diff --git a/library/apt b/library/apt
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..9e77a8156d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/library/apt
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+#!/usr/bin/python -tt
+# (c) 2012, Flowroute LLC
+# Written by Matthew Williams <matthew@flowroute.com>
+# Based on yum module written by Seth Vidal <skvidal at fedoraproject.org>
+#
+# This module is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# This software is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this software.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+
+try:
+    import json
+except ImportError:
+    import simplejson as json
+import os
+import sys
+import apt
+import shlex
+import subprocess
+import traceback
+
+APT = "/usr/bin/apt-get"
+
+def debug(msg):
+    # ansible ignores stderr, so it's safe to use for debug
+    print >>sys.stderr, msg
+    #pass
+    
+def exit_json(rc=0, **kwargs):
+    print json.dumps(kwargs)
+    sys.exit(rc)
+
+def fail_json(**kwargs):
+    kwargs['failed'] = True
+    exit_json(rc=1, **kwargs)
+
+def run_apt(command):
+    debug(command)
+    try:
+        cmd = subprocess.Popen(command, shell=True, 
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
+        out, err = cmd.communicate()
+    except (OSError, IOError), e:
+        rc = 1
+        err = str(e)
+        out = ''
+    except:
+        rc = 1
+        err = traceback.format_exc()
+        out = ''
+
+        if out is None:
+           out = ''
+        if err is None:
+           err = ''
+    else:
+        rc = cmd.returncode
+        
+    debug(err)
+    return rc, out, err
+
+def get_cache():
+    # TODO: Only update the cache if it's old.
+    cache = apt.Cache()
+    cache.update()
+    cache.open(None)
+    return cache
+
+def package_installed(pkgspec):
+    cache = get_cache()
+    try:
+       pkg = cache[pkgspec]
+    except:
+        fail_json(msg="No package matching '%s' is available" % pkgspec)
+    return bool(pkg.is_installed)
+
+def install(pkgspec):
+    installed = package_installed(pkgspec)
+    debug("installed: %d" % installed)
+    if installed:
+        return False
+    else:
+        cmd = "%s -q -y install '%s'" % (APT, pkgspec)
+        rc, out, err = run_apt(cmd)
+        # TODO: Ensure the package was really installed.
+        return True
+
+def remove(pkgspec):
+    installed = package_installed(pkgspec)
+    debug("installed: %d" % installed)
+    if not installed:
+        return False
+    else:
+        cmd = "%s -q -y remove '%s'" % (APT, pkgspec)
+        rc, out, err = run_apt(cmd)
+        # TODO: Ensure the package was really removed.
+        return True
+    
+def update(args):
+    # TODO: generic update routine 
+    pass
+
+def remove_only(pkgspec):
+    # TODO: remove this pkg and only this pkg - fail if it will require more to remove
+    pass
+
+# ===========================================
+
+if not os.path.exists(APT):
+   fail_json(msg="Cannot find apt-get")
+
+argfile = sys.argv[1]
+args    = open(argfile, 'r').read()
+items   = shlex.split(args)
+
+if not len(items):
+    fail_json(msg='the module requires arguments -a')
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+params = {}
+for x in items:
+    (k, v) = x.split("=")
+    params[k] = v
+
+state   = params.get('state','installed')
+package = params.get('pkg', None)
+
+if state not in ['installed', 'removed']:
+    fail_json(msg='invalid state')
+if package is None:
+    fail_json(msg='pkg is required')
+
+if state == 'installed':
+    changed = install(package)
+elif state == 'removed':
+    changed = remove(package)
+exit_json(changed=changed)
+
+