Can Amphetamine keep my Mac awake even when the lid is closed?

Absolutely. Amphetamine supports 'Closed-Display Mode,' a critical feature for MacBook users who wish to operate their machine with the lid closed, typically when connected to an external monitor. For Apple Silicon Macs, an additional component called 'Power Protect' helps to ensure seamless operation in this mode, preventing unexpected sleep or authentication prompts when power sources are connected or disconnected. This makes Amphetamine ideal for users who dock their MacBooks and want them to perform tasks continuously without needing the built-in display open. Ensure the feature is enabled in Amphetamine's preferences for optimal performance.

Can I prevent my Mac's screen saver from activating while still allowing the display to sleep?

Yes, Amphetamine offers granular control over your Mac's sleep behavior, allowing you to configure this specific scenario. Within its preferences or during a manual session start, you can choose to prevent system sleep and screen saver activation, while explicitly allowing the display to sleep. This is particularly useful if you're running a background task like music playback or a large download, where you want the computer to remain active but don't need the display on, thereby saving energy and reducing potential screen burn-in while still avoiding interruptions from the screen saver.

How does Amphetamine compare to other keep-awake apps like Caffeine?

Amphetamine is generally considered a significantly more powerful and feature-rich utility than simpler apps like Caffeine. While Caffeine offers a basic one-click toggle to keep your Mac awake, Amphetamine provides an extensive array of customization options. These include sophisticated triggers based on app usage, network connection, battery level, or connected devices, as well as features like 'Drive Alive' for external drives and 'Power Protect' for closed-display mode on Apple Silicon Macs. For users requiring simple, occasional sleep prevention, Caffeine might suffice, but for complex workflows and automated control, Amphetamine is the superior choice.

Does Amphetamine consume a lot of system resources or battery power?

No, Amphetamine is designed to be extremely lightweight and efficient, utilizing minimal system resources. It typically maintains CPU usage below 1% and requires very little RAM, even when running for extended periods in the background. Its efficiency stems from its reliance on macOS's native power management commands. While keeping your Mac awake for prolonged periods will naturally consume more battery than allowing it to sleep, Amphetamine itself does not add significant overhead. Prudent use of its timed sessions and intelligent triggers can help balance wakefulness with battery conservation.

How do I set up a trigger to keep my Mac awake only when a specific app is running?

To set up an app-specific trigger, open Amphetamine's preferences by clicking its menu bar icon and selecting 'Preferences.' Navigate to the 'Triggers' tab and click the '+' button to create a new trigger. Give your trigger a descriptive name. In the 'Criteria' section, click the '+' button again and choose 'While Apps Are Running.' From the list, select the application(s) you want to keep your Mac awake for (e.g., 'Adobe Premiere Pro'). Save the trigger, and ensure 'Enable Triggers' is checked in the main Triggers tab. Your Mac will now stay awake automatically whenever that application is active.

Why did Apple almost remove Amphetamine from the App Store in the past?

In early 2021, Apple briefly threatened to remove Amphetamine from the Mac App Store. The core issue revolved around Apple's interpretation of its App Store guidelines, specifically concerning apps that 'promote inappropriate use of controlled substances,' citing Amphetamine's name and pill-shaped icon. The developer, William Gustafson, successfully appealed this decision, arguing that 'Amphetamine' (the organic compound) can be legally used to keep humans awake, and the app similarly keeps Macs awake, without promoting illegal drug use. Apple reversed its decision, and the app has remained available ever since.

Can Amphetamine prevent my external hard drives from going to sleep?

Yes, Amphetamine includes a specific feature called 'Drive Alive' designed to prevent connected external drives (USB, Thunderbolt, etc.) from spinning down or entering sleep mode due to inactivity. This is invaluable for users who rely on external storage for active work, such as editing large media files, running virtual machines, or maintaining backups, where drive sleep can cause interruptions or delays. You can enable 'Drive Alive' within Amphetamine's preferences, ensuring your external storage remains accessible and responsive throughout your work sessions.

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Amphetamine

Name: Amphetamine
Availability: InStock

Keep your Mac awake

System UtilitiesFree

Amphetamine screenshot — Amphetamine — Official Website

Quick Take: Amphetamine

4.9

Amphetamine stands as the undisputed champion of Mac keep-awake utilities in 2026. Its unparalleled feature set, especially the robust and highly customizable triggers, elevates it far beyond simple alternatives. The commitment to being completely free, open-source, and continuously updated for the latest macOS and Apple Silicon hardware makes it an essential download for almost any Mac user. While its depth can initially seem daunting, the power it provides for uninterrupted workflows and tailored sleep prevention is invaluable, making it a stellar example of community-driven software excellence.

