1) Because you will eventually forget to reactivate it, which then leads to obvious problems.
2) Because you can for example be connected via ssh: You run the script and if your connection is disconnected, caffeinate+ shuts down the MacBook.
Edit: The API call that 'sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1' does is literally the first thing caffeine+ does. As soon as the lid closes the command is automatically reverted so you can't forget to do it yourself.
Both of those are trivial to do in a few lines of shell. There's no need to write or download a custom tool for this. I asked Opus to draft one up and it's just five lines long.
#!/bin/bash
[ "$EUID" = 0 ] || exec sudo "$0" "$@"
pmset -a disablesleep 1
trap exit HUP INT TERM
trap 'pmset -a disablesleep 0; ioreg -r -k AppleClamshellState | grep -q "State\" = Yes" && pmset sleepnow' EXIT
"${@:-read}"
How to use it:
./caf.sh # stay awake until you press Enter
./caf.sh make build # stay awake only while the command runs
Sleep is re-enabled when: the command finishes, the user presses Enter, on Ctrl-C, on SSH disconnect, or on kill (excluding SIGKILL). If the lid is closed when the command finishes, sleep is re-enabled and the Mac goes to sleep.
There are probably 20 of these at this point. I use amphetamine [1] (free on the app store). It has configurable timeouts with optional warnings/notifications, to reduce the ability for your MacBook to melt in your backpack. Can also have it disable when an app closes/download completes/battery percentage, and all sorts of triggers (like bluetooth presence, useful for backpack proximity).
Yeah, most of these repositories contain more files than caffeinate+ has lines of code.
The API call that 'sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1' does is literally the first thing caffeine+ does. But is only part of the full solution: As soon as the lid closes the command is automatically reverted so you can't forget to do it yourself. Also if you kill caffeinate+, the MacBook is put to sleep when the lid is still closed.
This is neat. I ended up having to buy one of those dummy HDMI dongles to keep my MacBook awake so that I could remote into it. If it thinks there's an external monitor attached, it won't sleep. Or at least you can set it up that way.
Windows has been surprisingly good about this (lid closed, laptop awake). I have a number of always-closed laptops deployed for customers (+ mother in law). Some are desktops that can be easily moved; others are on-prem devices that are left alone to handle certain tasks.
This isn't my first reading about the struggles MacBook users have here. It is bizarre to me that Apple doesn't natively and reliably support closed+awake devices; it feels like they've dug in their heels and I can't imagine why.
Windows is so good at this that it refuses to let my work laptop sleep when I close it and put it in my backpack no matter how many settings I try tweaking.
For the desk setup scenario, it's less of a problem since they'll stay awake in clamshell if they've got a power source and are hooked up to an external monitor. I've used my personal MacBook in a hybrid home/work setup like this for years without issue. It's only if you want clamshell on battery and/or with no external monitor that tools like this become necessary.
I wrote a small caffeine-like macOS command-line utility to keep your MacBook awake when you close the lid.
This can be handy when you have a long running task active but need to close your MacBook – for example to change trains, head home from a café or commute to the office.
> I wrote a small caffeine-like macOS command-line utility to keep your MacBook awake when you close the lid.
Small purposeful utilities like this are Glob's own gift to us. Your counterpart in my Windows world might be the guy who wrote AlwaysActiveHours - a util that prevents update-related reboots.
2) Because you can for example be connected via ssh: You run the script and if your connection is disconnected, caffeinate+ shuts down the MacBook.
Edit: The API call that 'sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1' does is literally the first thing caffeine+ does. As soon as the lid closes the command is automatically reverted so you can't forget to do it yourself.
[1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amphetamine/id937984704
I did not want GUI, just super simple caffeinate-like CLI. Also I wanted auto-shutdown afterwards.
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Agithub.com+keep+mac+o...
First one I used was around 9 years ago. Nearly melted my backpack with the hot Intel CPU!
If you don't want to install anything, you can disable sleep with the built in tools: sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1
The API call that 'sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1' does is literally the first thing caffeine+ does. But is only part of the full solution: As soon as the lid closes the command is automatically reverted so you can't forget to do it yourself. Also if you kill caffeinate+, the MacBook is put to sleep when the lid is still closed.
https://github.com/search?q=caffeinate+lid+close&type=reposi...
This isn't my first reading about the struggles MacBook users have here. It is bizarre to me that Apple doesn't natively and reliably support closed+awake devices; it feels like they've dug in their heels and I can't imagine why.
Nice work.
This can be handy when you have a long running task active but need to close your MacBook – for example to change trains, head home from a café or commute to the office.
Small purposeful utilities like this are Glob's own gift to us. Your counterpart in my Windows world might be the guy who wrote AlwaysActiveHours - a util that prevents update-related reboots.
1) It does not behave like caffeine where I can just kill the process and the behavior is reverted.
2) It does not put the MacBook to sleep automatically.
Thank me later.
1) It is an insane bloat if you just want that one feature. 2) There is no CLI, just GUI.