Compare · Insomniac

Keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed

Amphetamine is the gold standard for keeping a Mac awake, free, mature, endlessly configurable. But the closed-lid case is special: macOS clamshell sleep isn't prevented by ordinary power assertions unless a display, power and keyboard are attached. That one case is the reason Insomniac exists.

	Amphetamine / caffeinate	Insomniac
Keep Mac awake, lid open	Perfect, the standard tool	Yes
Keep Mac awake, lid CLOSED, nothing attached	Needs a separate companion/workaround	The whole point: works out of the box
Thermal safety with the lid shut	Not its concern	Live thermal advice + auto-stop before it gets too hot
Maturity	Years of refinement, huge feature set	1.0, signed and notarised, one job
Scheduling, triggers, scripting	Extensive	None, it does one thing
Price	Free	Free

Pick theirs if…

Pick Amphetamine for everything except the closed-lid case, it is more mature, more flexible, and free.

Pick ours if…

Pick Insomniac if the closed-lid case IS your case: a MacBook running in a bag, on a shelf, or as a tiny server, with a safety layer watching the temperature, because a closed lid restricts airflow.

Get Insomniac, free Insomniac in the store

InsomniacmacOS

Keep your Mac awake with the lid closed, safely.

Lid closed, Mac awake, with a thermal safety net watching the heat.

Get app