diff --git a/src/shell-util.c b/src/shell-util.c
index d1a75bc6b..bb2329536 100644
--- a/src/shell-util.c
+++ b/src/shell-util.c
@@ -638,6 +638,20 @@ shell_util_check_cloexec_fds (void)
   g_info ("Open fd CLOEXEC check complete");
 }
 
+/**
+ * shell_util_get_uid:
+ *
+ * A wrapper around getuid() so that it can be used from JavaScript. This
+ * function will always succeed.
+ *
+ * Returns: the real user ID of the calling process
+ */
+gint
+shell_util_get_uid (void)
+{
+  return getuid ();
+}
+
 static void
 on_systemd_call_cb (GObject      *source,
                     GAsyncResult *res,
diff --git a/src/shell-util.h b/src/shell-util.h
index 055e88190..aa79f4973 100644
--- a/src/shell-util.h
+++ b/src/shell-util.h
@@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ gboolean shell_util_has_x11_display_extension (MetaDisplay *display,
 
 char *shell_util_get_translated_folder_name (const char *name);
 
+gint shell_util_get_uid (void);
+
 G_END_DECLS
 
 #endif /* __SHELL_UTIL_H__ */