--- title: "Keep Awake" description: "One switch that keeps the screen on and the computer from sleeping — for a presentation, a long download or a build" canonical: "https://smabar.com/store/plugins/keep-awake/" lang: en --- # Keep Awake > One switch that keeps the screen on and the computer from sleeping — for a presentation, a long download or a build Canonical HTML version: https://smabar.com/store/plugins/keep-awake/ · Language: en · Publisher: smabar (https://smabar.com) --- One switch that keeps the screen on and the computer from sleeping — for a presentation, a long download or a build - **Version**: v1.0.0 - **License**: MIT - **Runtime**: managed python - **OS**: linux, windows, macos - **Needs**: nothing external - **Author**: [@PleasePrompto](https://github.com/PleasePrompto) - **Repository**: [PleasePrompto/smabar-plugins](https://github.com/PleasePrompto/smabar-plugins) · 0 GitHub stars - **Updated**: 2026-09-15T10:04:36Z ## Install in smabar Settings › Plugins › Open Plugin Store, then search for keep-awake. smabar shows what it needs and asks before it installs. External requirements: none. ## screenshots - [Keep Awake, screenshot 1](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PleasePrompto/smabar-plugins/d4b430c83abcf093a02ecaee5981fab0d483d4c0/plugins/keep-awake/screenshots/01-overview.png) - [Keep Awake, screenshot 2](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PleasePrompto/smabar-plugins/d4b430c83abcf093a02ecaee5981fab0d483d4c0/plugins/keep-awake/screenshots/02-off.png) ## README # Keep Awake One switch that keeps the screen on and the computer from sleeping, for a presentation, a long download or a build. No API keys, nothing leaves your computer. ![Keep Awake tile and flyout](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PleasePrompto/smabar-plugins/d4b430c83abcf093a02ecaee5981fab0d483d4c0/plugins/keep-awake/screenshots/01-overview.png) ## What you see - **Tile:** a coffee cup with "Off" while nothing is held, "On" in the accent colour while it is. A timed session shows the remaining time as `hh:mm`, ticking down without a single re-render. - **Flyout:** the switch, five duration chips (30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, Until off), while on a hero with the end time and a live countdown, and a muted line naming the mechanism that holds the inhibit. The chips work while off (start for that long) and while on (change the duration). - **Hover:** "Keep Awake · on for 42 more min" or "Keep Awake · off". - **Popup:** "Keep Awake ended" when a timed session runs out. The plugin always starts **off**. Nothing is remembered across a restart of smabar or the plugin, so a forgotten session can never keep a machine awake for days. ## Requirements - **Linux:** `systemd-inhibit` for sleep, plus one of these for screen idle: `gnome-session-inhibit`, the distro `python3` with PyGObject (talks to `org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver`; GNOME, Cinnamon and MATE ship it), or `xdg-screensaver` on X11. Whatever exists is used, and the flyout shows which. - **macOS:** `caffeinate`, part of the system. - **Windows:** nothing extra; the plugin calls `SetThreadExecutionState`. ## How it works | Platform | Mechanism | | --- | --- | | Linux | `systemd-inhibit --what=idle:sleep --mode=block` as a child process, plus the first screen-idle inhibitor that comes up: `gnome-session-inhibit --inhibit idle`, then `inhibit_linux.py` (a tiny helper that registers an `org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver` inhibit and holds the D-Bus connection open), then `xdg-screensaver reset` every 50 seconds. | | macOS | `caffeinate -dims -w `: display, idle, disk and system assertions. | | Windows | `SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS \| ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED \| ES_DISPLAY_REQUIRED)` on a dedicated thread, cleared with `ES_CONTINUOUS` on stop. | Every inhibitor is tied to the plugin's own process: the Linux children wait for the plugin's pid (`tail --pid`), `caffeinate -w` waits for it, the Windows state dies with its thread. Switching off, a plugin reload or a graceful stop releases everything at once, and even a hard kill leaves nothing behind. ## Settings | Setting | Default | Meaning | | --- | --- | --- | | `defaultMinutes` | `60` | How long a session started with the switch or the `on` command lasts. `0` keeps the computer awake until you switch it off. | ## Agent commands | Command | Arguments | Result | | --- | --- | --- | | `on` | `minutes` optional, 0 to 1440 | Starts a session, or changes the duration of the running one. | | `off` | none | Releases every inhibitor. | | `status` | none | `on`, `remainingMinutes`, `endsAt`, `mechanism`, `error`. | ## Privacy Everything stays local. The plugin starts a system tool or a helper process and writes no files at all. ## Known limits - On Cinnamon `xdg-screensaver reset` does nothing while the screensaver is inactive, which is why the D-Bus helper exists. Without PyGObject only sleep is inhibited there, not screen blanking; the flyout line shows `systemd-inhibit` alone in that case. - Lid close, the power button and a sleep you trigger yourself are never blocked. - Windows: `SetThreadExecutionState` keeps the display and the system awake but does not stop a classic screen saver. - macOS: the system-sleep assertion (`-s`) applies on AC power only; on battery idle sleep is still prevented. - The Windows and macOS backends follow the official documentation; they were built and verified on Linux (X11, Cinnamon). ## Development `python3 test_backend.py` checks the platform selection, the timer bookkeeping and the markup without a running bar and without starting any inhibitor. #keep-awake #caffeine #sleep #screensaver #presentation #inhibit #power listed from main at d4b430c83abc, updated 3 days ago these labels are facts, not endorsements. smabar does not review plugin code; it is public, read it yourself.