Napless
Keep your Mac awake with timers, presets and job-aware holds; 7-day trial, then Napless Pro
For MacFree + paid plans
System Utilities
Official source
Our reviewPick Amphetamine for free manual timers, deep trigger automation, older macOS compatibility or closed-display support. Napless offers a 7-day trial of timers, presets, health checks, safety stops and its sleep-cause note, plus Pro holds for downloads, calls, backups, builds, local servers, meetings and agent runs. Choose Napless when those controls justify a one-time purchase after the trial. Napless is not a universal replacement.
Best for
- People evaluating a simple menu-bar timer during the trial
- People who want visible keep-awake health checks
- Users willing to pay once for automatic job holds and agent hooks
- People who want a note when the Mac sleeps during a hold
- People who want Pro to follow a build, a local server or a supported agent
What is Napless?
Disclosure: Napless is made by the team behind Bundl. Napless 1.5.0, released 8 October 2026, is a Mac menu-bar app with a 7-day free trial that prevents idle sleep for a duration, until a clock time, until you stop it, or from a preset. Its manual controls suit presentations, study sessions and tasks where you can choose an end time. New website installs start a 7-day free trial of everything, including Napless Pro, on first launch. No account or card is needed. After 7 days, keeping the Mac awake requires Pro. Napless product page. Napless Pro follows work through downloads, calls, exports, backups, named commands, local servers, meetings and AI agent runs. Napless also names why the Mac slept during a hold. While a Remote Login Is Open is included in the trial and needs Pro afterwards to keep the Mac awake. Amphetamine remains a fair alternative: it is free, mature, offers deep trigger automation and supports closed-display sessions. Napless does not yet offer Keep Awake With Lid Closed. This review compares published documentation rather than measured battery use or hands-on tests. Napless Help; release notes; Amphetamine listing.
Install from the official site
Distributed directly by the developer as a signed, notarized download — not on Homebrew.
Download from the official siteDisclosure: Napless is made by the team behind Bundl, so weigh our take on it accordingly.
Are you the maker of Napless?How Napless decides when to keep a Mac awake
Manual sessions use the time you choose. Pro adds conditions and watches so the hold can follow work.
History & Background
Napless 1.3.0 release notes on 6 October 2026 add presets, a sleep-cause explanation, Insights, command and local-server conditions, Telegram and Slack alerts, and support for 17 AI agents. Usage and crash reports are on by default in 1.2.12 and later; opt out in Settings › General. Release notes.
How It Works
Napless reports the current reason for a hold and provides Check Health. If the Mac sleeps during a hold, the menu and Check Health say why. An orange warning indicates a failed check or incident; a deliberate safety pause shows its reason. After a macOS update, Napless re-checks Open at Login. Help.
Ecosystem & Integrations
Napless has Shortcuts, Siri actions, AppleScript, durations and end times in the napless:// URL scheme, widgets with Pause, launcher kits, and napless mcp. Keep-awake actions are included in the trial and need Pro after 7 days. Pro adds actions that wait for an app or download, a Focus filter, agent hooks, and a named task hold that releases itself when the task ends.
Future Development
Keep Awake With Lid Closed is coming in an update. It should not be treated as a current feature when choosing an app. Availability.
Key Features
Manual sessions during the trial or with Pro
Choose Keep Awake For, Keep Awake Until or Indefinitely. Time left appears in the menu bar; Add 15 Minutes extends a timed session.
Separate display sleep
Allow Display to Sleep lets the screen sleep while the Mac remains awake. It is on by default.
Health checks and safety stops
Check Health reports problems with the keep-awake request. If the Mac sleeps during a hold, the menu and Check Health say why. Heat protection is on by default; the optional low-battery stop is off by default. While on battery, the menu shows battery time left, and Check Health shows battery health and cycle count. These controls do not guarantee that a job will finish.
Automatic holds with Pro
Pro offers download watches, calls detected through microphone or camera use, chosen apps, activity conditions and schedules. It also holds during calendar meetings that have a video-call link, while connected to VPN, while a drive or USB device is connected, and while presenting. For an export, choose an app or activity condition; an app hold can last until the app quits rather than until the export finishes. Each condition can choose whether the display stays on and whether to pause on battery.
Time Machine trigger with Pro
Enable While Time Machine is backing up and the automatic keep-awake master switch. The trigger holds while a backup runs and is off by default.
AI agent mode with Pro
Settings › Agents lists only agents installed on the Mac. Hooks cover Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Cursor and Gemini CLI. Keep Awake While It Runs covers 12 more: GitHub Copilot CLI, Aider, OpenCode, Amp, Goose, Qwen Code, Factory Droid, Kiro, Crush, Cline, Windsurf and Continue. That is 17 agents. Claude Code, Codex and Grok stay awake while a turn runs, for up to 10 minutes after the last prompt, even if the turn is still running. Cursor stays awake while a turn runs, for up to 60 minutes after the last prompt. Gemini CLI stays awake while Gemini CLI is open. napless mcp lets an agent check status and keep the Mac awake while it works. With Pro, a named task hold releases itself when the task ends. Napless must be running.
