Awake — Keep Mac Awake and Focused

Awake keeps a Mac awake, hides the desktop and dims distractions from one panel under a cup icon in the menu bar. Each feature switches on with a single click and shows its state at a glance.

Keep Awake

Stop the Mac sleeping indefinitely, or for anything from 1 minute to 8 hours. A ring around the button counts down the time left. Settings add screensaver suppression and an automatic switch-off when the battery drops below a level you choose.

Hide Desktop

Cover every file and folder on the desktop with your wallpaper, an image or a solid colour before a screen share or presentation. Files never move, and switching it off shows the desktop exactly as it was.

Focus Dim

Fade back everything behind the active window or app, with adjustable opacity and colour. Clicks still pass through to the windows behind, and the dimming follows focus as you switch.

Settings

Every feature has its own global keyboard shortcut and can switch on at launch. A right-click Quick Toggle, launch at login, sound effects and a choice of menu bar icon round it out.

How to keep a Mac awake

macOS offers three ways to stop a Mac from sleeping, each suited to a different moment.

• System Settings: the Displays, Lock Screen and Battery settings control when the display turns off and when the Mac sleeps. The change stays until someone changes it back.
• The caffeinate command: typing caffeinate -d in Terminal keeps the Mac and its display awake until the command is stopped, and caffeinate -t 3600 stops the Mac sleeping for one hour. It is built in, but it needs a Terminal window left open.
• Awake: one click in the menu bar keeps the Mac awake for a set time or until switched off, with a visible countdown, a keyboard shortcut and an automatic stop when the battery runs low.

How it works

• Left-click the cup icon turns Keep Awake on or off. A filled cup means the Mac is being kept awake.
• Right-click the icon, or Option-click or Control-click it, to open the menu: the time remaining and a Deactivate button; Activate for indefinitely, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, or 1, 2, 5 or 8 hours, after which it switches itself off; Default Duration, the length a plain left-click keeps it on; Allow Display Sleep, so the screen can turn off while the Mac stays awake; Activate on Launch; Start at Login; and Quit.
• Hovering over the icon shows the countdown.

Does Awake need special permissions?

No. It uses standard macOS features and never asks for Accessibility or Screen Recording access.

Does it connect to the internet?

No. Awake has no account, no analytics and no network access.

Which Macs does it run on?

Any Mac with Apple silicon or Intel running macOS 13 Ventura or later.

Does Awake keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed?

Closing a MacBook lid puts it to sleep unless the Mac is connected to power and an external display, which macOS calls clamshell mode. Awake stops an open Mac, or one in clamshell mode, from sleeping while it is on.

How is Awake different from the caffeinate command?

Both use the same macOS power controls. Awake adds a timer you can see in the menu bar, a keyboard shortcut and a low battery cut-off without a Terminal window, and it brings Hide Desktop and Focus Dim alongside.