Amphetamine
Amphetamine is a free and open-source application for macOS that allows users to override automatic sleep settings and keep their computers awake for extended periods of time. It can prevent displays from sleeping or computers from entering standby mode for as long as necessary.
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override-sleep-settings
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Amphetamine: Boost Productivity on Your Mac
Override automatic sleep settings and keep your computer awake for extended periods with Amphetamine, a free and open-source application for macOS.
What is Amphetamine?
Amphetamine is a free and open-source application developed specifically for macOS that gives users more control over their computer's sleep and wake functionality. It allows users to easily override automatic sleep, restart, and display sleep settings to keep their computers awake when needed for long periods of time.
One of the main features of Amphetamine is that it can prevent both displays/monitors and the computer itself from going to sleep. This means it will stop display sleep where the monitor turns off, as well as system sleep where the entire computer enters a low power standby mode. Users can set a duration for how long they want to disable sleep, or indefinitely disable it until Amphetamine is manually quit.
This type of functionality is useful for situations where having the computer go to sleep would be problematic, such as when downloading large files, working remotely, presenting slides, encoding media files, or any other task where keeping the computer awake for extended untouched periods is needed. The alternative would be having to constantly move the mouse or type on the keyboard to prevent automatic sleep.
Since Amphetamine is available free of charge from the developer's website, it provides a convenient way to temporarily override macOS sleep functions without having to change system preferences. The user interface features status icons that provide visible confirmation that sleep prevention is active.
Amphetamine Features
Features
- Keeps Mac awake when lid is closed or user is inactive
- Customizable duration and conditions for when to keep Mac awake
- Status bar menu with easy access to Amphetamine controls
- Blacklist apps that should not prevent sleep
- Whitelist apps that should always prevent sleep
- Automatic caffeine boost when specified apps are launched
- Menu bar icon indicates when Amphetamine is keeping system awake
Pricing
- Free
- Open Source
Pros
Free and open source
Lightweight with minimal impact on system resources
Easy to use with intuitive interface
Highly customizable sleep prevention rules
Allows Mac to stay awake for extended periods
Cons
Requires disabling default sleep settings which may impact battery life
Requires manual management of when to keep system awake
May keep Mac awake longer than necessary if not configured properly
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