Flip one switch
Click “Keep my Mac awake” in the menu bar, then close the lid — it stays awake. Open it again and everything’s back to normal. That’s the whole thing.
macOS · Apple Silicon
Put the book away.
Use your MacBook with the lid closed — and keep your external monitor on.
You wedged a book on the keyboard so it wouldn’t sleep. lidawake does that job properly: it stops your Mac going to sleep when you close the lid, so your big screen keeps going — safely, from one little switch in your menu bar.
It started with a book
Why does a Mac go to sleep when you close the lid?
My wife works on a big external monitor with her MacBook’s lid closed beside it — the laptop screen off, out of the way, everything on the large display. The catch: close the lid and the Mac wants to sleep. The trick going around was to balance a book on the keyboard so the lid never fully closed. It worked. It also looked ridiculous, covered the vents, and felt like a bug waiting to happen. lidawake is the version that isn’t a hack: close the lid all the way, keep working on your external screen, and it keeps your Mac awake — deliberately and safely — then gets out of your way.
The longer answer, with the free ways to do it →Why does my Mac go to sleep when I close the lid?
How it works
How to keep your Mac awake with the lid closed
One switch. That’s the whole thing.
Safe by design
A closed lid blocks cooling, so lidawake turns the laptop’s own screen off (your external monitor stays on), watches the temperature and battery, and quietly restores normal sleep if anything looks risky.
No Terminal, no scripts
Nothing to paste into a command line, no system files to edit. Approve it once with a click, and it just works — for anyone.
A look inside
Plain switches. No jargon.
Everything’s in plain language — turn the screen off, keep going on battery (and stop at a level you choose), with a clear heads-up about heat. Nothing to look up.
Made for people, not tinkerers
Keep your Mac awake without Terminal or scripts
lidawake is for anyone who just wants to close the lid and keep going — working on an external monitor with the laptop shut, a download finishing, music playing to a speaker, a call staying connected — without becoming a tech expert to do it. Youcan do this for free, and the clever part is no secret (lidawake’s own code is open for anyone to read). But the free ways tend to come with strings:
- Some ask you to open Terminal and paste in commands you’d rather not.
- Some make you click past a scary “this app can’t be verified” warning just to install them.
- Some need fiddly setup that quietly breaks the moment you unplug the charger.
lidawake is the one made for the rest of us: download it, click once to approve it, flip one switch. No Terminal, no commands, no warnings — it’s notarized by Apple, so your Mac trusts it from the very first launch. It does a few things, and does them well.
The privileged part, done right
Is lidawake safe to install?
Keeping a Mac awake with the lid closed needs one system-level permission. lidawake asks for it the honest way — a signed helper you approve with a click — not a script you paste into Terminal.
01
One tiny helper, one job
A single background helper that does exactly one thing: keep your Mac awake when you ask it to — nothing else.
02
No network, no account
lidawake never phones home. There’s nothing to sign up for and nothing to track. It runs entirely on your Mac.
03
Open source
The whole app is on GitHub under the MIT license. Read every line, or build it yourself.
04
Notarized by Apple
Signed and checked by Apple, so macOS trusts it out of the box — no scary “unidentified developer” warnings.
See for yourself → github.com/zayco-it/lidawake
Good to know
Questions, answered.
Can I use it with an external monitor, lid closed?
Yes — that’s exactly what it’s made for. Close the lid and keep working on your external display; lidawake keeps your Mac awake so it won’t drop off to sleep. Because a closed lid blocks cooling, clamshell mode is happiest on power — keep your Mac plugged in when you can, and lidawake keeps an eye on the temperature either way.
My Mac goes to sleep when I close the lid — how do I stop it?
That’s exactly what lidawake is for. Install it, click one switch in the menu bar, and your Mac stays awake with the lid shut — nothing to type into Terminal, no system files to change. Switch it off and your Mac sleeps normally again.
Where did my cursor go?
With the lid closed, macOS still keeps the built-in screen in the layout — invisible, but there — so the pointer can wander onto it. That’s a macOS quirk, not lidawake. Slide back toward your monitor and it pops right back.
Is it safe to keep my Mac awake with the lid closed?
Yes, with a little care. A closed lid covers the vents, so lidawake turns the display off and keeps an eye on temperature and battery, stopping automatically if things get too warm. Keep your Mac on a hard, flat surface — not a bed or a couch cushion — so it can shed heat.
Why does it need administrator access?
Keeping a Mac awake with the lid closed is only possible through one macOS setting that needs administrator rights. lidawake handles it with a tiny signed helper that does only that one thing — you approve it once with a click, no Terminal and no password-pasting. The helper touches no files, no network, and nothing else on your Mac, and because the whole app is open source you can read exactly what it does.
How do I know the download is genuine?
It’s signed with zaYco’s Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS verifies it automatically the first time you open it. If you’d like to check for yourself, every release publishes a SHA-256 checksum, and running “spctl -a -vv /Applications/lidawake.app” in Terminal should report “accepted, source=Notarized Developer ID.”
Does it work on battery?
Yes. Because a closed lid runs a bit warmer, running on battery is off by default — you can switch it on in Settings and set a battery level to stop at.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) running macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer.
What happens after the free trial?
After 14 days, a one-time license keeps it going — $6.67, good for up to 3 Macs. Already had lidawake before it became paid? It stays free for you, forever.
Can I get a refund?
Yes — there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee, no fuss.
Simple pricing
$6.67, once.
Try it free for 14 days. If you keep it, it’s a single payment — no subscription — and it works on up to 3 of your Macs.
After downloading, open lidawake.dmg and drag lidawake to your Applications folder.