diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2ae6b29cce06..4ac256847b57 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -15,36 +15,71 @@ editor](https://github.com/atom/atom) and many other [apps](https://electron.ato
 Follow [@ElectronJS](https://twitter.com/electronjs) on Twitter for important
 announcements.
 
-This project adheres to the Contributor Covenant [code of conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
+This project adheres to the Contributor Covenant 
+[code of conduct](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
 By participating, you are expected to uphold this code. Please report unacceptable
-behavior to electron@github.com.
+behavior to [electron@github.com](mailto:electron@github.com).
 
-## Downloads
+## Installation
 
-To install prebuilt Electron binaries, use
-[`npm`](https://docs.npmjs.com/):
+To install prebuilt Electron binaries, use [`npm`](https://docs.npmjs.com/).
+The preferred method is to install Electron as a development dependency in your
+app:
 
 ```sh
-# Install as a development dependency
-npm install electron --save-dev
-
-# Install the `electron` command globally in your $PATH
-npm install electron -g
+npm install electron --save-dev --save-exact
 ```
 
-See the [releases page](https://github.com/electron/electron/releases) for
-prebuilt binaries, debug symbols, and more.
+The `--save-exact` flag is recommended as Electron does not follow semantic
+versioning. For info on how to manage Electron versions in your apps, see
+[Electron versioning](https://electron.atom.io/docs/tutorial/electron-versioning/).
+
+For more installation options and troubleshooting tips, see
+[installation](https://electron.atom.io/docs/tutorial/installation/).
+
+## Quick Start
+
+Clone and run the 
+[electron/electron-quick-start](https://github.com/electron/electron-quick-start)
+repository to see a minimal Electron app in action:
+
+```
+git clone https://github.com/electron/electron-quick-start
+cd electron-quick-start
+npm install
+npm start
+```
+
+## Resources for Learning Electron
+
+- [electron.atom.io/docs](http://electron.atom.io/docs) - all of Electron's documentation
+- [electron/electron-quick-start](https://github.com/electron/electron-quick-start) - a very basic starter Electron app
+- [electron.atom.io/community/#boilerplates](http://electron.atom.io/community/#boilerplates) - sample starter apps created by the community
+- [electron/simple-samples](https://github.com/electron/simple-samples) - small applications with ideas for taking them further
+- [electron/electron-api-demos](https://github.com/electron/electron-api-demos) - an Electron app that teaches you how to use Electron
+- [hokein/electron-sample-apps](https://github.com/hokein/electron-sample-apps) - small demo apps for the various Electron APIs
+
+## Programmatic usage
+
+Most people use Electron from the command line, but if you require `electron` inside
+your **Node app** (not your Electron app) it will return the file path to the
+binary. Use this to spawn Electron from Node scripts:
+
+```javascript
+const electron = require('electron')
+const proc = require('child_process')
+
+// will print something similar to /Users/maf/.../Electron
+console.log(electron)
+
+// spawn Electron
+const child = proc.spawn(electron)
+```
 
 ### Mirrors
 
 - [China](https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/electron)
 
-## Documentation
-
-Guides and the API reference are located in the
-[docs](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/master/docs) directory. It also
-contains documents describing how to build and contribute to Electron.
-
 ## Documentation Translations
 
 - [Brazilian Portuguese](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/master/docs-translations/pt-BR)
@@ -60,11 +95,6 @@ contains documents describing how to build and contribute to Electron.
 - [French](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/master/docs-translations/fr-FR)
 - [Indonesian](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/master/docs-translations/id)
 
-## Quick Start
-
-Clone and run the [`electron/electron-quick-start`](https://github.com/electron/electron-quick-start)
-repository to see a minimal Electron app in action.
-
 ## Community
 