Chat presence option with Pro
Keep chat apps active moves the pointer by 1 pixel and back once a minute under the documented idle conditions. It is off by default and requires Accessibility permission. It explains the Teams and Slack away timers and keeps a private 7-day log of pointer nudges you can export. Ordinary sleep prevention alone does not override chat apps' idle rules.
Mac compatibility and distribution
macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel. Download directly from https://napless.io/; Napless is Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. It is not distributed through the Mac App Store or a Homebrew cask.
Presets during the trial or with Pro
Download, Meeting, Render and AI Run sit in the menu. Each starts keep-awake in one click with its own duration and display choice. Edit them in Settings › Durations. [Presets](https://napless.io/help/#presets).
Remote-login condition during the trial or with Pro
While a Remote Login Is Open is included in the trial; after 7 days its keep-awake hold needs Pro. It covers SSH, mosh or Screen Sharing. It is off by default, and Only on Power is on by default. [Remote login](https://napless.io/help/#while-a-remote-login-is-open).
Command line, AppleScript and MCP
Terminal offers napless status --json, start, stop, pause, resume and napless doctor. The napless:// URL scheme accepts durations and end times. Shortcuts, AppleScript, widgets with Pause, and kits for Raycast, Alfred, Hammerspoon and Keyboard Maestro are included. napless mcp lets Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other agents check status and keep the Mac awake while they work. [Command line](https://napless.io/help/#command-line).
Commands and local servers with Pro
Name commands such as npm, cargo, xcodebuild, ffmpeg or rsync and Napless holds while any runs, with a 30-second grace between build steps. Only While Busy counts an app or command only while it is actually working. A notice tells you when a watched command finishes after a minute or more. While a Local Server Is Running holds while something answers on chosen ports. The list includes Add Common Dev Ports. [Commands](https://napless.io/help/#while-commands-are-running); [local servers](https://napless.io/help/#while-a-local-server-is-running).
Insights with Pro
Settings › Insights shows how long Napless kept the Mac awake over the last day, week, month or three months, what kept it awake, which other apps hold it awake now, and battery-saving suggestions. An optional weekly summary is available. The history stays on the Mac. [Insights](https://napless.io/help/#insights-napless-pro).
Alerts on Telegram and Slack with Pro
Pro can send one short message when Napless could not keep the Mac awake, it slept anyway, it stopped for heat or battery, an AI agent stopped responding, or after an unexpected quit. Bot tokens and webhook URLs stay in the Keychain. Messages carry only the Mac's name. [Alerts](https://napless.io/help/#alerts-on-telegram-and-slack).
Who Should Use Napless?
Presenter or student
Set a timer during the trial or with Pro for the length of a presentation or study block. Choose Amphetamine if you need a free timer after the trial.
Downloader or backup user
Use Pro to watch a download or enable its Time Machine condition, so the hold follows that activity.
Video editor
Use Pro with a chosen editing app or an activity condition during an export. Review the hold reason because an open app can keep holding after its export ends.
Developer running agents
Use Pro hooks when the agent lifecycle is a better signal than an open Terminal window. For a longer command, review napless run and the documented hook time limits.
Developer running a build or a local server
Use Pro to hold while a named command is running, or while a chosen port answers, and let the hold end when that work stops.
Someone who wants a phone alert if the Mac sleeps
Use Pro Telegram or Slack alerts. The message carries the Mac's name. Tokens stay in the Keychain.
How to install Napless on Mac
Napless: Distributed directly by the developer as a signed, notarized download; not on Homebrew. Download: https://napless.io/
Download the disk image
Open napless.io and download the current Napless disk image for the 7-day trial.
Install and open the app
Open the downloaded disk image, move Napless to Applications, and open Napless. Confirm that its icon appears in the menu bar. First launch starts the 7-day trial, including Pro features.
Choose a first session
Open the menu and select Keep Awake For or Keep Awake Until. Leave Allow Display to Sleep enabled if only the computer needs to stay awake.
Activate Pro to keep using keep-awake after the trial
Buy through Napless Pro and paste the license key in Settings › Pro. Configure automatic conditions or install agent hooks only for the workflows you want.
Pro Tips
- • Keep Napless running for agent hooks and command-line holds.
- • Open at login is configured in Settings › General.
- • Review Check Health if the menu shows a warning.
- • After a macOS update, Napless re-checks Open at Login. Check Health shows fix steps if macOS lost login items.
Configuration Tips
Start with a finite duration
Use a timer when the job length is known. An indefinite hold needs a manual stop.
Let the display sleep
Leave Allow Display to Sleep on when you do not need the screen lit.
