I’ve recently switched over to a MacBook Pro after using Windows or Linux laptops my entire life. I love that when I close the lid the laptop turns off and uses very little power. When I open it, everything is up and running again like nothing ever happend. Crazy concept I know, but coming from years of windows machines, this is a luxury.
What I can’t figure out though is how do I keep the machine running when I lock it without closing the lid? I run various VPNs and have programs for work that are painfully slow to compile / start. I can’t leave the thing unattended while signed in obviously in an office, but I’d love to be able to lock it while compiling and walk around / grab a drink without having to reconnect to the VPN and having to resume the compilation of programs.
At the same time, I really love that when I close the lid it goes to sleep so I’d like to keep that feature as well. Is this possible? My fellow Mac users in an office, what do you do?
I’ve always used Amphetamine
Open terminal and type “caffeinate” and press enter. It’ll stay awake for as long as terminal (and the lid) is open
I think you can also specify the time you want it to stay awake by typing “caffeinate -t 1000” and it’ll stay awake for 1000 seconds.
Does anyone know the opposite solution? I have a MBP that always wants to be awake - particularly bc of Google Chat notifications or if my Bluetooth mouse gets bumped — is there a setting or program that will keep it asleep unless it’s opened, or even until a key is pressed?