 You can ask questions and interact with the community in the following
diff --git a/docs/tutorial/installation.md b/docs/tutorial/installation.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ca2e92a2071f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/tutorial/installation.md
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# Installation
+
+> Tips for installing Electron
+
+To install prebuilt Electron binaries, use [`npm`](https://docs.npmjs.com/).
+The preferred method is to install Electron as a development dependency in your
+app:
+
+```sh
+npm install electron --save-dev --save-exact
+```
+
+The `--save-exact` flag is recommended as Electron does not follow semantic
+versioning. See the
+[versioning doc](https://electron.atom.io/docs/tutorial/electron-versioning/)
+for info on how to manage Electron versions in your apps.
+
+## Global Installation
+
+You can also install the `electron` command globally in your `$PATH`:
+
+```sh
+npm install electron -g
+```
+
+## Customization
+
+If you want to change the architecture that is downloaded (e.g., `ia32` on an
+`x64` machine), you can use the `--arch` flag with npm install or set the
+`npm_config_arch` environment variable:
+
+```shell
+npm install --arch=ia32 electron
+```
+
+## Proxies
+
+If you need to use an HTTP proxy you can [set these environment variables](https://github.com/request/request/tree/f0c4ec061141051988d1216c24936ad2e7d5c45d#controlling-proxy-behaviour-using-environment-variables).
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+When running `npm install electron`, some users occasionally encounter 
+installation errors.
+
+In almost all cases, these errors are the result of network problems and not 
+actual issues with the `electron` npm package. Errors like `ELIFECYCLE`, 
+`EAI_AGAIN`, `ECONNRESET`, and `ETIMEDOUT` are all indications of such 
+network problems.  The best resolution is to try switching networks, or 
+just wait a bit and try installing again.
+
+You can also attempt to download Electron directly from 
+[electron/electron/releases](https://github.com/electron/electron/releases) 
+if installing via `npm` is failing.
+
+If you need to force a re-download of the asset and the SHASUM file set the
+`force_no_cache` enviroment variable to `true`.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/npm/cli.js b/npm/cli.js
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..bfe2c11be311
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/cli.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+var electron = require('./')
+
+var proc = require('child_process')
+
+var child = proc.spawn(electron, process.argv.slice(2), {stdio: 'inherit'})
+child.on('close', function (code) {
+  process.exit(code)
+})
diff --git a/npm/index.js b/npm/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..eb480b9e01dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+var fs = require('fs')
+var path = require('path')
+
+var pathFile = path.join(__dirname, 'path.txt')
+
+if (fs.existsSync(pathFile)) {
+  module.exports = path.join(__dirname, fs.readFileSync(pathFile, 'utf-8'))
+} else {
+  throw new Error('Electron failed to install correctly, please delete node_modules/electron and try installing again')
+}
diff --git a/npm/install.js b/npm/install.js
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..3a93295f35db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/install.js
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+// maintainer note - x.y.z-ab version in package.json -> x.y.z
+var version = require('./package').version.replace(/-.*/, '')
+
+var fs = require('fs')
+var os = require('os')
+var path = require('path')
+var extract = require('extract-zip')
+var download = require('electron-download')
+
+var installedVersion = null
+try {
+  installedVersion = fs.readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, 'dist', 'version'), 'utf-8').replace(/^v/, '')
+} catch (ignored) {
+  // do nothing
+}
+
+var platformPath = getPlatformPath()
+
+if (installedVersion === version && fs.existsSync(path.join(__dirname, platformPath))) {
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+// downloads if not cached
+download({
+  cache: process.env.electron_config_cache,
+  version: version,
+  platform: process.env.npm_config_platform,
+  arch: process.env.npm_config_arch,
+  strictSSL: process.env.npm_config_strict_ssl === 'true',
+  force: process.env.force_no_cache === 'true',
+  quiet: ['info', 'verbose', 'silly', 'http'].indexOf(process.env.npm_config_loglevel) === -1
+}, extractFile)
+
+// unzips and makes path.txt point at the correct executable
+function extractFile (err, zipPath) {
+  if (err) return onerror(err)
+  extract(zipPath, {dir: path.join(__dirname, 'dist')}, function (err) {
+    if (err) return onerror(err)
+    fs.writeFile(path.join(__dirname, 'path.txt'), platformPath, function (err) {
+      if (err) return onerror(err)
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+function onerror (err) {
+  throw err
+}
+
+function getPlatformPath () {
+  var platform = process.env.npm_config_platform || os.platform()
+
+  switch (platform) {
+    case 'darwin':
+      return 'dist/Electron.app/Contents/MacOS/Electron'
+    case 'freebsd':
+    case 'linux':
+      return 'dist/electron'
+    case 'win32':
+      return 'dist/electron.exe'
+    default:
+      throw new Error('Electron builds are not available on platform: ' + platform)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/npm/package.json b/npm/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..87935105dca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+  "scripts": {
+    "cache-clean": "rm -rf ~/.electron && rm -rf dist",
+    "postinstall": "node install.js",
+    "pretest": "npm run cache-clean",
+    "test": "standard"
+  },
+  "bin": {
+    "electron": "cli.js"
+  },
+  "main": "index.js",
+  "types": "electron.d.ts",
+  "dependencies": {
+    "@types/node": "^7.0.18",
+    "electron-download": "^3.0.1",
+    "extract-zip": "^1.0.3"
+  },
+  "devDependencies": {
+    "home-path": "^0.1.1",
