Evie Summers
There are several ways to keep your Mac awake and prevent it from going to sleep. You can adjust your Energy Saver settings, enter caffeinated mode in Terminal, or use an app such as Caffeine, which is available for free in the App Store. Alternatively, you can fully disable sleep mode by going to System Preferences, then Energy Saver, and moving the slider to Never. You can also prevent your Mac from sleeping when the lid is closed by going to System Preferences, then Battery, and selecting the relevant options.
Methods to keep a Mac awake
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Caffeine app | A free app that allows you to set a timer for your Mac to stay awake for a set period. |
| Hot Corners | A feature that allows you to put your Mac into sleep mode with one move. |
| Energy Saver settings | Adjusting these settings can prevent your Mac from sleeping. |
| Terminal command | Typing 'caffeinate' into the Terminal app will keep your Mac awake as long as the window is open. |
| System Preferences | In System Preferences, you can adjust settings to prevent automatic sleep, such as disabling 'Put hard disks to sleep when possible' and enabling 'Wake for network access'. |
| Clamshell mode | Newer MacBooks have a clamshell mode that automatically activates when an external display is connected, allowing the lid to be closed without the MacBook sleeping. |
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What You'll Learn
Download the Caffeine app
If you want to keep your Mac awake without having to manually adjust the settings every time it tries to go to sleep, you can download the Caffeine app. This app is a tiny program that puts a coffee cup icon on the right side of your menu bar. Clicking the cup icon will toggle whether Caffeine is active or not: a full cup means your Mac will stay awake, while an empty cup means your Mac will sleep as normal. You can also right-click the icon to access the preferences window and set a timeout if you only need Caffeine to be active for a short period of time.
Caffeine is intended to be simple yet powerful, and it has been a well-known and loved utility for Mac users for many years. It was originally developed in 2006 by Tomas Franzén of Lighthead Software, and in 2018, development was continued by IntelliScape Computer Solutions. The app is available for free in the App Store and works on every Mac OS operating system, including macOS 11 and above.
To download Caffeine, you can visit the MacUpdate website or the IntelliScape Computer Solutions website. Once it is installed, you can have your Mac stay awake for a set period of time, and even configure options such as whether to start Caffeine automatically every time you turn on your Mac and whether Caffeine should activate every time it starts up.
While Caffeine is a great option for keeping your Mac awake, it's important to note that there are also other apps available that can perform similar functions. These alternatives may be worth considering, especially if you require more advanced features or if you are using a newer version of macOS that is not supported by Caffeine.
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Use the macOS Terminal app
To stop your Mac from sleeping, you can use the macOS Terminal app. Here's how:
First, open the Terminal app. You can do this by going to Launchpad and typing "Terminal" in the search bar, or by going to Finder > Applications > Utilities.
Once you have the Terminal app open, you can use the "caffeinate" command to prevent your Mac from sleeping. The basic command is "caffeinate -d", which will keep your Mac awake as long as the Terminal window is open.
If you want to keep your Mac awake for a specific duration, you can use the command "caffeinate -t X", where X is the number of seconds you want your Mac to stay awake for. For example, "caffeinate -t 3600" will keep your Mac awake for one hour (3600 seconds).
You can also use the Terminal app to schedule specific sleep and wake times for your Mac. For example, to make your Mac switch to sleep mode every day at 10 PM, you can use the command "sudo pmset repeat sleep MTWRFSU 22:00:00".
Please note that using the Terminal app to prevent your Mac from sleeping may not work if you don't have system admin rights. Additionally, these commands may not work if you close the lid of your MacBook.
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Adjust Energy Saver settings
If you want to adjust your Mac's Energy Saver settings to prevent it from sleeping, you can follow these steps:
For macOS Ventura and later:
- Open System Settings.
- Select Displays, then Advanced.
- Enable "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off".
For macOS Monterey and earlier:
- Go to System Preferences.
- Click on Energy Saver.
- Adjust the "Turn display off after" slider to "Never".
You can also make temporary changes to the sleep settings through the Terminal. Open the Terminal and enter the command "caffeinate -d". If you want to keep your laptop awake for a specific duration, type "caffeinate -t X", where X is the number of seconds.
Additionally, you can optimize your Mac's battery life by turning off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use, disconnecting accessories, and quitting unused apps running in the background.
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Use the 'Hot Corners' feature
The Hot Corners feature on Mac allows you to quickly start actions when you move the pointer to a corner of your screen. This feature can be particularly useful if you want to prevent your Mac from going to sleep and want more control over when your display goes to sleep.
To set up Hot Corners, go to System Preferences, then click on Mission Control and Hot Corners. Here, you can select the commands you want to activate when you move your cursor to a specific corner. For example, you can set the top-left corner to start the screen saver, or the top-right corner to lock the screen. You can also use the bottom-right corner to quickly open a note or the bottom-left corner to put the display to sleep.
It's important to note that sleeping the display is different from putting your Mac to sleep. When you sleep the display, the screen turns black, but the computer remains "awake" and on. On the other hand, putting your entire Mac to sleep puts the computer into a paused sleep state.
Hot Corners can be a convenient way to quickly access frequently used features and improve your productivity. You can pick and choose which corners are active, and even set up modifier keys to use in combination with the hot corners.
By utilising the Hot Corners feature, you can easily keep your Mac on without putting it to sleep, giving you more control over your display's behaviour.
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Set 'Put hard disks to sleep when possible' to 'Never'
Keeping your Mac awake can be useful when performing tasks such as uploading large files or exporting big projects. There are a few methods to achieve this, including the use of third-party apps or adjusting power settings.
One popular app is Caffeine, which provides a metaphorical cup of coffee for your Mac. Once installed, you can set your Mac to stay awake for a specified period. Caffeine is a free app available on the App Store and is compatible with all Mac OS operating systems.
Another method is to adjust the power settings by selecting "Never" for the "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" option. This can be beneficial if you're not concerned about saving electricity. However, it's important to note that this setting primarily applies to traditional rotating hard disk drives. If you only use SSDs (Solid-State Drives), this setting won't have a significant impact on power consumption.
Additionally, keeping your hard disks running continuously may not extend their lifespan noticeably. In fact, notebook hard disks are designed to be frequently turned off, and continuous operation can lead to shorter lifespans for this type of drive. On the other hand, server hard disks typically exhibit longer lifespans when kept running continuously.
By selecting "Never" for the "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" setting, you can ensure your Mac remains active even when idle. This can be particularly useful if you frequently connect external hard drives, as it may help resolve the "Disk not ejected properly" error that sometimes occurs with SSDs.
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Frequently asked questions
You can increase the amount of idle time that elapses before your Mac enters sleep mode. Click on the Apple logo in the upper right corner of the screen, then click System Preferences > Energy Saver. Move the slider to the right to increase the idle time before your Mac goes to sleep, or move it all the way to the right (Never) to keep the screen on all the time.
If you're using an external monitor, you can keep your Mac awake with the lid closed by connecting an external display, which will automatically activate clamshell mode on newer MacBooks. For older MacBooks, click the Apple logo, then System Preferences > Battery. Click the Power Adapter option on the left margin and check the box that says "Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when the display is off".
Open the macOS Terminal app. Type "caffeinate" and press Enter. Your Mac will stay awake as long as the Terminal window is open. To disable caffeinated mode, click "Terminate" when closing the Terminal window.
Yes, there is a free app called Caffeine that you can download from the App Store. Once installed, you can set your Mac to stay awake for a set period of time.
