The Electron team at GitHub recently reached out to @logicalparadox to see if he'd be willing to let us take over the electron npm package. He has graciously agreed to do so, and has added our team as owners.

The motivation for the request was this:

The electron installation process can often be a stumbling block for new users. There is an npm package called electron-prebuilt that most apps use to add electron to their development environment. Many users don't read the manual, though, and will often run npm install electron instead, only to discover (often after much confusion) that it's not the electron they're looking for.

So, now that we have the name, the goal is to make npm install electron feel just like npm install electron-prebuilt. How should we accomplish this?

Option A: Pull off the Band-Aid™

npm deprecate the electron-prebuilt package. The deprecate method allows you to specify a message that will be displayed to users when the package is installed. We could say something like: "As of version x.x.x, electron-prebuilt has been renamed to electron.". Change name to electron in the package.json file and begin publishing to npm as electron, but leave the repository name as-is.

Option B: Tandem Releases for a While

Similar to option A, but with a longer window for users to make the switch. We would still deprecate electron-prebuilt on npm immediately, but instead of pulling the plug on the electron-prebuilt package right away, we could publish both packages in tandem for a while, then eventually stop publishing electron-prebuilt entirely.

Option C: Side by Side, Forever

We could just leave electron-prebuilt as-is, and make electron a simple wrapper around it. Both packages would need to be released automatically, as prebuilt is today.

I think the Electron team prefers Option A because it seems the simplest, but we are open to ideas. The end-goal is to make it easier for novices and pros alike to get electron running locally without confusion. The approach we should take is the one that minimizes confusion and maximizes developer happiness. :)