+    "path-exists": "^2.0.0",
+    "standard": "^5.4.1"
+  },
+  "directories": {
+    "test": "test"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f7ecebed82b5..f0fd42c54859 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,17 +1,22 @@
 {
   "name": "electron",
   "version": "1.7.5",
+  "repository": "https://github.com/electron/electron",
+  "description": "Build cross platform desktop apps with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS",
   "devDependencies": {
     "asar": "^0.11.0",
     "browserify": "^13.1.0",
     "check-for-leaks": "^1.0.2",
+    "dotenv-safe": "^4.0.4",
     "electabul": "~0.0.4",
     "electron-docs-linter": "^2.3.3",
     "electron-typescript-definitions": "^1.2.7",
+    "github": "^9.2.0",
     "husky": "^0.14.3",
     "request": "^2.68.0",
     "standard": "^8.4.0",
-    "standard-markdown": "^4.0.0"
+    "standard-markdown": "^4.0.0",
+    "temp": "^0.8.3"
   },
   "standard": {
     "ignore": [
@@ -43,11 +48,17 @@
     "create-api-json": "electron-docs-linter docs --outfile=out/electron-api.json --version=$npm_package_version",
     "create-typescript-definitions": "npm run create-api-json && electron-typescript-definitions --in=out/electron-api.json --out=out/electron.d.ts",
     "preinstall": "node -e 'process.exit(0)'",
+    "publish-to-npm": "node ./script/publish-to-npm.js",
     "prepack": "check-for-leaks",
     "prepush": "check-for-leaks",
     "release": "./script/upload.py -p",
     "repl": "python ./script/start.py --interactive",
     "start": "python ./script/start.py",
     "test": "python ./script/test.py"
-  }
+  },
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "author": "Electron Community",
+  "keywords": [
+    "electron"
+  ]
 }
diff --git a/script/publish-to-npm.js b/script/publish-to-npm.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..21960455cfe9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/script/publish-to-npm.js
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+const temp = require('temp')
+const fs = require('fs')
+const path = require('path')
+const childProcess = require('child_process')
+const GitHubApi = require('github')
+const request = require('request')
+const assert = require('assert')
+const rootPackageJson = require('../package.json')
+
+const github = new GitHubApi({
+  // debug: true,
+  headers: { 'User-Agent': 'electron-npm-publisher' },
+  followRedirects: false
+})
+
+let tempDir
+temp.track()   // track and cleanup files at exit
+
+const files = [
+  'cli.js',
+  'index.js',
+  'install.js',
+  'package.json',
+  'README.md'
+]
+
+const jsonFields = [
+  'name',
+  'version',
+  'repository',
+  'description',
+  'license',
+  'author',
+  'keywords'
+]
+
+let npmTag = ''
+
+new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+  temp.mkdir('electron-npm', (err, dirPath) => {
+    if (err) {
+      reject(err)
+    } else {
+      resolve(dirPath)
+    }
+  })
+})
+.then((dirPath) => {
+  tempDir = dirPath
+  // copy files from `/npm` to temp directory
+  files.forEach((name) => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(tempDir, name),
+      fs.readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, '..', name === 'README.md' ? '' : 'npm', name))
+    )
+  })
+  // copy from root package.json to temp/package.json
+  const packageJson = require(path.join(tempDir, 'package.json'))
+  jsonFields.forEach((fieldName) => {
+    packageJson[fieldName] = rootPackageJson[fieldName]
+  })
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    path.join(tempDir, 'package.json'),
+    JSON.stringify(packageJson, null, 2)
+  )
+
+  return github.repos.getReleases({
+    owner: 'electron',
+    repo: 'electron'
+  })
+})
+.then((releases) => {
+  // download electron.d.ts from release
+  const release = releases.data.find(
+    (release) => release.tag_name === `v${rootPackageJson.version}`
+  )
+  if (!release) {
+    throw new Error(`cannot find release with tag v${rootPackageJson.version}`)
+  }
+  return release
+})
+.then((release) => {
+  const tsdAsset = release.assets.find((asset) => asset.name === 'electron.d.ts')
+  if (!tsdAsset) {
+    throw new Error(`cannot find electron.d.ts from v${rootPackageJson.version} release assets`)
+  }
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    request.get({
+      url: tsdAsset.url,
+      headers: {
+        'accept': 'application/octet-stream',
+        'user-agent': 'electron-npm-publisher'
+      }
+    }, (err, response, body) => {
+      if (err || response.statusCode !== 200) {
+        reject(err || new Error('Cannot download electron.d.ts'))
+      } else {
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(tempDir, 'electron.d.ts'), body)
+        resolve(release)
+      }
+    })
+  })
+})
+.then((release) => {
+  npmTag = release.prerelease ? 'beta' : 'latest'
+})
+.then(() => childProcess.execSync('npm pack', { cwd: tempDir }))
+.then(() => {
+  // test that the package can install electron prebuilt from github release
+  const tarballPath = path.join(tempDir, `${rootPackageJson.name}-${rootPackageJson.version}.tgz`)
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    childProcess.execSync(`npm install ${tarballPath} --force --silent`, {
+      env: Object.assign({}, process.env, { electron_config_cache: tempDir }),
+      cwd: tempDir
+    })
+    const checkVersion = childProcess.execSync(`${path.join(tempDir, 'node_modules', '.bin', 'electron')} -v`)
+    assert.strictEqual(checkVersion.toString().trim(), `v${rootPackageJson.version}`)
+    resolve(tarballPath)
+  })
+})
+.then((tarballPath) => childProcess.execSync(`npm publish ${tarballPath} --tag ${npmTag}`))
+.catch((err) => {
+  console.error(`Error: ${err}`)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
diff --git a/script/upload.py b/script/upload.py
index e3762b80395d..455ed789e0a0 100755
--- a/script/upload.py
+++ b/script/upload.py
@@ -72,6 +72,8 @@ def main():
     # Press the publish button.
     publish_release(github, release['id'])
 
+    # TODO: run publish-to-npm script here
+
     # Do not upload other files when passed "-p".
     return