Amphetamine
Amphetamine
Override energy saver settings and keep your Mac awake.
Free
Absolutely Free
Amphetamine overview
Amphetamine can keep your Mac, and optionally its display, awake through a super simple on/off switch, or automatically through easy-to-configure Triggers. Amphetamine is extremely powerful and includes advanced features for those who need them, yet remains intuitive and simple to use for those who don't need all the bells and whistles.
Click to Keep Your Mac Awake
Quickly start a keep-awake session from Amphetamine's menu to keep your Mac awake.
- Indefinitely, for a specified amount of time, or until a specified time
- While a file is downloading
- While a specific app is running
Advanced Automation
Create a Trigger to automatically keep your Mac awake.
- While an external display is connected
- While a USB or Bluetooth device is connected
- While a specific app is running
- While a specific app is running and frontmost
- While your Mac's battery is charging and/or when the battery is above a threshold
- While your Mac's AC power adapter is connected
- While your Mac has a specific IP address
- While your Mac is on a specific WiFi network
- While your Mac is connected to a VPN service
- While headphones or another audio output is in use
- While a specific drive or volume is mounted
- While your Mac's CPU is being utilized to a specific threshold
What's the Catch? No catch.
Amphetamine is 100% free. It's a gift from me, to you. Enjoy!
- No advertisements
- No in-app purchases
- Nothing to unlock/no "pro" version
- No annoying prompts asking you to review Amphetamine
- No links for other paid apps
- No tracking
- No data-harvesting
What Else Does Amphetamine Do?
Amphetamine is the most powerful and customizable keep-awake utility ever created for macOS. Some other notable features are:
- Keep your drive awake with Drive Alive
- AppleScript support
- Use your own menu bar icons
- Allow your display to sleep while keeping your Mac awake
- Allow screen saver to run after a customizable period of inactivity
- Optional session time remaining display in the menu (with 12/24 hour support)
- Auto-end session if your Mac's battery is low
- Hot key support for starting/ending sessions
What’s new in version 5.2.2
Updated on May 30 2021
Version 5.2.2:
Improvements:
- Fixes an issue with the Idle Time Trigger criterion not functioning as expected
- Fixes an issue with the Schedule Trigger criterion not functioning as expected
- UI adjustments for all localizations/languages
Added new languages:
- Dutch
- German
Information
App requirements
- Intel 64
- OS X 10.11 or later
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Comments
User Ratings
Feb 18 2022
Version: 5.2.2
Doesn’t work well under Mac OS Monterey. When my iMac screen sleeps and Amphetamine is running, I cannot get the screen to come back on. I have to force power down the computer and turn it back on. For some reason, Amphetamine keeps my computer from sleeping, but not my screen. Had to delete from my computer and use Owly instead.
May 19 2021
Version: 5.2.1
I updated to Mac OS 10.14.6 and had an issue with Caffeine not working so I looked and found Amphetamine. It was a bit confusing but the main reason I went back to Caffeine was my MacBook was warm after a (couple) night(s) of no use. I put it to sleep and went to bed. Mac Fans Control said the Cores were at 70 degrees celcius instead of 40. I'm not sure what Amphetamine was doing, maybe I had a setting off or on.
Jan 3 2021
Version: 5.1.1
Brilliant! Extremely stupid of Apple to threaten removal.
Oct 9 2018
Version: 4.0.3
The best of it's kind. Don't look any further (a long time user)!
Apr 5 2018
Version: 3.0.2
I love this app, but the only feature I feel it's missing is the ability to permanently add applications to the white list. Otherwise, the features are rich, and it's very well designed and thought out; I love it much more than any other similar app I've used in the past. My only other suggestion is: charge a few dollars for it; it's worth at least $5. Give me an app white list that prevents sleep, and I'll update to 5 ⭐️. Great work!
Apr 2 2017
Version: 3.0.2
Waiting to see if i can get an apparent permissions drawback overcome. My system won't let me choose the external backup drive used for time machine to stay awake (because it causes my whole system/imac to stall/lag/freeze .... i guess it's the external drive, that's what i've analyzed it to so far).
One of the positive/different things about keep drive spinning is it allows me to use admin pw to force KDS to choose the external drive. i filed a support request w/ amphetamine cuz i would like to try it and see if it's indeed better as so many reviews say. Thanks. will plan to update once I find out.
UPDATE: Boy that was quick! They responded almost immediately and told me to do this:
Try creating a new folder at the root of the drive for use with Drive Alive. Then, select the folder instead of the root of the drive.
It worked! I named my emply folder > Amphetamine Keep Alive My Drive, which i was able to choose in Amphetamine preferences > Drive Alive.
So, that barrier was defeated (easily) and now I'm going to be testing it and comparing experiences. Will review later.
Hope this may help others. Cheers!
One of the positive/different things about keep drive spinning is it allows me to use admin pw to force KDS to choose the external drive. i filed a support request w/ amphetamine cuz i would like to try it and see if it's indeed better as so many reviews say. Thanks. will plan to update once I find out.
UPDATE: Boy that was quick! They responded almost immediately and told me to do this:
Try creating a new folder at the root of the drive for use with Drive Alive. Then, select the folder instead of the root of the drive.
It worked! I named my emply folder > Amphetamine Keep Alive My Drive, which i was able to choose in Amphetamine preferences > Drive Alive.
So, that barrier was defeated (easily) and now I'm going to be testing it and comparing experiences. Will review later.
Hope this may help others. Cheers!
Oct 7 2016
Version: 3.0.2
Works great. Came to this app from the long-unupdated Caffeine.
Sep 7 2016
Version: 3.0
Version 3 is not working at all. Prefs are not saved and none of the manual triggers work, just flip on and off again.
10.11.1
Sep 7 2016
Version: 3.0
This is really really excellent, great scriptability for automating its use and lots of control/triggers etc. So good I'll even brave the App Store for it...
Nov 3 2015
Version: 2.1
Does what it promises. Would be really nice if it offered option to disable sleep on closing lid too.
Sep 2 2015
Version: 2.1
Really nice free app. A must have if you need preventing sleep computer when he's in monitoring state. Ex: When i'm djing with Traktor, almost everything is done under midi controllers. Don't need to touch the trackpad or keyboard for bringing back my monitoring screen. Amphetamine last for all night live session. And it's legal ;)
Aug 28 2015
Version: 2.0.2
Tiny wee application that does what it says. And for the small fortune of free is charge is brilliant!!! thank to the developer for keeping this application free and working!!
Aug 22 2015
Version: 2.0.2
Could logging level be controlled from preferences?
Aug 14 2015
Version: 2.0.1
Works as advertised ! Thank you for keeping this free.
Aug 14 2015
Version: 2.0.1
Works as advertised ! Thank you for keeping this free.
Free
Absolutely Free
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