Atmosphere Package Repository

Atmosphere is Meteor’s package repository, hosting thousands of community and core packages. It’s accessible at atmospherejs.com.

What is Atmosphere?

Atmosphere is the central registry for Meteor packages, similar to npm for Node.js. It provides:

Package hosting: Stores and distributes Meteor packages
Version management: Tracks all versions of every package
Dependency resolution: Helps Meteor’s constraint solver find compatible versions
Package discovery: Browse and search thousands of packages
Usage statistics: Track package downloads and popularity

Package Naming Convention

Atmosphere packages use a namespaced naming system:

username:package-name

Examples:

iron:router - Iron Router by the Iron team
aldeed:collection2 - Collection2 by aldeed
ostrio:flow-router-extra - Flow Router Extra by ostrio

Core Packages

Core packages maintained by Meteor don’t use a namespace:

accounts-base
mongo
tracker
ecmascript

These live in the packages/ directory of the Meteor repository.

Using Atmosphere Packages

Adding a Package

meteor add username:package-name

Examples:

meteor add aldeed:collection2
meteor add ostrio:flow-router-extra@3.9.0  # Specific version
meteor add meteor-base  # Core package

Removing a Package

meteor remove username:package-name

Updating Packages

meteor update                     # Update all packages
meteor update username:package    # Update specific package
meteor update --all-packages      # Force update all

Searching for Packages

meteor search router

Or browse at atmospherejs.com.

Listing Installed Packages

meteor list

Or check .meteor/packages in your app.

Package Metadata

Meteor provides a DDP API at packages.meteor.com to query package information.

Available Data

The package server exposes several collections:

Packages Collection

One record per package:

{
  name: "iron:router",
  maintainers: [{ username: "iron" }],
  homepage: "https://github.com/iron-meteor/iron-router",
  lastUpdated: Date
}

Versions Collection

One record per package version:

{
  packageName: "iron:router",
  version: "1.1.0",
  description: "Routing for Meteor",
  longDescription: "...",
  git: "https://github.com/iron-meteor/iron-router.git",
  dependencies: {
    "meteor": { constraint: "1.0.0" },
    "underscore": { constraint: "1.0.0" }
  },
  exports: [
    { name: "Router", architectures: ["os", "browser.web"] }
  ],
  publishedBy: { username: "iron" },
  published: Date
}

Builds Collection

One record per architecture build:

{
  versionId: "...",
  buildArchitectures: "os.linux.x86_64+web.browser+web.cordova",
  build: {
    url: "https://...",
    tarballHash: "sha256...",
    treeHash: "sha256..."
  },
  builtBy: { username: "iron" },
  buildPublished: Date
}

Querying Package Data

Connect via DDP:

const connection = DDP.connect('https://packages.meteor.com');

connection.call('syncNewPackageData', syncToken, (error, result) => {
  console.log(result.collections.packages);    // Up to 500 package records
  console.log(result.collections.versions);    // Up to 500 version records
  console.log(result.collections.builds);      // Up to 500 build records
});

Package Statistics

Meteor tracks daily package installation statistics.

Accessing Stats

HTTP GET request:

https://packages.meteor.com/stats/v1/YYYY-MM-DD

Example:

https://packages.meteor.com/stats/v1/2024-01-15

Stats Format

JSON objects separated by newlines:

{ "name": "tracker", "version": "1.3.4", "directAdds": 250, "totalAdds": 1000 }
{ "name": "iron:router", "version": "1.1.0", "directAdds": 200, "totalAdds": 800 }

Fields:

name: Package name
version: Version installed
directAdds: Times directly added via meteor add
totalAdds: Total adds including as a dependency

Stats Subscription

Subscribe to available date range:

connection.subscribe('stats');

// Exposes 'stats' collection with:
{
  earliest: "2015-01-01",
  latest: "2024-01-15"
}

Package Discovery

Popular Categories

Routing: ostrio:flow-router-extra, kadira:flow-router
Forms: aldeed:collection2, aldeed:autoform
Authentication: accounts-password, accounts-google
Testing: meteortesting:mocha, xolvio:cleaner
UI: blaze-html-templates, react-meteor-data
Build Tools: typescript, less, sass
Mobile: Cordova plugin packages
Security: audit-argument-checks, browser-policy

Finding Quality Packages

Look for:

Active maintenance: Recent updates
Good documentation: Clear README and examples
High usage: Download statistics
Test coverage: Test files included
Semantic versioning: Proper version management
GitHub repository: Open source with issue tracking

Version Constraints

Atmosphere uses Meteor’s constraint solver with semantic versioning.

