atom

Open a file or directory

$ atom [path/to/file_or_directory]

$ atom [[-n|--new-window]] [path/to/file_or_directory]

$ atom [[-a|--add]] [path/to/file_or_directory]

$ atom --safe

$ atom [[-f|--foreground]]

$ atom [[-w|--wait]]

atom [options] [path ...]

-a, --add
    Add folder(s) to Atom instead of opening them as the workspace

-n, --new-window
    Open contents in a new Atom window

-w, --wait
    Wait for Atom to be closed before returning to the shell (useful with &)

-h, --help
    Print usage information

-v, --version
    Print current version

-d, --dev
    Open a DevTools window

-c, --clear-window-state
    Clear Atom window state stored in ~/.atom/storage

--safe-mode
    Do not load packages or config

-r, --resource-path
    Print path to Atom resources

-i, --install
    Install named package(s) to ~/.atom/packages

--timeout=<ms>
    Timeout for opening files (default: 60000)

--benchmark
    Benchmark startup performance

--log-file=<path>
    Log output to specified file

--enable-crash-reporter
    Enable crash reporting

--profile-startup
    Profile the startup process

The atom command launches Atom, a popular open-source text editor for the 21st century developed by GitHub. Built on Electron with web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), it offers deep customization via packages, themes, and a tree-sitter-powered grammar system.

Key strengths include a built-in package manager (apm), Git/GitHub integration, snippet support, multiple cursors, split panes, and a fuzzy-finder command palette. Users can open files, directories, or URIs from the terminal, making it ideal for developers.

Example: atom . opens the current directory in Atom.

Though feature-rich and cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows), Atom faced performance critiques due to Electron. It powered workflows for web development, configuration editing, and more, with millions of users before its end-of-life.

Atom is discontinued since December 15, 2022; no further updates or security patches. Migrate to Visual Studio Code or forks like Pulsar.

Use apm command for installing themes/packages: apm install package-name.

Download .deb/.rpm from atom.io or use Snap/Flatpak. Adds atom to PATH.

Released June 2014 by GitHub as a modern Emacs/Vim alternative. Gained popularity with 50k+ packages. Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018; sunset announced 2022 due to Electron costs, urging VS Code migration.

code(1), vim(1), nano(1), emacs(1), apm(1)