HadoopyShardSpec>> shardSpecs,
       final @JsonProperty("overwriteFiles") boolean overwriteFiles,
       final @JsonProperty("rollupSpec") DataRollupSpec rollupSpec,
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ public class HadoopDruidIndexerConfig
     this.version = version == null ? new DateTime().toString() : version;
     this.partitionsSpec = partitionsSpec;
     this.leaveIntermediate = leaveIntermediate;
-    this.cleanupOnFailure = cleanupOnFailure;
+    this.cleanupOnFailure = (cleanupOnFailure == null ? true : cleanupOnFailure);
     this.shardSpecs = shardSpecs;
     this.overwriteFiles = overwriteFiles;
     this.rollupSpec = rollupSpec;
diff --git a/indexer/src/test/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfigTest.java b/indexer/src/test/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfigTest.java
index 73dcd252055..dcabe168e67 100644
--- a/indexer/src/test/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfigTest.java
+++ b/indexer/src/test/java/com/metamx/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerConfigTest.java
@@ -157,28 +157,6 @@ public class HadoopDruidIndexerConfigTest
     Assert.assertTrue("Exception thrown", thrown);
   }
 
-  @Test
-  public void testPartitionsSpecNoPartitioning() {
-    final HadoopDruidIndexerConfig cfg;
-
-    try {
-      cfg = jsonReadWriteRead(
-          "{}",
-          HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.class
-      );
-    } catch(Exception e) {
-      throw Throwables.propagate(e);
-    }
-
-    final PartitionsSpec partitionsSpec = cfg.getPartitionsSpec();
-
-    Assert.assertEquals(
-        "isDeterminingPartitions",
-        partitionsSpec.isDeterminingPartitions(),
-        false
-    );
-  }
-
   @Test
   public void testPartitionsSpecAutoDimension() {
     final HadoopDruidIndexerConfig cfg;
@@ -397,6 +375,58 @@ public class HadoopDruidIndexerConfigTest
     Assert.assertEquals(false, spec.useValidationQuery());
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testDefaultSettings() {
+    final HadoopDruidIndexerConfig cfg;
+
+    try {
+      cfg = jsonReadWriteRead(
+          "{}",
+          HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.class
+      );
+    } catch(Exception e) {
+      throw Throwables.propagate(e);
+    }
+
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        "cleanupOnFailure",
+        cfg.isCleanupOnFailure(),
+        true
+    );
+
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        "overwriteFiles",
+        cfg.isOverwriteFiles(),
+        false
+    );
+
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        "isDeterminingPartitions",
+        cfg.getPartitionsSpec().isDeterminingPartitions(),
+        false
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testNoCleanupOnFailure() {
+    final HadoopDruidIndexerConfig cfg;
+
+    try {
+      cfg = jsonReadWriteRead(
+          "{\"cleanupOnFailure\":false}",
+          HadoopDruidIndexerConfig.class
+      );
+    } catch(Exception e) {
+      throw Throwables.propagate(e);
+    }
+
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        "cleanupOnFailure",
+        cfg.isCleanupOnFailure(),
+        false
+    );
+  }
+
   private <T> T jsonReadWriteRead(String s, Class<T> klass)
   {
     try {