diff --git a/tests/lib/pkgdb.sh b/tests/lib/pkgdb.sh
index c3499519d05..1728c47ede6 100644
--- a/tests/lib/pkgdb.sh
+++ b/tests/lib/pkgdb.sh
@@ -120,3 +120,15 @@ distro_clean_package_cache() {
             ;;
     esac
 }
+
+distro_auto_remove_packages() {
+    case "$SPREAD_SYSTEM" in
+        ubuntu-*|debian-*)
+            quiet apt-get -y autoremove
+            ;;
+        *)
+            echo "ERROR: Unsupported distribution '$SPREAD_SYSTEM'"
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+    esac
+}