diff --git a/check_apt.sh b/check_apt.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..95fd5c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/check_apt.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Cloudkick plugin to check for updated apt packages on Ubuntu
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2010 by Ben Firshman <ben@firshman.co.uk>
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+# of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+# in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+# to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+# copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+# furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+# OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+# THE SOFTWARE.
+
+
+# Piggy back Ubuntu's cached update notices
+UPDATES_AVAILABLE=`/usr/lib/update-notifier/update-motd-updates-available`
+UPDATE_COUNT=`echo "$UPDATES_AVAILABLE" | awk 'NR==2 { print $1 }'`
+SECURITY_COUNT=`echo "$UPDATES_AVAILABLE" | awk 'NR==3 { print $1 }'`
+UPDATES_SINGLE_LINE=`echo "$UPDATES_AVAILABLE" | tr "\n" " "`
+
+REBOOT_REQUIRED=`/usr/lib/update-notifier/update-motd-reboot-required`
+
+if [ -n "$REBOOT_REQUIRED" ]; then
+   echo "status err $REBOOT_REQUIRED, $UPDATES_SINGLE_LINE"
+   exit
+fi
+
+if [ $SECURITY_COUNT -gt 0 ]; then
+   STATUS="err"
+else
+   STATUS="ok"
+fi
+
+echo "status $STATUS $UPDATES_SINGLE_LINE"
+