diff --git a/src/browser/main.coffee b/src/browser/main.coffee
index 254fabb20..514cea9fa 100644
--- a/src/browser/main.coffee
+++ b/src/browser/main.coffee
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ start = ->
     AtomApplication.open(args)
     console.log("App load time: #{Date.now() - global.shellStartTime}ms") unless args.test
 
-global.devResourcePath = path.join(app.getHomeDir(), 'github', 'atom')
+global.devResourcePath = process.env.ATOM_DEV_RESOURCE_PATH ? path.join(app.getHomeDir(), 'github', 'atom')
 
 setupCrashReporter = ->
   crashReporter.start(productName: 'Atom', companyName: 'GitHub')