diff --git a/src/browser/atom-window.coffee b/src/browser/atom-window.coffee
index fab94b21b..9a15c251b 100644
--- a/src/browser/atom-window.coffee
+++ b/src/browser/atom-window.coffee
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class AtomWindow
     @handleEvents()
 
     loadSettings = _.extend({}, settings)
-    loadSettings.windowState ?= ''
+    loadSettings.windowState ?= '{}'
 
     # Only send to the first non-spec window created
     if @constructor.includeShellLoadTime and not @isSpec