How to Stop Your Mac from Sleeping (3 Methods Explained)

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Does your Mac go to sleep when you are downloading a file or backing it up? Do you want to keep your Mac from sleeping? Okay, there are three easy ways to do so. The first one is using the energy-saver feature, second is to use the terminal, and the third is using a third-party app. All of these methods are straightforward. So, let us dig right in and see how to stop your Mac from sleeping.

Prevent Your Mac from Sleeping Using Energy Saver

  1. Click on the Apple logo from top-right → Click on System Preferences.Click on Apple Menu and Select System Preferences on Mac
  2. Click on Energy Saver.Click on Energy Saver in Mac System PreferencesNote: If you are on a MacBook, you will see two tabs here: Battery and Power Adapter. You can follow steps 3 and 4 below for both Battery power and while your MacBook is charging.
  3. Drag the Turn display off after slider to Never → Select Ok from the popup.Move Turn display off after Slider to Never on MacClick on OK and Confirm to Stop Mac From Sleeping
  4. Next, tick the box for Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off.Enable Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off on Mac

Now, your Mac will not go to sleep. If you wish to turn off this feature, follow the above steps, and drag the slider to the left and set the time according to your preference. Now, you Mac will sleep after the set period of inactivity.

RELATED: How to Keep MacBook from Sleeping With Lid Closed

Prevent Mac From Sleeping Using Terminal App

  1. Go to Applications folder → Utilities → and open Terminal. Or press Command (⌘) + Space Bar to open Spotlight Search and type Terminal.
  2. Type one of the following Terminal commands according to your preference and hit the enter
  • caffeinate -d To prevent the display from sleeping
  • caffeinate -i To prevent the system from idle sleeping
  • caffeinate -m To prevent the disk from going idle
  • caffeinate -s Keep the Mac awake while it is plugged into AC power
  • caffeinate Now, your Mac will stay awake for as long as you leave the Terminal running. To stop this, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C
  • caffeinate -t 1800 & Here 1800 is the time in seconds. You can set it to anything. Now your Mac will stay awake for this time duration

Use Terminal Commands to Keep your Mac from Sleep

The above commands run as long as you leave the Terminal app running.

Using Third-party Apps

  1. Download Click on Get to Download Amphetamine from Mac App Store
  2. Open the app and click on Next. You can read and click Next on all subsequent screens to learn more about this app.Launch Amphetamine on MacClick on Next to Install Amphetamine App on Mac
  3. Click on two half-circle icon (that looks like a pill) from the top menu bar.Click Amphetamine App icon from Menubar on Mac
  4. Click on Indefinitely. Now you Mac will never sleep.Click on Indefinitely in Amphetamine App Menu on Mac
  5. Now, Click on the Amphetamine app icon from the top menu bar and then click on End Current Session.Click on Amphetamine icon and Then Select End Current Session to Prevent your Mac From Sleeping

Other Apps That Prevent Your Mac From Sleeping

Amphetamine is potent (and popular). However, your choices are not limited. Some other great apps that keep your Mac from sleeping are:

That’s all, mate!

Signing off…

These were the easy ways to keep your macOS device from sleeping. Now you can peacefully continue to download big files, backup the Mac, or prevent the screen from dimming when you are not watching a video in full screen. I hope this tutorial was helpful, and you learned something new.

You may also like to take a peek at:

Which method are you going to use? System Preferences, any App, or Terminal? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.

 

The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.