Best For

•Power users and developers needing complex automation
•Creative professionals with long rendering/transfer tasks
•Remote workers and presenters requiring constant Mac availability

Install with Homebrew

brew install --cask amphetamine

What is Amphetamine?

Amphetamine is a highly regarded, free keep-awake utility for macOS, designed to prevent your Mac from going to sleep, dimming its display, or activating the screen saver when you need it to remain active. Launched in 2014, it gained significant traction as a powerful alternative to simpler tools, although it faced a brief controversy with Apple in 2021 regarding its name and icon, which was ultimately resolved, allowing it to remain on the Mac App Store. In 2026, Amphetamine continues to be an indispensable tool for a wide range of Mac users, from everyday individuals to developers and power users. Its core differentiator lies in its extensive customization options and powerful ‘Triggers,’ allowing users to define precise conditions under which their Mac should stay awake, far beyond a simple on/off switch. It addresses the critical need for uninterrupted workflows, whether for large file transfers, prolonged presentations, remote desktop sessions, or complex computational tasks, ensuring productivity isn't hindered by unintended sleep cycles. With continued updates and robust compatibility, including native support for Apple Silicon Macs, Amphetamine remains a top-tier choice for maintaining control over your Mac's sleep behavior.

Key Features

Intelligent Session Management

Amphetamine offers flexible session management, allowing users to choose how long their Mac remains awake. This can range from an indefinite period, perfect for server-like tasks, to specific durations like 30 minutes, 2 hours, or until a precise time and date. For instance, you could set a session to keep your Mac awake until 8 AM the next day to ensure a large overnight download completes without interruption. This granular control is easily accessible from the menu bar icon, providing quick toggling for various common scenarios, ensuring your Mac only stays awake when explicitly needed.

Powerful Custom Triggers

The true strength of Amphetamine lies in its customizable Triggers, which automate keep-awake sessions based on specific criteria. Users can configure triggers to activate when a particular application is running (e.g., Xcode, Final Cut Pro), when connected to an external display, or even when on a specific Wi-Fi network. Imagine a scenario where your Mac automatically stays awake only when you launch your video editing software, preventing sleep during rendering, and then reverts to normal power settings once the application is closed. Triggers can also be based on battery levels, CPU usage thresholds, or connected USB/Bluetooth devices.

Closed-Display Mode & Power Protect

For MacBook users, Amphetamine provides robust support for Closed-Display Mode, allowing the Mac to remain awake and fully functional even when the lid is closed, typically while connected to an external monitor. A significant enhancement, especially for Apple Silicon Macs, is 'Power Protect.' This feature simplifies keeping the Mac awake with the lid closed by circumventing previous requirements for Touch ID/password authentication when connecting or disconnecting power, ensuring seamless operation during critical tasks like media encoding or backups, even when the MacBook is tucked away.

Drive Alive Technology

Amphetamine includes a unique feature called 'Drive Alive' that specifically targets external drives. This prevents connected external hard drives or SSDs from spinning down or going to sleep due to inactivity, a common issue that can interrupt file transfers, media streaming, or database operations. For users working with large external libraries of photos, videos, or virtual machines, Drive Alive ensures continuous access and prevents the delays associated with drives waking up, thereby enhancing overall system responsiveness and data integrity during prolonged sessions.

Highly Customizable Interface & Hotkeys

Beyond its core functionality, Amphetamine offers extensive interface customization. Users can personalize the menu bar icon, choosing from various built-in options or even providing their own. This allows for a more integrated and aesthetically pleasing experience. Furthermore, the app supports a wide array of hotkeys for quickly starting, extending, or ending sessions, as well as toggling display sleep. These shortcuts streamline workflow, enabling users to manage their Mac’s sleep behavior without navigating through menus, making it exceptionally efficient for power users who rely on keyboard commands.

Who Should Use Amphetamine?

1Creative Professional (Video Editor/Designer)

A video editor is rendering a complex 4K project overnight or exporting large assets for a client. The process can take many hours, and any interruption due to the Mac entering sleep mode could corrupt the render, waste significant time, and delay delivery. With Amphetamine, the editor sets a trigger to keep the Mac awake whenever their video editing software (e.g., DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro) is running. This ensures the render completes uninterrupted, even if they step away from their desk. Additionally, they use the 'Drive Alive' feature to prevent their external Thunderbolt SSDs, holding project files, from disconnecting or sleeping during the demanding read/write operations.

