electron/npm/README.md

atom-shell

Install atom-shell prebuilt binaries for command-line use using npm.

Works on Mac, Windows and Linux OSes that Atom Shell supports (e.g. Atom Shell does not support Windows XP).

Atom Shell is a javascript runtime that bundles Node.js and Chromium. You use it similar to the node command on the command line for executing javascript programs. This module helps you easily install the atom-shell command for use on the command line without having to compile anything.

Installation

Download and install the latest build of atom-shell for your OS and add it to your projects package.json as a devDependency:

npm install atom-shell --save-dev

This is the preferred way to use atom-shell, as it doesn't require users to install atom-shell globally.

You can also use the -g flag (global) to symlink it into your PATH:

npm install -g atom-shell

If that command fails with an EACCESS error you may have to run it again with sudo:

sudo npm install -g atom-shell

Now you can just run atom-shell to run atom-shell:

atom-shell

Usage

First you have to write an atom shell application

Then you can run your app using:

atom-shell your-app/

Programmatic usage

If you require atom-shell inside your node app it will return the file path to the binary. Use this to spawn atom shell

var atom = require('atom-shell')
var proc = require('child_process')

// will something similar to print /Users/maf/.../Atom
console.log(atom)

// spawn atom-shell
var child = proc.spawn(atom)