diff --git a/atom.sh b/atom.sh
index 6b0e94430..b36938bc5 100755
--- a/atom.sh
+++ b/atom.sh
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@ while getopts ":wtfvh-:" opt; do
         foreground|benchmark|benchmark-test|test)
           EXPECT_OUTPUT=1
           ;;
+        enable-electron-logging)
+          export ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING=1
+          ;;
       esac
       ;;
     w)
@@ -50,10 +53,6 @@ if [ $REDIRECT_STDERR ]; then
   exec 2> /dev/null
 fi
 
-if [ $EXPECT_OUTPUT ]; then
-  export ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING=1
-fi
-
 if [ $OS == 'Mac' ]; then
   if [ -L "$0" ]; then
     SCRIPT="$(readlink "$0")"
diff --git a/resources/win/atom.cmd b/resources/win/atom.cmd
index 43ec8ebe3..07b9933cb 100644
--- a/resources/win/atom.cmd
+++ b/resources/win/atom.cmd
@@ -3,18 +3,20 @@
 SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=
 SET WAIT=
 SET PSARGS=%*
+SET ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING=
 
 FOR %%a IN (%*) DO (
-  IF /I "%%a"=="-f"               SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="--foreground"     SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="-h"               SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="--help"           SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="-t"               SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="--test"           SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="--benchmark"      SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="--benchmark-test" SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="-v"               SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
-  IF /I "%%a"=="--version"        SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="-f"                         SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--foreground"               SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="-h"                         SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--help"                     SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="-t"                         SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--test"                     SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--benchmark"                SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--benchmark-test"           SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="-v"                         SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--version"                  SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
+  IF /I "%%a"=="--enable-electron-logging"  SET ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING=YES
   IF /I "%%a"=="-w"           (
     SET EXPECT_OUTPUT=YES
     SET WAIT=YES
@@ -26,7 +28,6 @@ FOR %%a IN (%*) DO (
 )
 
 IF "%EXPECT_OUTPUT%"=="YES" (
-  SET ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING=YES
   IF "%WAIT%"=="YES" (
     powershell -noexit "Start-Process -FilePath \"%~dp0\..\..\atom.exe\" -ArgumentList \"--pid=$pid $env:PSARGS\" ; wait-event"
     exit 0
diff --git a/src/main-process/parse-command-line.js b/src/main-process/parse-command-line.js
index 3f9f2523a..7531e609b 100644
--- a/src/main-process/parse-command-line.js
+++ b/src/main-process/parse-command-line.js
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ module.exports = function parseCommandLine (processArgs) {
   options.string('socket-path')
   options.string('user-data-dir')
   options.boolean('clear-window-state').describe('clear-window-state', 'Delete all Atom environment state.')
+  options.boolean('enable-electron-logging').describe('enable-electron-logging', 'Enable low-level logging messages from Electron.')
 
   const args = options.argv