Two editions, one app
AIwake keeps your Mac awake while AI coding agents — Claude Code, Cursor and Codex — are working, and lets it sleep as soon as they are done. It comes in two editions built from the same source code.
Mac App Store edition
Sandboxed and reviewed by Apple, updated through the App Store. This is the one most people want.
Direct edition
Downloaded from this site as a notarized disk image. It is not sandboxed, which makes room for features a sandboxed app cannot have.
Direct downloadWhat both editions do
- Keep the Mac awake while any agent session is working, with the standard macOS power assertion, and release it when the agent finishes its turn.
- Hold the Mac awake for the whole length of a long command, with a configurable ceiling in case its end is never reported. (A command the agent had to ask permission for, and that waited a while for the answer, is the exception: you choose in Settings whether waiting keeps the Mac awake.)
- Safety timeout for an agent that quits without saying so.
- A choice of whether an agent waiting for your permission keeps the Mac awake.
- An option to keep the display on too.
- Manual keep-awake, with or without an end time — no agent needed.
- A Verification screen that sends a test signal, so you can see it work.
- A place in the menu bar, the Dock, or both — and the Dock on its own whenever the menu bar is too full to show the icon.
- Keep-awake for any length of time or until a set time; battery settings (sleep below a charge you choose, or ignore the battery).
- A local MCP server: any app or agent that speaks the Model Context Protocol can keep the Mac awake while it works.
- 15 languages.
- Integrations that are off until you turn them on, show the exact change first, keep a backup, and can be removed with one click.
- Signals only on 127.0.0.1, no data collected, hook contents never stored or logged. The Mac App Store edition makes no outgoing connections at all; the direct edition connects to this site only to check for updates.
Where they differ
| Feature | Mac App Store | Direct |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox | Yes | No — hardened runtime, notarized by Apple |
| Access to an agent's settings folder | You select the folder in a standard macOS panel; the permission is remembered | After you agree in the app |
| Updates | Mac App Store | Built in (Sparkle), signed updates from this site |
| Tips for the developer | In-app, through the App Store | Links to donation services |
| Keep working with the lid closed | No | Yes: a small helper you approve once in System Settings; off by default, pauses on low battery or heat, undoes itself if the app quits |
| Notice when an agent process dies mid-command | No | Planned |
Both editions use the same local port and the same hooks, so switching from one to the other needs no change in your agents. If both are running, the second one to start stays idle and tells you so.
Why the difference is in the build, not in a switch
The features that exist only in the direct edition live in a separate module that is not compiled or linked into the Mac App Store build. The App Store build contains no hidden, dormant or remotely enabled features; our release checks inspect every App Store build for any trace of the direct-only module and refuse to ship it if one is found.
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