01
IOPMAssertion
Keep awake, on demand
Toggle it on in the menu bar. Pause for 30 minutes, an hour, or a custom time.
OPEN SOURCE · macOS 14+ · arm64
Keep your Mac working.
Even with the lid closed.
Lid Awake holds off idle sleep while you work, and lets you keep going with the lid shut. You always have explicit, reversible control over what changes.
Download for Mac
brew install --cask lid-awake
Free & open source · Notarized by Apple · No hidden sudo
FEATURES
Everything you need. Nothing you don't.
02
Low Power aware
Battery-safe by default
Set a battery cutoff, respect Low Power Mode, or hold awake only while plugged in.
03
SMAppService
Closed-lid mode, opt-in
Approve a signed helper once, then keep working with the lid shut. Turn it off just as easily.
04
pmset display
Display on or off, your call
Choose whether the screen stays lit or goes dark when the lid closes.
05
CGSession
Lock on close, if you want it
Ask macOS to lock the screen the moment the lid shuts.
06
Sparkle 2 · EdDSA
Signed background updates
Sparkle-powered update checks: signed, notarized, and checked right from the menu bar.
HOW IT WORKS
Transparent limits, on purpose
Lid Awake is explicit about what it changes on your Mac, and just as explicit about what it won't do.
Lid Awake.app
signed binary
XPC · Team ID
Lid Awake Helper
LaunchDaemon
approved
pmset -a disablesleep
closed-lid mode
macOS re-verifies the helper for the life of the connection (bundle ID, Apple anchor, and Team ID) via setCodeSigningRequirement. Nothing runs until you approve it in System Settings.
What it does
- Holds a standard macOS idle-sleep assertion while enabled.
- Asks a macOS-approved helper to run the documented pmset -a disablesleep command, only once you approve it.
- Restores normal sleep behavior the moment you disable, pause, or quit.
- Releases every assertion automatically on low battery or Low Power Mode.
What it won't do
- Never runs sudo from the app.
- Never installs a kernel extension or driver.
- Never changes closed-lid behavior silently. Approval comes first.
- Never claims a sleep state it didn't set.
The privileged helper only accepts requests from Lid Awake's own signed binary, re-verified by Team ID for the life of the connection.
SPECS
Under the hood
| PLATFORM | macOS 14 or later |
| ARCHITECTURE | arm64 · Apple Silicon |
| WAKE METHOD | IOPMAssertion · PreventUserIdleSystemSleep |
| CLOSED-LID | pmset -a disablesleep (approved helper) |
| HELPER | LaunchDaemon · SMAppService · XPC |
| UPDATES | Sparkle 2 · signed appcast (EdDSA) |
| DISTRIBUTION | Developer ID · Notarized · DMG + zip · SHA-256 |
| LICENSE | MIT |
INSTALL
Up and running in a minute
Homebrew
brew tap thuongtin/tap && brew install --cask lid-awake
Manual download
- Download the DMG and its .sha256 file from GitHub Releases.
- Verify the checksum:
shasum -a 256 -c LidAwake-0.1.2-macos.dmg.sha256
- Open the DMG and drag Lid Awake to Applications.
macOS 14 or later · Apple Silicon (arm64) only