Keep awake only when it matters, with smart triggers

Smart triggers let Keepresso decide when to keep your Mac awake, instead of you flipping it on and off. You pick one or more conditions, and Keepresso holds the Mac up only while they are true, then steps back and lets it sleep normally.

The conditions you can use

• Power: on AC power, on battery, or charging.
• External display connected.
• Wi-Fi network: on a network you name (reading the network name needs Location access).
• App running or frontmost: while a chosen app is open, or only while it is in front.
• Process running: match any command line, for example node, python, or ffmpeg.
• Camera or microphone in use: the basis of the Meetings preset. No camera or mic permission needed.
• Audio playing: while sound is coming out, with a short grace period for track gaps.
• VPN connected.
• CPU above a threshold: 25, 50, 75, or 90 percent, smoothed so a brief spike does not start a session.
• Volume mounted: while a chosen external drive, SD card, or network share is connected.
• Network activity above a threshold: while the network is moving data faster than a rate you choose (100 KB/s, 500 KB/s, 1 MB/s, or 5 MB/s), so a big upload or download holds the Mac up, then it stands down once traffic drops.
• Downloads in a watched folder: point Keepresso at a folder such as Downloads and it stays awake while a file is actively landing there.
• Bluetooth device connected: while a paired device is in range, with a 30 second grace period so a brief drop does not end the session.
• Schedule: a daily time window on the days you choose, including overnight windows that cross midnight.
• Calendar event: while an event is on your Mac's calendar, so a meeting or a booked block holds it awake.
• Playing a game: while a Steam title or a cloud client (GeForce NOW, Boosteroid, Parsec, Moonlight, Shadow) is running. See Fix gaming and streaming lag.

Combine them your way

Set conditions to combine with any (stay awake if at least one is true) or all (only while every one is true). An app trigger can also linger for a few seconds after its condition goes false, so a quick blip does not cut the session short.

The Add condition menu groups everything into Power & Display, Network & Devices, and Apps & Activity, so the list stays short as it grows.

One-click presets

If you would rather not build a rule from scratch, apply a preset:

• AI Agent: while claude, codex, or grok is running.
• Meetings: while the camera or microphone is in use.
• On AC Power: while plugged in.
• External Display Connected.
• Remote Session (SSH): only during an active SSH connection, not the idle listener.
• Backup Running: during a Time Machine backup. Walkthrough: Time Machine and long backups.
• Media Render: while ffmpeg is running.
• Cloud Gaming / Remote Control: while a cloud gaming or remote-desktop client is in front.

Applying a preset replaces your current rule set and turns trigger gating on.

See what is holding it on

The menu shows the live conditions currently keeping the session up, and a Pause Triggers button suspends the whole engine for a moment without touching your saved rules. If a session is not behaving, My Mac still goes to sleep has the checklist.