Caffeine is a tiny program that keeps your Mac awake, useful for ensuring that long running tasks aren't interrupted by your computer going to sleep.

Download Caffeine at https://caffeine-app.net and drag it into your Applications folder, then double-click the icon to launch it.

Caffeine puts a coffee cup icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click the cup to toggle whether Caffeine is active or not -- a full cup means Caffeine will prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. An empty cup means your Mac will sleep normally.

For more control, right-click (or ⌘-click) the icon to show the menu. From here, you can access the preferences window or set a timeout if you only need Caffeine to prevent sleep for a little while.

Caffeine is intended to be simple, yet powerful. Options you can configure include whether to start Caffeine automatically every time you start up your Mac, whether Caffeine should activate every time it starts, and a default duration if you always want Caffeine to turn itself off after a set time.

Yes! Tomas Franzén of Lighthead Software originally developed Caffeine in 2006, and it has been a well known and loved utility for Mac users for many years. Its simplicity has allowed it to continue working perfectly long after active development had ceased.

In 2018, Michael Jones (IntelliScape Computer Solutions) reached out to Tomas to inquire if they could continue development of Caffeine.

Tomas has graciously provided the source code under an open source license, allowing IntelliScape Computer Solutions to continue developing Caffeine where he left off.

No, this version requires at least macOS 11 (Big Sur). Caffeine for macOS Yosemite or later (including Catalina) is available at: https://www.intelliscapesolutions.com/apps/caffeine/

Due to the long period of inactivity for Caffeine, a lot of different and great options have been developed. While the alternatives are great apps and definitely worth your consideration, we believe that Caffeine's power lies in its simplicity and ease of use.

If you have questions, comments or other feedback get in touch at https://caffeine-app.net/support.