Wakeward
Download
1.1Meet the night owl

Keep your Mac awake. Exactly as long as it matters.

Timers, a time of day, or rules that know when Xcode is open, a download is busy or a display is plugged in. Native, offline, and out of the way until you need it.

Download for MacHow it works

Version 1.1.0 · 1.6 MB · macOS 15 or later · Apple silicon

Wakeward Settings, Rules pane: While Xcode is running (active), During scheduled hours, Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00 (active), While downloading, faster than 200 KB/s (off), and While the CPU is busy, busier than 40 % (waiting), each with an Edit button and a switch, and an Add Rule menu below.

Your Mac can sleep

No session or rule is active

RulesSet Up

Keep your Mac awake automatically, for example while an app is running.

It works like the app. Try it.

  • 15 min → ∞Timers, a time of day, or until you stop
  • 7 rulesApps, power, displays, downloads, CPU, hours
  • 0 callsto the network. Offline, checked by a test
  • 1.6 MBNative Swift, in the menu bar, no Dock icon

How it works

One owl in the menu bar. One click.

Wakeward lives in the menu bar and nowhere else: no Dock icon, no window to keep around. Its eyes tell you where things stand.

Click the owl

Your Mac stays awake until you stop it, or for the default length you choose. Click again and it may sleep. Go on, click it.

Right-click for more

The popover: a countdown ring, eight durations from 15 minutes to a time of day, the two modes and your rules. Settings can swap the two clicks.

⌃⌥⌘W, from any app

One global shortcut toggles the owl. Record your own in Settings; Wakeward warns you when macOS or another app already uses it.

Two modes

Keep the screen on for slides, dashboards and long reads, or keep the Mac working while the screen goes dark, for downloads, renders and backups.

Shortcuts and Siri

Three actions for the Shortcuts app and Spotlight: keep awake, stop, and ask whether the Mac is kept awake. “Keep my Mac awake with Wakeward” works too.

Rules

It knows when not to sleep.

Tell Wakeward what matters and it stays up on its own: while Xcode is open, while a big download runs, during work hours. When the reason goes away, so does the owl. Stop pauses the rules that are active until their condition ends.

An example dayFour rules. Wakeward keeps the Mac awake while any of them applies.
During scheduled hoursMon–Fri, 9:00–18:00
While Xcode is runningXcode
While the CPU is busyBusier than 40 %
While downloadingFaster than 200 KB/s
WakewardOne power assertion, while any rule applies

  • While apps are running

    Keeps your Mac awake while any of the chosen apps is open.

  • While an app is frontmost

    Keeps your Mac awake while one of the chosen apps is in front.

  • While on power adapter

    Keeps your Mac awake whenever it is plugged in.

  • While an external display is connected

    Keeps your Mac awake while a display other than the built-in one is connected.

  • While downloading

    Keeps your Mac awake while data moves faster than the threshold, and for a minute after it slows down.

  • While the CPU is busy

    Keeps your Mac awake while the processor is busier than the threshold, for example during builds or renders.

  • During scheduled hours

    Keeps your Mac awake on the chosen days between the start and end time.

  • Each rule has its own mode, and Settings → Rules shows which ones apply right now.

    See it in the window above

Safety

Wise enough to let go.

A night up shouldn't cost you a flat battery or a surprise. Wakeward keeps an eye on both, and says so when it steps in.

The battery guard

On battery below the level you choose, Wakeward ends every session, pauses the rules and tells you. Plugging in lifts the guard.

Battery low: Wakeward stoppednow

The battery is at 19 %, so your Mac can sleep again. Rules resume when you plug in.

A heads-up before it ends

Five minutes before a timed session runs out, a notification offers to give it another 30 minutes or stop right away.

Wakeward stops in 5 minutesnow

Your Mac can sleep again from 6:30 PM.

Low Power Mode, respected

Turn on Low Power Mode while the owl is awake and Wakeward suggests stopping, right in the popover.

Low Power Mode is on. Stop to save energy?

Wakeward Settings, Safety pane: Stop when the battery runs low, switched on, with a slider set to below 20 %; Suggest stopping in Low Power Mode, on; Warn 5 minutes before a timed session ends, on; and a card asking to allow notifications.
Settings → SafetyThe battery guard, the Low Power Mode hint and the warning before a session ends all live here. Notifications are local and optional; everything else works without them.

Privacy

Nothing leaves your Mac.

Keeping a Mac awake needs no internet, so Wakeward never goes online. This page loads nothing from anyone else either: no trackers, no outside fonts, no embeds.

