diff --git a/.cirrus.yml b/.cirrus.yml
index 8b3e6f4b2..e15e489dd 100644
--- a/.cirrus.yml
+++ b/.cirrus.yml
@@ -49,6 +49,13 @@ task:
     - coveralls
   env:
     ELECTRUM_REQUIREMENTS: contrib/requirements/requirements-travis.txt
+    # following CI_* env vars are set up for coveralls
+    CI_NAME: "CirrusCI"
+    CI_BUILD_NUMBER: $CIRRUS_TASK_ID
+    CI_BUILD_URL: "https://cirrus-ci.com/task/$CIRRUS_TASK_ID"
+    CI_BRANCH: $CIRRUS_BRANCH
+    CI_PULL_REQUEST: $CIRRUS_PR
+    # in addition, COVERALLS_REPO_TOKEN is set as an "override" in https://cirrus-ci.com/settings/...
 
 task:
   name: Locale