diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/utils.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4a523b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+# ex:ts=4:sw=4:sts=4:et
+# -*- tab-width: 4; c-basic-offset: 4; indent-tabs-mode: nil -*-
+#
+# utils: common methods used by the patchtest framework
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+#
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+import logging
+import re
+import mailbox
+
+class CmdException(Exception):
+    """ Simple exception class where its attributes are the ones passed when instantiated """
+    def __init__(self, cmd):
+        self._cmd = cmd
+    def __getattr__(self, name):
+        value = None
+        if self._cmd.has_key(name):
+            value = self._cmd[name]
+        return value
+
+def exec_cmd(cmd, cwd, ignore_error=False, input=None, strip=True, updateenv={}):
+    """
+         Input:
+
+            cmd: dict containing the following keys:
+
+                cmd : the command itself as an array of strings
+                ignore_error: if False, no exception is raised
+                strip: indicates if strip is done on the output (stdout and stderr)
+                input: input data to the command (stdin)
+                updateenv: environment variables to be appended to the current
+                process environment variables
+
+            NOTE: keys 'ignore_error' and 'input' are optional; if not included,
+            the defaults are the ones specify in the arguments
+            cwd: directory where commands are executed
+            ignore_error: raise CmdException if command fails to execute and
+            this value is False
+            input: input data (stdin) for the command
+
+         Output: dict containing the following keys:
+
+             cmd: the same as input
+             ignore_error: the same as input
+             strip: the same as input
+             input: the same as input
+             stdout: Standard output after command's execution
+             stderr: Standard error after command's execution
+             returncode: Return code after command's execution
+
+    """
+    cmddefaults = {
+        'cmd':'',
+        'ignore_error':ignore_error,
+        'strip':strip,
+        'input':input,
+        'updateenv':updateenv,
+    }
+
+    # update input values if necessary
+    cmddefaults.update(cmd)
+
+    _cmd = cmddefaults
+
+    if not _cmd['cmd']:
+        raise CmdException({'cmd':None, 'stderr':'no command given'})
+
+    # update the environment
+    env = os.environ
+    env.update(_cmd['updateenv'])
+
+    _command = [e for e in _cmd['cmd']]
+    p = subprocess.Popen(_command,
+                         stdin=subprocess.PIPE,
+                         stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                         stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+                         universal_newlines=True,
+                         cwd=cwd,
+                         env=env)
+
+    # execute the command and strip output
+    (_stdout, _stderr) = p.communicate(_cmd['input'])
+    if _cmd['strip']:
+        _stdout, _stderr = map(str.strip, [_stdout, _stderr])
+
+    # generate the result
+    result = _cmd
+    result.update({'cmd':_command,'stdout':_stdout,'stderr':_stderr,'returncode':p.returncode})
+
+    # launch exception if necessary
+    if not _cmd['ignore_error'] and p.returncode:
+        raise CmdException(result)
+
+    return result
+
+def exec_cmds(cmds, cwd):
+    """ Executes commands
+
+         Input:
+             cmds: Array of commands
+             cwd: directory where commands are executed
+
+         Output: Array of output commands
+    """
+    results = []
+    _cmds = cmds
+
+    for cmd in _cmds:
+        result = exec_cmd(cmd, cwd)
+        results.append(result)
+
+    return results
+
+def logger_create(name):
+    logger = logging.getLogger(name)
+    loggerhandler = logging.StreamHandler()
+    loggerhandler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("%(message)s"))
+    logger.addHandler(loggerhandler)
+    logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
+    return logger
+
+def get_subject_prefix(path):
+    prefix = ""
+    mbox = mailbox.mbox(path)
+
+    if len(mbox):
+        subject = mbox[0]['subject']
+        if subject:
+            pattern = re.compile("(\[.*\])", re.DOTALL)
+            match = pattern.search(subject)
+            if match:
+                prefix = match.group(1)
+
+    return prefix
+
+def valid_branch(branch):
+    """ Check if branch is valid name """
+    lbranch = branch.lower()
+
+    invalid  = lbranch.startswith('patch') or \
+               lbranch.startswith('rfc') or \
+               lbranch.startswith('resend') or \
+               re.search('^v\d+', lbranch) or \
+               re.search('^\d+/\d+', lbranch)
+
+    return not invalid
+
+def get_branch(path):
+    """ Get the branch name from mbox """
+    fullprefix = get_subject_prefix(path)
+    branch, branches, valid_branches = None, [], []
+
+    if fullprefix:
+        prefix = fullprefix.strip('[]')
+        branches = [ b.strip() for b in prefix.split(',')]
+        valid_branches = [b for b in branches if valid_branch(b)]
+
+    if len(valid_branches):
+        branch = valid_branches[0]
+
+    return branch
+