diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6eec21c2a..bce6c56d3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -15,3 +15,4 @@ debug.log
 docs/output
 docs/includes
 spec/fixtures/evil-files/
+out/
diff --git a/spec/atom-environment-spec.coffee b/spec/atom-environment-spec.coffee
index 1f8eb08e7..6685d4060 100644
--- a/spec/atom-environment-spec.coffee
+++ b/spec/atom-environment-spec.coffee
@@ -328,3 +328,18 @@ describe "AtomEnvironment", ->
       runs ->
         {releaseVersion} = updateAvailableHandler.mostRecentCall.args[0]
         expect(releaseVersion).toBe 'version'
+
+  describe "::getReleaseChannel()", ->
+    [version] = []
+    beforeEach ->
+      spyOn(atom, 'getVersion').andCallFake -> version
+
+    it "returns the correct channel based on the version number", ->
+      version = '1.5.6'
+      expect(atom.getReleaseChannel()).toBe 'stable'
+
+      version = '1.5.0-beta10'
+      expect(atom.getReleaseChannel()).toBe 'beta'
+
+      version = '1.7.0-dev-5340c91'
+      expect(atom.getReleaseChannel()).toBe 'dev'
diff --git a/spec/auto-update-manager-spec.js b/spec/auto-update-manager-spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f7dbbb1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/auto-update-manager-spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+'use babel'
+
+import AutoUpdateManager from '../src/auto-update-manager'
+import {remote} from 'electron'
+const electronAutoUpdater = remote.require('electron').autoUpdater
+
+describe('AutoUpdateManager (renderer)', () => {
+  let autoUpdateManager
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    autoUpdateManager = new AutoUpdateManager({
+      applicationDelegate: atom.applicationDelegate
+    })
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    autoUpdateManager.destroy()
+  })
+
+  describe('::onDidBeginCheckingForUpdate', () => {
+    it('subscribes to "did-begin-checking-for-update" event', () => {
+      const spy = jasmine.createSpy('spy')
+      autoUpdateManager.onDidBeginCheckingForUpdate(spy)
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('checking-for-update')
+      waitsFor(() => {
+        return spy.callCount === 1
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('::onDidBeginDownloadingUpdate', () => {
+    it('subscribes to "did-begin-downloading-update" event', () => {
+      const spy = jasmine.createSpy('spy')
+      autoUpdateManager.onDidBeginDownloadingUpdate(spy)
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('update-available')
+      waitsFor(() => {
+        return spy.callCount === 1
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('::onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate', () => {
+    it('subscribes to "did-complete-downloading-update" event', () => {
+      const spy = jasmine.createSpy('spy')
+      autoUpdateManager.onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate(spy)
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('update-downloaded', null, null, '1.2.3')
+      waitsFor(() => {
+        return spy.callCount === 1
+      })
+      runs(() => {
+        expect(spy.mostRecentCall.args[0].releaseVersion).toBe('1.2.3')
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('::onUpdateNotAvailable', () => {
+    it('subscribes to "update-not-available" event', () => {
+      const spy = jasmine.createSpy('spy')
+      autoUpdateManager.onUpdateNotAvailable(spy)
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('update-not-available')
+      waitsFor(() => {
+        return spy.callCount === 1
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('::platformSupportsUpdates', () => {
+    let state, releaseChannel
+    it('returns true on OS X and Windows when in stable', () => {
+      spyOn(autoUpdateManager, 'getState').andCallFake(() =>  state)
+      spyOn(atom, 'getReleaseChannel').andCallFake(() => releaseChannel)
+
+      state = 'idle'
+      releaseChannel = 'stable'
+      expect(autoUpdateManager.platformSupportsUpdates()).toBe(true)
+
+      state = 'idle'
+      releaseChannel = 'dev'
+      expect(autoUpdateManager.platformSupportsUpdates()).toBe(false)
+
+      state = 'unsupported'
+      releaseChannel = 'stable'
+      expect(autoUpdateManager.platformSupportsUpdates()).toBe(false)
+
+      state = 'unsupported'
+      releaseChannel = 'dev'
+      expect(autoUpdateManager.platformSupportsUpdates()).toBe(false)
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('::destroy', () => {
+    it('unsubscribes from all events', () => {
+      const spy = jasmine.createSpy('spy')
+      const doneIndicator = jasmine.createSpy('spy')
+      atom.applicationDelegate.onUpdateNotAvailable(doneIndicator)
+      autoUpdateManager.onDidBeginCheckingForUpdate(spy)
+      autoUpdateManager.onDidBeginDownloadingUpdate(spy)
+      autoUpdateManager.onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate(spy)
+      autoUpdateManager.onUpdateNotAvailable(spy)
+      autoUpdateManager.destroy()
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('checking-for-update')
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('update-available')
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('update-downloaded', null, null, '1.2.3')
+      electronAutoUpdater.emit('update-not-available')
+
+      waitsFor(() => {
+        return doneIndicator.callCount === 1
+      })
+
+      runs(() => {
+        expect(spy.callCount).toBe(0)
+      })
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/application-delegate.coffee b/src/application-delegate.coffee
index cc1f4c946..3aff9e457 100644
--- a/src/application-delegate.coffee
+++ b/src/application-delegate.coffee
@@ -166,8 +166,7 @@ class ApplicationDelegate
 