Constraint Rules

Major version must match exactly:

api.use('iron:router@1.0.0');  // Accepts 1.x.x, not 2.x.x

Minor and patch must be >=:

api.use('iron:router@1.2.3');  // Accepts 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.3.0

Single-loading: Only one version per app
Gravity: Solver prefers oldest compatible version

Version Syntax

// Exact version
api.use('iron:router@1.0.0');

// Minimum version
api.use('iron:router@1.2.0');

// Multiple major versions
api.use('blaze@1.0.0 || 2.0.0');

// No version (use from versionsFrom)
api.versionsFrom('1.12.1');
api.use('tracker');  // Uses version from Meteor 1.12.1

Package Resolution

Meteor looks for packages in this order:

Local packages: packages/ directory in your app
METEOR_PACKAGE_DIRS: Environment variable paths
Atmosphere: Downloaded to ~/.meteor/packages

Overriding Atmosphere Packages

Place a local version in packages/ to override:

my-app/
├── packages/
│   └── iron:router/     # Local override
│       └── package.js
└── .meteor/
    └── packages         # Lists iron:router

This is useful for:

Testing modifications
Patching bugs before upstream fixes
Customizing for your app

npm vs Atmosphere

When to Use Atmosphere

Meteor-specific functionality
Client-server integration
Meteor build system integration
Meteor API dependencies (DDP, Tracker, etc.)

When to Use npm

Pure JavaScript libraries
Node.js modules
React/Vue/Angular components
Utilities without Meteor dependencies

Using Both

Atmosphere packages can depend on npm packages:

// In package.js
Npm.depends({
  'lodash': '4.17.21',
  'moment': '2.29.1'
});

And apps can use both:

meteor add reactive-var        # Atmosphere
npm install react react-dom    # npm

Popular Atmosphere Packages

Routing

ostrio:flow-router-extra - Client-side router
iron:router - Classic Meteor router (deprecated)

Data & Collections

aldeed:collection2 - Schema validation for collections
reywood:publish-composite - Reactive joins
dburles:collection-helpers - Transform helpers

Forms

aldeed:autoform - Automatic form generation
vazco:uniforms - Modern forms framework

Authentication

accounts-password - Password authentication (core)
accounts-google - Google OAuth (core)
accounts-facebook - Facebook OAuth (core)

Testing

meteortesting:mocha - Mocha test framework
xolvio:cleaner - Database cleanup for tests
johanbrook:publication-collector - Test publications

Development Tools

msavin:mongol - MongoDB admin interface
meteorhacks:kadira - Performance monitoring
bundle-visualizer - Analyze bundle size (core)

UI Frameworks

blaze-html-templates - Blaze templating (core)
react-meteor-data - React integration (core)
vue-meteor-tracker - Vue integration

Package Best Practices

For Package Authors

Clear naming: Use descriptive package names
Good documentation: README with examples
Semantic versioning: Follow SemVer strictly
Test coverage: Include tests
Dependency management: Minimize dependencies
Backwards compatibility: Don’t break existing APIs

For Package Users

Check maintenance: Avoid abandoned packages
Review code: Check source before using
Pin versions: Use specific versions in production
Monitor updates: Keep packages updated
Report issues: Help maintainers improve

Package Security

Security Considerations

Review package code: Packages have full app access
Check maintainers: Trust verified authors
Audit dependencies: Check npm dependencies too
Report vulnerabilities: Email security@meteor.com
Keep updated: Security fixes in new versions

Insecure Packages

Some packages are for development only:

# NEVER use in production!
meteor add insecure      # Allows all database writes
meteor add autopublish   # Publishes all data

Remove before deploying:

meteor remove insecure autopublish

Troubleshooting

Package not found

Check:

Package name spelling
Package exists on Atmosphere
Network connectivity

Try:

meteor search package-name

Version constraint conflicts

error: conflict: two packages included in the app
(ostrio:flow-router-extra and kadira:flow-router)
are both trying to use different versions of the same
core package

Solution: Choose one package or upgrade both to compatible versions.

