diff --git a/bin/yunohost b/bin/yunohost
index b24fffb7..6800a4a9 100755
--- a/bin/yunohost
+++ b/bin/yunohost
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ USE_CACHE = True
 # Either the output has to be encoded as a JSON encoded string or not
 PRINT_JSON = False
 
+# Either the output has to printed for scripting usage or not
+PRINT_PLAIN = False
+
 # Level for which loggers will log
 LOGGERS_LEVEL = 'INFO'
 
@@ -62,6 +65,10 @@ def _parse_argv():
         global PRINT_JSON
         PRINT_JSON = True
         argv.remove('--json')
+    if '--plain' in argv:
+        global PRINT_PLAIN
+        PRINT_PLAIN = True
+        argv.remove('--plain')
     if '--debug' in argv:
         global LOGGERS_LEVEL
         LOGGERS_LEVEL = 'DEBUG'
@@ -156,6 +163,6 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
 
     # Execute the action
     from moulinette import cli
-    ret = cli(_retrieve_namespaces(), args,
-              print_json=PRINT_JSON, use_cache=USE_CACHE)
+    ret = cli(_retrieve_namespaces(), args, use_cache=USE_CACHE,
+              print_json=PRINT_JSON, print_plain=PRINT_PLAIN)
     sys.exit(ret)
diff --git a/data/apps/helpers.d/user b/data/apps/helpers.d/user
index de9a2cbc..1fd8d203 100644
--- a/data/apps/helpers.d/user
+++ b/data/apps/helpers.d/user
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
-
 # Check if a user exists
+#
+# usage: ynh_user_exists username
+# | ret: retcode - 0 if user exists, 1 otherwise
 ynh_user_exists() {
     sudo yunohost user list --json | grep -q "\"username\": \"${1}\""
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+# Retrieve a user information
+#
+# usage: ynh_user_info username key
+# | ret: string - the key's value
+ynh_user_get_info() {
+    sudo yunohost user info "${1}" --plain | ynh_get_plain_key "${2}"
+}
diff --git a/data/apps/helpers.d/utils b/data/apps/helpers.d/utils
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87cd47f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/apps/helpers.d/utils
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Extract a key from a plain command output
+#
+# usage: ynh_get_plain_key key [subkey [subsubkey ...]]
+# | ret: string - the key's value
+ynh_get_plain_key() {
+    prefix="#"
+    founded=0
+    key=$1
+    shift
+    while read line; do
+        if [[ "$founded" == "1" ]] ; then
+            [[ "$line" =~ ^${prefix}[^#] ]] && return
+            echo $line
+        elif [[ "$line" =~ ^${prefix}${key}$ ]]; then
+            if [[ -n "$1" ]]; then
+                prefix+="#"
+                key=$1
+                shift
+            else
+                founded=1
+            fi
+        fi
+    done
+}