diff --git a/swh/storage/storage.py b/swh/storage/storage.py
--- a/swh/storage/storage.py
+++ b/swh/storage/storage.py
@@ -1655,7 +1655,7 @@
         if self.journal_writer:
             self.journal_writer.write_addition('origin', origin)
 
-        return db.origin_add(origin['type'], origin['url'], cur)
+        return db.origin_add(origin.get('type'), origin['url'], cur)
 
     @db_transaction(statement_timeout=500)
     def stat_counters(self, db=None, cur=None):