Package fails to build

Try removing and re-adding: meteor remove pkg && meteor add pkg
Clear cache: rm -rf ~/.meteor/packages
Check for binary dependencies needing specific architecture

Old package versions

Force update:

meteor update --all-packages

Or specify version:

meteor add username:package@1.2.0

Atmosphere API Example

Query package information programmatically:

import { DDP } from 'meteor/ddp-client';

const packagesConnection = DDP.connect('https://packages.meteor.com');

// Subscribe to defaults to get sync token
packagesConnection.subscribe('defaults');

// Get package data
packagesConnection.call(
  'syncNewPackageData',
  syncToken,
  (error, result) => {
    if (error) {
      console.error('Error fetching packages:', error);
      return;
    }
    
    const { collections, upToDate, syncToken: newToken } = result;
    
    // Process packages
    collections.packages.forEach(pkg => {
      console.log(`${pkg.name} - ${pkg.maintainers[0].username}`);
    });
    
    // Process versions
    collections.versions.forEach(version => {
      console.log(`${version.packageName}@${version.version}`);
    });
    
    if (!upToDate) {
      // Call again with newToken to get more data
    }
  }
);

Future of Atmosphere

Meteor continues to support both Atmosphere and npm:

Atmosphere: Meteor-specific packages
npm: General JavaScript packages
Hybrid approach: Use best tool for each need

Many new Meteor packages publish to both npm and Atmosphere for broader reach.

Next Steps

Creating Packages

Build your own package

Publishing Packages

Share your package on Atmosphere

Package Server API

Complete API documentation

Browse Packages

Explore Atmosphere packages

Package System

Core Packages

Build Packages

Documentation Index

​What is Atmosphere?

​Package Naming Convention

​Core Packages

​Using Atmosphere Packages

​Adding a Package

​Removing a Package

​Updating Packages

​Searching for Packages

​Listing Installed Packages

​Package Metadata

​Available Data

​Packages Collection

​Versions Collection

​Builds Collection

​Querying Package Data

​Package Statistics

​Accessing Stats

​Stats Format

​Stats Subscription

​Package Discovery

​Popular Categories

​Finding Quality Packages

​Version Constraints

​Constraint Rules

​Version Syntax

​Package Resolution

​Overriding Atmosphere Packages

​npm vs Atmosphere

​When to Use Atmosphere

​When to Use npm

​Using Both

​Popular Atmosphere Packages

​Routing

​Data & Collections

​Forms

​Authentication

​Testing

​Development Tools

​UI Frameworks

​Package Best Practices

​For Package Authors

​For Package Users

​Package Security

​Security Considerations

​Insecure Packages

​Troubleshooting

​Atmosphere API Example

​Future of Atmosphere

​Next Steps

Creating Packages

Publishing Packages

Package Server API

Browse Packages

What is Atmosphere?

Package Naming Convention

Core Packages

Using Atmosphere Packages

Adding a Package

Removing a Package

Updating Packages

Searching for Packages

Listing Installed Packages

Package Metadata

Available Data

Packages Collection

Versions Collection

Builds Collection

Querying Package Data

Package Statistics

Accessing Stats

Stats Format

Stats Subscription

Package Discovery

Popular Categories

Finding Quality Packages

Version Constraints

Constraint Rules

Version Syntax

Package Resolution

Overriding Atmosphere Packages

npm vs Atmosphere

When to Use Atmosphere

When to Use npm

Using Both

Popular Atmosphere Packages

Routing

Data & Collections

Forms

Authentication

Testing

Development Tools

UI Frameworks

Package Best Practices

For Package Authors

For Package Users

Package Security

Security Considerations

Insecure Packages

Troubleshooting

Atmosphere API Example

Future of Atmosphere

Next Steps