   onDidOpenLocations: (callback) ->
     outerCallback = (event, message, detail) ->
-      if message is 'open-locations'
-        callback(detail)
+      callback(detail) if message is 'open-locations'
 
     ipcRenderer.on('message', outerCallback)
     new Disposable ->
@@ -175,8 +174,38 @@ class ApplicationDelegate
 
   onUpdateAvailable: (callback) ->
     outerCallback = (event, message, detail) ->
-      if message is 'update-available'
-        callback(detail)
+      # TODO: Yes, this is strange that `onUpdateAvailable` is listening for
+      # `did-begin-downloading-update`. We currently have no mechanism to know
+      # if there is an update, so begin of downloading is a good proxy.
+      callback(detail) if message is 'did-begin-downloading-update'
+
+    ipcRenderer.on('message', outerCallback)
+    new Disposable ->
+      ipcRenderer.removeListener('message', outerCallback)
+
+  onDidBeginDownloadingUpdate: (callback) ->
+    @onUpdateAvailable(callback)
+
+  onDidBeginCheckingForUpdate: (callback) ->
+    outerCallback = (event, message, detail) ->
+      callback(detail) if message is 'checking-for-update'
+
+    ipcRenderer.on('message', outerCallback)
+    new Disposable ->
+      ipcRenderer.removeListener('message', outerCallback)
+
+  onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate: (callback) ->
+    outerCallback = (event, message, detail) ->
+      # TODO: We could rename this event to `did-complete-downloading-update`
+      callback(detail) if message is 'update-available'
+
+    ipcRenderer.on('message', outerCallback)
+    new Disposable ->
+      ipcRenderer.removeListener('message', outerCallback)
+
+  onUpdateNotAvailable: (callback) ->
+    outerCallback = (event, message, detail) ->
+      callback(detail) if message is 'update-not-available'
 
     ipcRenderer.on('message', outerCallback)
     new Disposable ->
@@ -206,3 +235,12 @@ class ApplicationDelegate
 
   disablePinchToZoom: ->
     webFrame.setZoomLevelLimits(1, 1)
+
+  checkForUpdate: ->
+    ipcRenderer.send('check-for-update')
+
+  restartAndInstallUpdate: ->
+    ipcRenderer.send('install-update')
+
+  getAutoUpdateManagerState: ->
+    ipcRenderer.sendSync('get-auto-update-manager-state')
diff --git a/src/atom-environment.coffee b/src/atom-environment.coffee
index 0ee12fe93..06296fbaf 100644
--- a/src/atom-environment.coffee
+++ b/src/atom-environment.coffee
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ TextEditor = require './text-editor'
 TextBuffer = require 'text-buffer'
 Gutter = require './gutter'
 TextEditorRegistry = require './text-editor-registry'
+AutoUpdateManager = require './auto-update-manager'
 