2Remote Worker / Presenter

A remote employee frequently accesses their Mac mini at the office via Screen Sharing or is giving virtual presentations from home. They need their Mac to be constantly available and its display to remain active during online meetings to avoid awkward pauses or disconnections. They configure Amphetamine with a trigger to keep the Mac awake whenever they are connected to their home Wi-Fi network or when a specific remote access application is active. When giving a presentation, a quick click on the Amphetamine menu bar icon initiates an indefinite 'keep awake' session, ensuring their screen never dims or goes to sleep, maintaining a professional and seamless experience for their audience.

3Developer / System Administrator

A developer is compiling a large codebase, running automated tests, or deploying a containerized application to a local Kubernetes cluster, processes that can run for extended periods in the background. Interruptions would mean restarting builds or losing connection to essential services. They utilize Amphetamine's advanced triggers, setting it to keep the Mac awake while their IDE (e.g., VS Code) or Docker Desktop is active, and for a specific duration after these applications close, to allow any lingering background processes to finish. They also enable 'Closed-Display Mode' with 'Power Protect' on their MacBook Pro, allowing them to close the lid and keep their Mac processing computationally intensive tasks while saving desk space or using an external display.

How to Install Amphetamine on Mac

Installing Amphetamine on your Mac is straightforward, with two primary methods: through the Mac App Store for simplicity, or via Homebrew for command-line users.

Install Homebrew (if not already installed)

Open your Terminal application (found in /Applications/Utilities) and paste the following command, then press Enter: `/bin/bash -c '$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)'`. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. Homebrew is a popular package manager for macOS that simplifies software installations.

Install Amphetamine via Homebrew Cask

Once Homebrew is installed, return to your Terminal and run the command: `brew install --cask amphetamine`. Homebrew Cask handles the installation of macOS applications, including Amphetamine, directly to your Applications folder. This method ensures you get the latest version and simplifies future updates.

Verify Installation and Initial Launch

After the installation completes, Amphetamine should be available in your Applications folder. Launch the application. You'll see a pill-shaped icon appear in your Mac's menu bar (usually at the top right of your screen). Click this icon to reveal Amphetamine's menu, where you can start your first keep-awake session or access its preferences to configure settings.

Pro Tips

• For the simplest installation, download Amphetamine directly from the Mac App Store.
• Consider granting Amphetamine accessibility permissions for advanced features like mouse movement or closed-display mode for older macOS versions, if prompted.
• Always keep Amphetamine updated through the Mac App Store or by running `brew upgrade --cask amphetamine` with Homebrew.

Configuration Tips

Mastering Custom Triggers

Amphetamine's most powerful feature is its Triggers. To configure them, click the Amphetamine icon in the menu bar, go to 'Preferences,' and select the 'Triggers' tab. Here, you can create new triggers based on various conditions, such as 'While Apps Are Running' (e.g., when a specific IDE or game is open) or 'While an External Display Is Connected.' Experiment with combining multiple criteria to create highly specific automation rules that perfectly match your workflow.

Optimizing Closed-Display Mode with Power Protect

For MacBook users, enabling 'Closed-Display Mode' ensures your Mac stays awake with the lid closed. Access this by going to Amphetamine Preferences -> 'General' tab. For Apple Silicon Macs, if you encounter authentication prompts when connecting/disconnecting power during closed-display sessions, consider installing 'Power Protect.' Amphetamine will prompt you to learn more about it when you first activate Closed-Display Mode on an Apple Silicon Mac, streamlining this advanced functionality.

Personalizing Appearance and Hotkeys

Customize Amphetamine to seamlessly integrate with your macOS environment. In 'Preferences,' under the 'Appearance' tab, you can change the menu bar icon to suit your aesthetic preferences. Additionally, navigate to the 'Hotkeys' tab to set up custom keyboard shortcuts for common actions like starting or ending a session, or toggling display sleep. These personalizations can significantly enhance your efficiency and make the app feel more native to your usage habits.

Alternatives to Amphetamine

While Amphetamine is arguably the most feature-rich keep-awake utility, several alternatives cater to simpler needs or different user preferences.

Caffeine

Caffeine is the classic, minimalist keep-awake utility that inspired many. It offers a simple click-to-toggle functionality to prevent sleep. Compared to Amphetamine, Caffeine is much less customizable, lacking advanced features like triggers, session durations beyond indefinite, or closed-display mode support. It's ideal for users who only need a basic on/off switch without any complex automation.

KeepingYouAwake

KeepingYouAwake is another straightforward menu bar utility that aims to prevent your Mac from sleeping. It's often seen as a spiritual successor or modern take on Caffeine, offering similar simplicity. While it includes some basic options like timed sessions, it still falls short of Amphetamine's extensive trigger system, 'Drive Alive,' or specific closed-display mode enhancements, making it suitable for users requiring a slightly more flexible but still uncomplicated solution.

