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What is caffeinate MacOS command?

The MacOS caffeinate command is a useful tool that prevents your system from sleeping, putting displays to sleep, or enabling automatic sleep. By using this command, you can keep your Mac awake for a specified period of time, ensuring uninterrupted tasks and processes. This feature is particularly handy when you need to prevent your computer from entering sleep mode during long-running tasks or presentations.

Terminal window
caffeinate [options]
OptionDescription
-dPrevent the display from sleeping
-iKeep the system running even if idle
-mPrevent the disk from entering sleep mode
-sPrevent the system from sleeping
-uMake the command exit when the user is inactive
-t Specify a timeout in seconds for the command
-h, -?, -helpDisplay help information
ParameterDescription
secondsOptional. Specify the number of seconds to run the caffeinate command before it exits automatically. Use with the -t option.
Terminal window
caffeinate -u -t 3600

Prevents the Mac from going to sleep for 1 hour.

Keep Mac Awake Until a Specific Command is Completed

Section titled “Keep Mac Awake Until a Specific Command is Completed”
Terminal window
caffeinate -s command

Keeps the Mac awake until the specific command is completed.

Terminal window
caffeinate -d

Prevents the display from dimming on the Mac.

Terminal window
caffeinate -s

Prevents the Mac from going to sleep indefinitely until interrupted.

Terminal window
caffeinate -m

Prevents the disk from spinning down on the Mac.

To use the caffeinate command in bash, execute the following command:

Terminal window
caffeinate

What are the common options available with caffeinate?

Section titled “What are the common options available with caffeinate?”

To specify options with caffeinate, you can use flags like -d (prevent the display from sleeping), -i (prevent the system from idle sleeping), and -u (prevent the system from going to sleep).

Terminal window
caffeinate -u

How can I prevent the system from idle sleeping using caffeinate?

Section titled “How can I prevent the system from idle sleeping using caffeinate?”

To prevent the system from idle sleeping using caffeinate, you can use the -i option. Here is an example:

Terminal window
caffeinate -i

How do I specify a custom time for caffeinate to run?

Section titled “How do I specify a custom time for caffeinate to run?”

To run caffeinate for a specific amount of time, you can specify the duration in seconds using the -t option. For instance:

Terminal window
caffeinate -t 3600

Can I prevent the disk from entering sleep mode using caffeinate?

Section titled “Can I prevent the disk from entering sleep mode using caffeinate?”

Yes, you can prevent the disk from entering sleep mode by using the -m option with caffeinate. Here is an example:

Terminal window
caffeinate -m

How can I prevent the system from sleeping when using caffeinate?

Section titled “How can I prevent the system from sleeping when using caffeinate?”

To prevent the system from sleeping while using caffeinate, you can use the -s option. For example:

Terminal window
caffeinate -s

Is there a way to prevent the system from sleeping until a specific process is complete?

Section titled “Is there a way to prevent the system from sleeping until a specific process is complete?”

Yes, you can prevent the system from sleeping until a specific process is complete by using the -w option followed by the process ID. Here is how you can do it:

Terminal window
caffeinate -w <process_id>

How can I check the manual page for caffeinate?

Section titled “How can I check the manual page for caffeinate?”

To view the manual page for the caffeinate command, you can use the man command in the terminal. Here is an example:

Terminal window
man caffeinate
  • Preventing the Mac from going to sleep
  • Keeping the display on
  • Preventing the hard drive from going to sleep
  • Running specific tasks that should not be interrupted by system sleep