  • No network access

    Not one network call. A test in the app’s build scans every source file and fails if one appears.

  • No analytics

    Nothing is counted, collected or sent. There is no account to make.

  • No update checks

    New versions come from this page, when you decide to fetch them.

  • Local notifications

    The warnings are scheduled by macOS on your Mac, and they are optional.

See for yourself

While the owl is awake, Wakeward holds exactly one power assertion, named after the reason: Wakeward: Manual, or the rule that applies, like Wakeward: Xcode is running. Stop, and it is gone.

  • 1.6 MB download
  • 2.2 MB installed
  • 0 % CPU at rest
  • No Dock icon
Terminal
$ pmset -g assertions
Assertion status system-wide:
   PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep    1
   …
Listed by owning process:
   pid 512(Wakeward): [0x00057a6b000197b2] 00:12:31
     PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep named: "Wakeward: Manual"

Install guide

Two minutes, once.

Wakeward is not notarized by Apple, so macOS stops it the first time you open it. That is expected, and getting past it takes a minute. Keep this page open on your phone and tick off the steps as you go.

Tap a number to tick off a step

  1. Download and open the file

    Download Wakeward-1.1.0.dmg (1.6 MB) and open it from your Downloads folder.

  2. Drag it into Applications

    Drag Wakeward into the Applications folder. Do this before opening it.

    The window that opens. Drag the owl onto the folder.

  3. Open it the first time

    1. Double-click Wakeward in Applications. macOS says “Wakeward” Not Opened: Apple could not verify it.
    2. Click Done, not Move to Trash. Move to Trash is the highlighted button, so don't press Return.
    3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down to Security.
    4. Click Open Anyway next to the message about Wakeward. If it is missing, open Wakeward again to bring it back.
    5. In the dialog that follows, click Open Anyway again and confirm with your password or Touch ID.

    Comfortable with Terminal? Run this instead, then open the app normally:

    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Wakeward.app

  4. Say hello

    The welcome window walks you through four short pages. Allow notifications there if you want the five-minute warning and the battery message, switch on Launch Wakeward at login, and note the shortcut. All of it can be changed later in Settings.

  5. Find the owl in the menu bar

    It sits near the right end of the menu bar, eyes shut. Click it to keep your Mac awake; right-click for the popover. On a Mac with a notch, items that don't fit are hidden, and macOS 26 collects them behind a « in the menu bar: click it, or hold ⌘ and drag the owl further right.

  6. Make it yoursOptional

    Add rules in Settings → Rules, choose the default duration and what a click does in Settings → General, and set the battery guard in Settings → Safety.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Will it keep my MacBook awake with the lid closed?

No. Closing the lid still puts a MacBook without an external display to sleep; that is macOS behaviour no app can override. Keep the lid open and Wakeward does the rest.

Why does macOS say it can’t verify Wakeward?

Wakeward is signed, but not notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks its first launch. You allow it once in System Settings → Privacy & Security, and the install guide above walks you through it.

Does it need any permissions?

None are required. Notifications are optional: they bring the five-minute warning and the battery guard’s message, and you can allow them in the welcome window or in Settings → Safety.

Will it drain my battery?

Only for as long as you ask it to stay awake, and the battery guard ends everything on battery below 20 % (you can choose 5 to 50 %). In Low Power Mode, Wakeward suggests stopping.

What is the difference between the two modes?

Display on keeps the screen on too, for slides, dashboards and long reads. Display can sleep keeps the Mac working but lets the screen go dark, for downloads, renders and backups. Each rule has its own mode.

How can I tell it is working?

The owl’s eyes are open and amber, and the popover shows why. In Terminal, this command lists a power assertion named “Wakeward:” followed by the reason while the Mac is kept awake:

pmset -g assertions
The owl is missing from my menu bar.

On a Mac with a notch, menu bar items that do not fit are hidden; macOS 26 and later collect them behind a chevron («) in the menu bar. Click it, or hold ⌘ and drag the owl further right.

Does it connect to the internet?

Never. Wakeward has no network code at all: no analytics, no update checks, no account. New versions are published on this page.

Which Macs does it run on?

Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 15 Sequoia or later. On macOS 26 and later it takes on the Liquid Glass look. The download is 1.6 MB.

How do I uninstall it?

Choose Quit at the bottom of the popover, then drag Wakeward from Applications to the Trash. If you had switched on Launch at login, turn it off first in Settings → General.

Let the owl keep watch.

For the long download, the late render and the presentation that must not go dark.

Download for MacInstall guide

Version 1.1.0 · 1.6 MB · macOS 15 Sequoia or later · Apple silicon