 WorkspaceElement = require './workspace-element'
 PanelContainerElement = require './panel-container-element'
@@ -115,6 +116,9 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
   # Public: A {TextEditorRegistry} instance
   textEditors: null
 
+  # Private: An {AutoUpdateManager} instance
+  autoUpdater: null
+
   saveStateDebounceInterval: 1000
 
   ###
@@ -188,6 +192,7 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
     @themes.workspace = @workspace
 
     @textEditors = new TextEditorRegistry
+    @autoUpdater = new AutoUpdateManager({@applicationDelegate})
 
     @config.load()
 
@@ -333,6 +338,7 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
     @commands.clear()
     @stylesElement.remove()
     @config.unobserveUserConfig()
+    @autoUpdater.destroy()
 
     @uninstallWindowEventHandler()
 
@@ -411,6 +417,16 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
   getVersion: ->
     @appVersion ?= @getLoadSettings().appVersion
 
+  # Returns the release channel as a {String}. Will return one of `'dev', 'beta', 'stable'`
+  getReleaseChannel: ->
+    version = @getVersion()
+    if version.indexOf('beta') > -1
+      'beta'
+    else if version.indexOf('dev') > -1
+      'dev'
+    else
+      'stable'
+
   # Public: Returns a {Boolean} that is `true` if the current version is an official release.
   isReleasedVersion: ->
     not /\w{7}/.test(@getVersion()) # Check if the release is a 7-character SHA prefix
@@ -830,7 +846,6 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
             @applicationDelegate.setTemporaryWindowState(state)
         savePromise.catch(reject).then(resolve)
 
-
   loadState: ->
     if @enablePersistence
       if stateKey = @getStateKey(@getLoadSettings().initialPaths)
@@ -879,6 +894,7 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
           detail: error.message
           dismissable: true
 
+  # TODO: We should deprecate the update events here, and use `atom.autoUpdater` instead
   onUpdateAvailable: (callback) ->
     @emitter.on 'update-available', callback
 
@@ -886,7 +902,8 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
     @emitter.emit 'update-available', details
 
   listenForUpdates: ->
-    @disposables.add(@applicationDelegate.onUpdateAvailable(@updateAvailable.bind(this)))
+    # listen for updates available locally (that have been successfully downloaded)
+    @disposables.add(@autoUpdater.onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate(@updateAvailable.bind(this)))
 
   setBodyPlatformClass: ->
     @document.body.classList.add("platform-#{process.platform}")
diff --git a/src/auto-update-manager.js b/src/auto-update-manager.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..62cc03f85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/auto-update-manager.js
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+'use babel'
+
+import {Emitter, CompositeDisposable} from 'event-kit'
+
+export default class AutoUpdateManager {
+  constructor ({applicationDelegate}) {
+    this.applicationDelegate = applicationDelegate
+    this.subscriptions = new CompositeDisposable()
+    this.emitter = new Emitter()
+
+    this.subscriptions.add(
+      applicationDelegate.onDidBeginCheckingForUpdate(() => {
+        this.emitter.emit('did-begin-checking-for-update')
+      }),
+      applicationDelegate.onDidBeginDownloadingUpdate(() => {
+        this.emitter.emit('did-begin-downloading-update')
+      }),
+      applicationDelegate.onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate((details) => {
+        this.emitter.emit('did-complete-downloading-update', details)
+      }),
+      applicationDelegate.onUpdateNotAvailable(() => {
+        this.emitter.emit('update-not-available')
+      })
+    )
+  }
+
+  destroy () {
+    this.subscriptions.dispose()
+    this.emitter.dispose()
+  }
+
+  checkForUpdate () {
+    this.applicationDelegate.checkForUpdate()
+  }
+
+  restartAndInstallUpdate () {
+    this.applicationDelegate.restartAndInstallUpdate()
+  }
+
+  getState () {
+    return this.applicationDelegate.getAutoUpdateManagerState()
+  }
+
+  platformSupportsUpdates () {
+    return atom.getReleaseChannel() !== 'dev' && this.getState() !== 'unsupported'
+  }
+
+  onDidBeginCheckingForUpdate (callback) {
+    return this.emitter.on('did-begin-checking-for-update', callback)
+  }
+
+  onDidBeginDownloadingUpdate (callback) {
+    return this.emitter.on('did-begin-downloading-update', callback)
+  }
+
+  onDidCompleteDownloadingUpdate (callback) {
+    return this.emitter.on('did-complete-downloading-update', callback)
+  }
+
+  // TODO: When https://github.com/atom/electron/issues/4587 is closed, we can
+  // add an update-available event.
+  // onUpdateAvailable (callback) {
+  //   return this.emitter.on('update-available', callback)
+  // }
+
+  onUpdateNotAvailable (callback) {
+    return this.emitter.on('update-not-available', callback)
+  }
+
+  getPlatform () {
+    return process.platform
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/browser/atom-application.coffee b/src/browser/atom-application.coffee
index 40b04c3a1..fdfea5474 100644
--- a/src/browser/atom-application.coffee
+++ b/src/browser/atom-application.coffee
@@ -304,6 +304,15 @@ class AtomApplication
     ipcMain.on 'execute-javascript-in-dev-tools', (event, code) ->
       event.sender.devToolsWebContents?.executeJavaScript(code)
 
