diff --git a/lib/refrepo/gen/wiki/wiki_generator.rb b/lib/refrepo/gen/wiki/wiki_generator.rb
index 1a84ce82c621f3076f2a813d1d8edd23d9ad235e..cc27da33967993dce6c10d403e94f5f370860c9d 100644
--- a/lib/refrepo/gen/wiki/wiki_generator.rb
+++ b/lib/refrepo/gen/wiki/wiki_generator.rb
@@ -16,8 +16,11 @@ class WikiGenerator
     tries = 3
     begin
       conf = RefRepo::Utils.get_api_config
-      @mw_client.log_in(conf['username'], conf['botpassword'])
+      @mw_client.log_in(conf[:username], conf[:botpassword])
     rescue
+      if !conf.has_key?(:botpassword)
+        raise "botpassword is not defined, see https://www.grid5000.fr/w/TechTeam:Reference_Repository#Credentials"
+      end
       tries -= 1
       if tries > 0
         puts "Login failed. retrying..."