Make automatic conditions specific
For Pro, choose the download, app or backup condition that matches the job. A schedule prevents sleep while the Mac is already awake; it does not wake a sleeping Mac.
Review agent limits
Claude Code, Codex and Grok stay awake while a turn runs, for up to 10 minutes after the last prompt, even if the turn is still running. Cursor stays awake while a turn runs, for up to 60 minutes after the last prompt. Gemini CLI stays awake while Gemini CLI is open. Read that per-tool behavior before relying on a hook for an unattended run.
Set privacy and battery preferences
Usage and crash reporting can be disabled in General. Turn on the low-battery stop if you want a battery floor; it is off by default.
Alternatives to Napless
Choose by the signal that should start and stop the hold.
Amphetamine
Choose this free, mature Mac App Store utility for detailed condition-based triggers or closed-display support. The US store shows version 5.3.2 with macOS 10.13 or later. Official listing.
Pricing
As of 8 October 2026, new website installs start a 7-day free trial of everything, including Napless Pro, on first launch. No account or card is needed. After 7 days, keeping the Mac awake requires Pro. Napless Pro is US$8 for the first 50 licenses, then US$24, paid once for a lifetime license on up to 3 Macs. There is no subscription. The offer is limited by licenses sold, not a guaranteed price for every buyer. Macs that installed Napless before 1.5.0 keep the free timers, Keep Awake Until, presets and sleep-cause note they already had; Pro features still need Pro. Automatic holds, agent mode, chat presence, Insights, alerts and the Time Machine trigger are included in the trial and with Pro. Official Pro pricing; release notes.
Pros
- 7-day trial of timers with an end time or duration
- Straightforward menu-bar controls and visible remaining time
- Pro follows downloads, calls, backups and supported agents
- Health diagnostics, heat protection and optional battery stop
- Pro is a one-time purchase for up to 3 Macs
- Presets for Download, Meeting, Render and AI Run, included in the trial and with Pro
- Menu and Check Health name why the Mac slept during a hold
- Remote-login holds need Pro after the trial; Pro also covers commands, local servers, meetings, VPN, drives, presenting, Insights and alerts
- Terminal CLI with JSON status, AppleScript, a URL scheme and napless mcp
Cons
- Closed-lid keep-awake is not shipped yet
- New users need Pro after the 7-day trial for manual and automatic keep-awake. Amphetamine offers a deeper free trigger set.
- Requires macOS 13 or later
- Claude Code, Codex and Grok stay awake while a turn runs, for up to 10 minutes after the last prompt, even if the turn is still running. Cursor stays awake while a turn runs, for up to 60 minutes after the last prompt. Gemini CLI stays awake while Gemini CLI is open. Napless must be running.
- Usage and crash reports are on by default in 1.2.12 and later; opt out in Settings › General
Napless support and release notes
Napless provides Help and release notes. Contact support@napless.io for questions or use Contact Support in the app. Napless 1.5.0, released 8 October 2026, is the version covered by this review. Usage and crash reports are on by default in 1.2.12 and later; opt out in Settings › General. This page makes no claim about community size or download counts.
Frequently Asked Questions about Napless
Does Napless have a free trial?
How much does Napless Pro cost?
Does Napless work with the lid closed?
Does Napless work on Intel and Apple silicon Macs?
Can Napless keep my Mac awake for Claude Code or Codex?
Can I install Napless with Homebrew?
What are Napless presets?
Does Napless say why the Mac slept?
Can Napless watch a build or a local server?
About the Author
Productivity & Workflow Analyst
Expert Tips for Napless
An app being open is a different signal from an agent doing work. Napless Pro offers hooks for 5 agents and run detection for 12 more, but Claude Code, Codex and Grok still stop the hold 10 minutes after the last prompt even if the turn is still running.
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Mac keep-awake apps
Choose sleep prevention by timers, automation, supported Macs and closed-lid requirements.
Sources & References
Last verified: Oct 8, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Napless offers duration, end-time and indefinite keep-awake sessions during its 7-day trial and with Pro afterwards.[1][3]
- As of 8 October 2026, new website installs start a 7-day free trial of everything, including Napless Pro, on first launch. No account or card is needed. After 7 days, keeping the Mac awake requires Pro. Napless Pro is US$8 for the first 50 licenses, then US$24, paid once for a lifetime license on up to 3 Macs. There is no subscription. The offer is limited by licenses sold, not a guaranteed price for every buyer.[2][4]
- Napless requires macOS 13 or later, supports Apple silicon and Intel, and is Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple.[1]
- Napless Pro adds automatic keep-awake, agent mode for 17 agents, Keep chat apps active, Insights, Telegram and Slack alerts, command and local-server conditions, and a Time Machine trigger. While a Remote Login Is Open needs Pro to keep the Mac awake after the trial.[2][3]
- Napless Keep Awake With Lid Closed is coming in an update and is not available yet.[1][3]
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