+    ipcMain.on 'check-for-update', =>
+      @autoUpdateManager.check()
+
+    ipcMain.on 'get-auto-update-manager-state', (event) =>
+      event.returnValue = @autoUpdateManager.getState()
+
+    ipcMain.on 'execute-javascript-in-dev-tools', (event, code) ->
+      event.sender.devToolsWebContents?.executeJavaScript(code)
+
   setupDockMenu: ->
     if process.platform is 'darwin'
       dockMenu = Menu.buildFromTemplate [
diff --git a/src/browser/auto-update-manager.coffee b/src/browser/auto-update-manager.coffee
index 2df338761..c8c57cb01 100644
--- a/src/browser/auto-update-manager.coffee
+++ b/src/browser/auto-update-manager.coffee
@@ -39,16 +39,24 @@ class AutoUpdateManager
 
     autoUpdater.on 'checking-for-update', =>
       @setState(CheckingState)
+      @emitWindowEvent('checking-for-update')
 
     autoUpdater.on 'update-not-available', =>
       @setState(NoUpdateAvailableState)
+      @emitWindowEvent('update-not-available')
 
     autoUpdater.on 'update-available', =>
       @setState(DownladingState)
+      # We use sendMessage to send an event called 'update-available' in 'update-downloaded'
+      # once the update download is complete. This mismatch between the electron
+      # autoUpdater events is unfortunate but in the interest of not changing the
+      # one existing event handled by applicationDelegate
+      @emitWindowEvent('did-begin-downloading-update')
+      @emit('did-begin-download')
 
     autoUpdater.on 'update-downloaded', (event, releaseNotes, @releaseVersion) =>
       @setState(UpdateAvailableState)
-      @emitUpdateAvailableEvent(@getWindows()...)
+      @emitUpdateAvailableEvent()
 
     @config.onDidChange 'core.automaticallyUpdate', ({newValue}) =>
       if newValue
@@ -64,10 +72,14 @@ class AutoUpdateManager
       when 'linux'
         @setState(UnsupportedState)
 
-  emitUpdateAvailableEvent: (windows...) ->
+  emitUpdateAvailableEvent: ->
     return unless @releaseVersion?
-    for atomWindow in windows
-      atomWindow.sendMessage('update-available', {@releaseVersion})
+    @emitWindowEvent('update-available', {@releaseVersion})
+    return
+
+  emitWindowEvent: (eventName, payload) ->
+    for atomWindow in @getWindows()
+      atomWindow.sendMessage(eventName, payload)
     return
 
   setState: (state) ->