Keepresso

Product Introduction

1. Definition: Keepresso is a native macOS menu-bar utility application designed to intelligently prevent system sleep and display dimming. It operates using legitimate macOS power assertion APIs (pmset, caffeinate-style) rather than simulating user activity.
2. Core Value Proposition: It exists to solve the disruptive and costly problem of a Mac entering sleep mode during critical unattended or long-running tasks. Its primary value is providing granular, automated control over system wakefulness based on user-defined triggers, schedules, and conditions, ensuring processes complete without interruption.

Main Features

1. Smart Trigger Engine: Keepresso monitors system state and activates a "keep awake" session only when specific, user-configured conditions are met. Triggers include CPU load, network activity, audio playback, connected Bluetooth devices, mounted volumes, active calendar events, and foreground applications (like games or video conferencing apps). Conditions can be combined with AND/OR logic and paused globally.
2. Closed-Display Mode for MacBooks: This feature allows a MacBook to remain fully awake with its lid closed, without requiring an external display or power adapter—a capability not natively supported by macOS. It works by toggling the pmset disablesleep setting via a privileged helper tool, allowing renders, downloads, or SSH sessions to continue while the internal display is safely powered off.
3. Automation & AI Agent Integration: Keepresso provides a command-line interface (keepresso CLI) and an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for programmatic control. AI agents or scripts can acquire renewable "leases" to hold the Mac awake, with automatic expiration if the agent crashes. This enables reliable, hands-off automation for builds, local LLM runs, and scheduled agentic workflows.
4. Headless Mac Toolkit: For Mac mini or Mac Studio servers, Keepresso offers a guided setup checklist for configuring auto-login, wake-on-LAN, and remote access. It also includes an experimental virtual display driver that provides a crisp Retina (HiDPI) resolution over Screen Sharing/VNC, eliminating the need for a physical "dummy plug" adapter.
5. Gaming & Streaming Optimizations: The app detects active games or streaming clients (Steam, GeForce NOW, Parsec, etc.) and can automatically pause Apple's AWDL (AirDrop/Handoff) service to reduce Wi-Fi radio interference and network jitter. An optional helper tool can also raise the game process's CPU priority to prevent background tasks from stealing performance.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: Unintended system sleep disrupting workflows. This includes failed long downloads, aborted renders, dropped remote desktop/SSH connections, interrupted AI agent runs, and paused cloud gaming streams due to macOS's standard energy-saving policies.
2. Target Audience: Software developers and engineers (running long compilations, tests, or local servers); creative professionals (rendering video/3D graphics, exporting large files); researchers and data scientists (training ML models); IT professionals and homelab enthusiasts (managing headless Mac servers); remote workers using VDI/Citrix; gamers on macOS; and users automating tasks with AI agents (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.).
3. Use Cases: A MacBook running a overnight Blender render with the lid closed; a Mac Studio CI/CD server that must stay awake for scheduled builds; a developer using an AI coding agent that needs the Mac awake for hours; a user on a corporate VPN whose remote desktop session logs out due to inactivity; a gamer wanting to eliminate stutter caused by AWDL scans.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike basic "caffeinate" clones or mouse-jiggler apps that simply prevent all sleep, Keepresso offers conditional, intelligent control. Unlike paid alternatives like Amphetamine, it is free, open-source (GPL-3.0), privacy-focused (no tracking), and introduces unique features like AWDL pausing, AI agent leases, and a headless Mac Retina display solution.
2. Key Innovation: The integration of a lease-based MCP server for AI agents is a forward-looking innovation for the "agentic era." It allows AI tools to responsibly manage system wakefulness with a safety timeout, transforming the Mac into a reliable, automatable compute node without risk of it staying awake indefinitely due to a crashed process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is Keepresso safe for my Mac's battery? Yes. Keepresso uses official macOS APIs (NSProcessInfo.activity() and pmset commands) to assert system wakefulness, which is the same method used by professional apps like video conferencing software. It includes battery-aware features like auto-pausing sessions at a user-defined low-charge threshold and a thermal safety net to prevent overheating.
2. How does Keepresso's closed-display mode work without an external monitor? It uses a privileged helper tool to execute sudo pmset disablesleep 1, which tells the macOS power management system to ignore lid-closed events. This is a system-level setting, allowing the Mac to operate fully while the internal display is physically off and protected.
3. Can Keepresso keep my Mac awake for AI agents like Claude Code? Absolutely. Its AI Agent trigger detects active terminals running processes like claude, codex, or gemini and keeps the Mac awake only while they are active. Furthermore, its bundled MCP server allows these agents to directly request and renew keep-awake leases via a standardized protocol, making integration seamless.
4. Does Keepresso work on headless Mac minis? Yes, it is specifically designed for this. Its "Headless Setup" guide walks through necessary system settings, and its experimental "HiDPI Virtual Display" feature creates a software-driven high-resolution display for Screen Sharing, providing a much sharper remote desktop experience than the default low-resolution fallback.
5. Is Keepresso really free and open source? Yes. Keepresso is completely free to use, with no premium tier or license fee. Its source code is publicly available on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 license, allowing for security review, community contributions, and customization. It is also signed and notarized by Apple for security.