diff --git a/src/root-view.coffee b/src/root-view.coffee
index 4fdb4816f..6f3bf8734 100644
--- a/src/root-view.coffee
+++ b/src/root-view.coffee
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class RootView extends View
 
   # Private:
   initialize: (state={}) ->
-    @prepend("<div class='dev-mode'></div>") if atom.getLoadSettings().devMode
+    @prepend($$ -> @div class: 'dev-mode') if atom.getLoadSettings().devMode
 
     if state instanceof telepath.Document
       @state = state