Amphetamine 4+
Powerful keep-awake utility
William Gustafson
-
- Free
Screenshots
Description
Welcome to Amphetamine, the most awesome keep-awake app ever created for macOS. Amphetamine can keep your Mac, and optionally its display(s), 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 easy-to-use for those who don't need all of 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
During a keep-awake session, choose to allow or prevent:
• Display sleep
• Screen saver activation
• System sleep when built-in display is closed
• Automated mouse cursor movement
• Locking of the screen
=== Advanced Automation ===
Create a Trigger to automatically keep your Mac awake.
• While an external display is connected
• While your Mac's display is being mirrored
• While a USB or Bluetooth device is connected
• While a specific app is running
• While a specific app is running and is frontmost
• While your Mac's battery is charging and/or when the battery is above a threshold
• While your Mac's power adapter is connected or disconnected
• While your Mac has a specific IP address
• While your Mac is on a specific Wi-Fi network
• While your Mac is connected to Cisco AnyConnect VPN service
• While your Mac is using a specific DNS servers
• 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
• When your Mac has been idle for 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:
• Lock your Mac's screen after a period of inactivity
• Move the mouse cursor periodically
• Keep your MacBook awake while its display/lid is closed
• Keep your drive awake with Drive Alive
• AppleScript support
• Use your own menu bar icons
• Use your own notification sounds
• 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, enabling disabling display sleep, and more
=== System Requirements + Other Details ===
• Amphetamine requires macOS 10.11 El Capitan or higher; some features require a higher version of macOS
• Amphetamine supports Retina displays and macOS dark mode.
What’s New
Version 5.3
=== Launch At Login for macOS 13+ ===
Apple changed the way apps request to launch at login in macOS 13. Amphetamine 5.3 adopts this new request process. If Amphetamine will not launch at login, please try:
1. Ensure you only have one copy of Amphetamine installed on your Mac and it is located in the /Applications folder
2. Disable the setting in Amphetamine Settings → General → Launch and Wake Behavior,
3. Open the macOS Login Items settings from Apple icon→ System Settings → General → Login Items, and remove Amphetamine from the Open at Login list
4. Re-enable the Launch at Login setting in Amphetamine Settings → General → Launch and Wake Behavior
5. Confirm you see Amphetamine reappear in the Apple icon → System Settings → General → Login Items list
=== Closed-Display Mode on Apple Silicon Macs ===
Apple changed the way Closed-Display Mode works on Apple Silicon Macs. In Amphetamine versions prior to 5.3, Closed-Display Mode on Apple Silicon Macs would fail if you connected/disconnected your Mac from an external power source (charger, display with power delivery, etc.). In Amphetamine 5.3, this issue has been fixed, however, Closed-Display Mode sessions now require 1) installation of a script that Amphetamine will run whenever a Closed-Display Mode session starts/ends, and 2) admin user authentication (Touch ID, Apple Watch, etc.). If you do not want to authenticate each Closed-Display Mode session, choose Skip when prompted to install the script. Closed-Display Mode will still work without the script, but you will experience a Closed-Display Mode session failure if you connect/disconnect your Mac to/from an external power source.
On Apple Silicon Macs, Amphetamine 5.3 will force the built-in display on MacBooks to sleep when folded closed. This is done to prevent display burn-in. Depending on your Mac's security settings, upon waking (opening/unfolding) your Mac's display you may be required to authenticate back in to your user account. Your Mac will stay awake when the built-in display is folded and asleep.
=== Enhanced Process Monitoring on Apple Silicon Macs ===
Previously only available via the companion app, Amphetamine Enhancer, Enhanced Process Monitoring (now called Process Discovery) is included in Amphetamine itself. To enable Process Discovery, go to Amphetamine's menu and choose While App Is Running from the Start New Session menu. Then, click the ( ? ) button, and then the Install the Process Discovery Script button. Once installed, Amphetamine will be able to "see" additional processes running on your Apple Silicon Mac, for use with app/process-based sessions and Triggers.
=== Battery-Related Functions on Apple Silicon Macs ===
Amphetamine's way of detecting whether a Mac was a laptop/had a built-in battery stopped working with the M2 series MacBooks. This issue has been fixed.
=== Other ===
- Changed "Preferences" to "Settings" for macOS 13+
- Added French language (completed by Mathieu Martin)
- Changed shell used for tasks to ZSH for macOS 10.15+ (Catalina)
- Fixed an issue with some process/app-based Trigger sessions not starting
- Fixed an issue with some process/app-based Trigger sessions consuming lots of CPU
- Updated app icon
- Other minor improvements
Ratings and Reviews
Righteous successor to Caffeine
Caffeine’s been the de facto sleep killing app for a long time, but it’s been all but abandoned for about 5 years. Found this app going through potential replacements and gave it a spin. It’s just plain great! It’s highly flexible, customizable and holy gouda it’s free!
I’ve had no issues with it and I’ve installed it on all my Macs. Absolutely worth it.
Developer Response ,
❤️
What Apple Should Have Done, and More
Big thanks to the lone wolf who developed Amphetamine, and made it available for free. Haven’t encountered any issues at all.
Developer Response ,
❤️
Very good work
Was a long Caffeine user.
Amphetamine is way better with more choices.
Keeping Drives awake is awesome!
Thank you for your great work
Developer Response ,
❤️
App Privacy
The developer, William Gustafson, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- William Gustafson
- Size
- 6.3 MB
- Category
- Utilities
- Compatibility
-
- Mac
- Requires macOS 10.14.6 or later.
- Languages
-
English, Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese
- Age Rating
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2023 William Gustafson
- Price
- Free