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How to use caffeinate on a Mac to stop it sleeping

By Mohammed Chaara · Updated October 22, 2026 · 5 min read · Checked on macOS 26 Tahoe. How these guides are made

Keep Awake in MrFixable

To caffeinate a Mac, open Terminal, type caffeinate -d and press Return. Your Mac and its display stay awake until you press ⌃C (Control-C) or close the window. Add -t 3600 to stop by itself after an hour. caffeinate is built into macOS, so there's nothing to install, and your sleep settings don't change.

caffeinate is a small command that comes with every Mac. While it runs, it tells macOS not to sleep, the same way a video app does while a film plays. When it stops, your Mac goes back to its usual sleep settings.

How to use caffeinate, step by step

  1. Press ⌘Space (Command-Space), type Terminal and press Return. Terminal is also in Applications › Utilities.
  2. Type caffeinate -d and press Return. Nothing seems to happen. That's normal: the command is running.
  3. Leave the Terminal window open. You can minimize it and use other apps as usual.
  4. When you're done, click the Terminal window and press ⌃C. Your Mac can sleep again.

Closing the Terminal window stops caffeinate too. Terminal asks first whether you want to end what's running in it.

What the caffeinate options mean

Type To keep awake
caffeinate -d The display, and with it the Mac
caffeinate -i The Mac, while the display can still turn off. Plain caffeinate does the same
caffeinate -s The Mac, but only while it's connected to power
caffeinate -m The disk
caffeinate -u Tells macOS you're using the Mac, which turns the display on. Without a time, it lasts 5 seconds

Two more options say when to stop:

  • -t followed by a number of seconds: caffeinate -d -t 3600 stops after one hour. Use 7200 for two hours, 28800 for eight.
  • -w followed by a process ID: caffeinate stops when that app or process quits.

Useful caffeinate commands

Keep the Mac awake for two hours, then let it sleep:

caffeinate -d -t 7200

Keep the Mac awake until a Terminal command finishes. Put caffeinate in front of the command. This copies your Movies folder to a backup drive called Backup and keeps the Mac awake until the copy is done:

caffeinate -i cp -R ~/Movies /Volumes/Backup/

caffeinate stops by itself when the copy ends.

Keep the Mac awake until an app quits, for example while a video exports:

  1. Open Activity Monitor (⌘Space, type Activity Monitor, press Return).
  2. Find the app in the list and note the number in its PID column, for example 4512.
  3. In Terminal, type caffeinate -i -w 4512 and press Return.

When the app quits, caffeinate stops and your Mac can sleep again.

How to check that caffeinate is working

Open a second Terminal window (⌘N) and type pmset -g. On the sleep line, macOS lists what is keeping the Mac awake, for example sleep prevented by caffeinate. For the full list of apps holding sleep off, and why, type pmset -g assertions.

What caffeinate can't do

  • It doesn't keep a closed MacBook awake. Closing the lid puts a MacBook to sleep, even with caffeinate running, unless the Mac is connected to power and an external display. See how to turn off sleep mode on a Mac for closed-display mode.
  • It stops when Terminal does. If you quit Terminal or close its window, your Mac sleeps again on its usual schedule.
  • It's easy to forget. Without -t, caffeinate runs until you stop it. On battery, a Mac left awake overnight can run flat.

Keep Awake: caffeinate from the menu bar

Keep Awake in MrFixable does what caffeinate does, with a switch in the menu bar instead of a Terminal window:

  • Turn it on and choose 1 hour, 3 hours or Never next to Turn off after. MrFixable's menu shows the time your Mac will be allowed to sleep again.
  • Keep the display on too is on at first, like caffeinate -d. Turn it off and the screen can sleep while the Mac keeps working, like caffeinate -i.
  • Nothing to remember. With a time set, it turns itself off, and the switch goes off with it.
  • Your settings stay as they are. Nothing in System Settings changes, and when you quit MrFixable, your Mac can sleep normally. A timer you set is remembered for next time.

Like caffeinate, it can't keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed unless it's connected to power and an external display.

Questions

How do I stop my Mac from sleeping?

For a while, run caffeinate -d in Terminal and press ⌃C when you're done, or turn on Keep Awake in MrFixable. For a lasting change, open System Settings › Lock Screen to set when the display turns off, and on a MacBook, look in System Settings › Battery › Options.

How do I keep my Mac awake while downloading?

Run caffeinate -i in Terminal before the download starts, and press ⌃C once it has finished. The -i keeps the Mac working but lets the display turn off, which saves power. In Keep Awake, turn off Keep the display on too for the same effect.

How do I keep my Mac awake longer?

Give caffeinate a time in seconds: caffeinate -d -t 7200 keeps your Mac awake for two hours, then stops by itself. To change it for good, choose a longer time, or Never, under the Turn display off settings in System Settings › Lock Screen.

Are there apps to keep a Mac awake?

Yes. Amphetamine is a popular free app with many options, such as triggers that keep the Mac awake while a certain app is running. Keep Awake in MrFixable is a simple menu bar switch with a timer, and it comes with MrFixable's other fixes.

Sources