InsomniaX

InsomniaX is an older, free utility designed to keep a Mac awake and prevent sleep, including while the lid is closed. While it served a similar purpose, InsomniaX has historically had less consistent updates and compatibility with newer macOS versions and Apple Silicon compared to Amphetamine. Amphetamine offers a more modern, actively developed, and comprehensive feature set, making it a more reliable choice for current macOS users seeking advanced controls and stability.

Pricing

Free/Open Source

Amphetamine stands out in the crowded Mac utility market as it is completely free and open source. The developer, William Gustafson, offers it as a gift to the Mac community, emphasizing a commitment to no hidden costs. This means there are absolutely no advertisements, no in-app purchases, no 'pro' versions to unlock additional features, and no annoying prompts asking for reviews or donations. Users get full access to its powerful suite of features from day one, without any financial commitment. This transparent and generous pricing model makes Amphetamine an exceptional value in 2026, contrasting sharply with many other productivity tools that adopt subscription or freemium models.

Pros

✓Extremely powerful and customizable with a wide range of triggers.
✓Completely free, open source, and devoid of ads or in-app purchases.
✓Native support for Apple Silicon, ensuring optimal performance and stability.
✓Includes unique features like 'Drive Alive' and 'Power Protect' for comprehensive control.
✓User-friendly interface despite its advanced capabilities, catering to all user levels.

Cons

✗The sheer number of options and triggers can be overwhelming for new users. [infer]
✗Menu bar icon can contribute to clutter, especially without other menu bar management apps.
✗Improper configuration of indefinite sessions can lead to unnecessary battery drain on laptops. [infer]
✗Historical issues with specific macOS updates requiring developer patches, though quickly addressed.

Community & Support

Amphetamine boasts an active and engaged community, primarily centered around its GitHub repository, where users can report issues, suggest features, and track development progress. The developer, William Gustafson, is known for being responsive and actively participating in discussions. Support documentation, including troubleshooting guides and FAQs, is available via the Toothpicks Support Portal (Freshdesk), providing solutions for common problems and configuration queries. Additionally, discussions often occur on platforms like Reddit (particularly r/macapps), where users share tips, ask for help, and discuss the app's functionalities, fostering a collaborative environment for Mac users seeking to optimize their workflow with Amphetamine.

Video Tutorials

Getting Started with Amphetamine

Timothy Bramlett3.1K views

How to keep your Mac awake 🚀 #shorts

9to5Mac • 22.0K views

How to keep your Mac awake all the time ? #short #mactips

Minimal Nerd • 5.7K views

Stay Awake, Stay Productive: Unlock the Power of Amphetamine for macOS!

How To Make • 826 views

Frequently Asked Questions about Amphetamine

Yes, the Amphetamine app is widely considered safe and is available directly on the Mac App Store, undergoing Apple's rigorous review process. It operates by leveraging macOS's built-in `caffeinate` command, a standard system utility designed to prevent sleep. The app provides a user-friendly graphical interface over this command, enhancing its functionality with powerful triggers and session management. While its name caused a brief controversy with Apple, this was resolved, and the app's integrity has been maintained throughout its many years on the App Store.

Our Verdict

4.9/5

Best for:Power users and developers needing complex automationCreative professionals with long rendering/transfer tasksRemote workers and presenters requiring constant Mac availability

About the Author

Jordan Kim

Productivity & Workflow Analyst

Productivity ApplicationsNote-Taking & Knowledge ManagementTask & Project Management

8+ years in operations management · PMP certified

Related Technologies & Concepts

macOSApple SiliconHomebrewCaffeineTriggersPower ProtectWilliam GustafsonMac App Storecaffeinate

Sources & References

Fact-Checked

Last verified: Feb 15, 2026

Key Verified Facts

Amphetamine was launched in 2014 and faced a controversy with Apple in 2021 regarding its name and icon.[cite-17, cite-28, cite-32]
Amphetamine is completely free and open source, with no advertisements, in-app purchases, or 'pro' versions.[cite-8, cite-20, cite-33]
Amphetamine supports native operation on Apple Silicon Macs and includes a feature called 'Power Protect' for improved Closed-Display Mode functionality.[cite-3, cite-21, cite-29]
Amphetamine utilizes macOS's built-in `caffeinate` command to prevent system sleep.[cite-30]
The app offers flexible session management, including indefinite, timed, and until-specified-time options.[cite-1, cite-8, cite-15]

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