diff --git a/atom/common/lib/asar.coffee b/atom/common/lib/asar.coffee
index 22d0e70b34f..d2a7799fa69 100644
--- a/atom/common/lib/asar.coffee
+++ b/atom/common/lib/asar.coffee
@@ -263,7 +263,9 @@ exports.wrapFsWithAsar = (fs) ->
 
     info = archive.getFileInfo filePath
     notFoundError asarPath, filePath unless info
-    return new Buffer(0) if info.size is 0
+
+    if info.size is 0
+      return if options then '' else new Buffer(0)
 
     if info.unpacked
       realPath = archive.copyFileOut filePath