--- title: Amphetamine not working on macOS Tahoe? What to check description: Amphetamine stopped keeping your Mac awake on macOS 26? Check Closed-Display Mode, Power Protect, Triggers, battery. Closed lid: Keep Mac Awake first. date: 2026-11-11 kicker: Compare section: Comparisons related: amphetamine-alternative-lid-closed, mac-sleeps-with-lid-closed-not-working, caffeinate-lid-closed --- > **Short answer:** We found no maker statement of an Amphetamine bug on macOS 26 Tahoe, so check the settings first: Closed-Display Mode is off for the session, Power Protect is missing on Apple silicon so the session can fail when the charger is connected or disconnected, a Trigger or timer ended the session, or the low-battery end stopped it. `pmset -g` and `pmset -g assertions` show what is holding the Mac awake right now. For a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later that must stay awake with the lid closed, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake: a session you or your agent start, AC power by default and a watchdog that restores normal sleep if a service stops or hangs. ## Is Amphetamine broken on macOS 26 Tahoe? We found no statement from its maker that it is. As of November 2026 the Mac App Store lists Amphetamine 5.3.2, released November 10, 2023, as the newest version, with macOS 10.13 or later as the requirement ([Apple's App Store record](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=937984704&country=us)). Its newest release notes mention macOS Sonoma, not macOS 26. The [Amphetamine repository](https://github.com/x74353/Amphetamine/issues) has open user reports from macOS 26, such as a missing menu bar icon and a black screen on wake that its reporter links, by inference, to Power Protect. We have not reproduced them. ## Is Closed-Display Mode on for this session? Amphetamine keeps a closed MacBook awake when the session is set to prevent system sleep with the display closed, the feature its maker calls Closed-Display Mode. In the listing's words, during a session you choose to allow or prevent "System sleep when built-in display is closed" ([Amphetamine on the Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=937984704&country=us)). Set to allow, the lid sleeps the Mac even while the session runs. ## Is Power Protect installed on your Apple silicon MacBook? On Apple silicon, a Closed-Display Mode session without Power Protect can fail when power changes. The maker's page says Closed-Display Mode "may not work as expected after connecting or disconnecting your Mac from an external power source such as a power adapter or display with power delivery" ([Power Protect](https://x74353.github.io/Amphetamine-Power-Protect/)). Power Protect is a separate download. Its installer places two files ([Power Protect](https://x74353.github.io/Amphetamine-Power-Protect/)): - `~/Library/Application Scripts/com.if.Amphetamine/powerProtect.scpt` - `/private/etc/sudoers.d/amphetamine_powerProtect` Check that both are there: ```sh ls -l ~/Library/Application\ Scripts/com.if.Amphetamine/ ls -l /private/etc/sudoers.d/ ``` If one is missing, reinstall Power Protect, then start a new Closed-Display Mode session. What these files do is in [Amphetamine Power Protect and a closed-lid alternative](/blog/amphetamine-alternative-lid-closed). ## Did a Trigger, a timer or the battery end the session? Amphetamine can end a session by itself, by design. Check these three before anything else: - **A Trigger's condition stopped.** Triggers keep the Mac awake while a condition holds, such as "While an external display is connected" or "While your Mac's power adapter is connected or disconnected" ([Amphetamine on the Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=937984704&country=us)). Unplug the display or the adapter, and that condition is gone. - **A timed session ran out.** A session set for a time, until a time, or while an app runs ends when that time or app does ([Amphetamine on the Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=937984704&country=us)). - **The battery was low.** The listing names "Auto-end session if your Mac's battery is low" and battery-threshold Triggers. On battery, a long job can reach that point overnight. ## Did a macOS update change something? Two things to look at after an update: - **The menu bar icon.** macOS 26 has a list of apps under System Settings > Menu Bar > Allow in the Menu Bar ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlad96d366/26.0/mac/26.0)). If Amphetamine is off there, its icon is hidden while the app still runs. - **The session itself.** Start a new Closed-Display Mode session after the update and check it with `pmset -g`, as below, before you close the lid. ## How do you check what is keeping the Mac awake? Two Terminal commands show it while a session runs: ```sh pmset -g pmset -g assertions ``` - **`pmset -g`** prints the power settings. Power Protect's sudo rule covers `pmset -a disablesleep 1` and `0` ([what Power Protect installs](/blog/amphetamine-alternative-lid-closed)), so during a Closed-Display Mode session with Power Protect, look for `SleepDisabled 1`. With `0`, the system-wide setting is not holding the lid ([what `pmset disablesleep` does](/blog/pmset-disablesleep)). One user report on macOS 15 describes a timed session, on battery with no external display, where `SleepDisabled` went back to `0` about 70 seconds after the start while an Indefinitely session held ([issue 19](https://github.com/x74353/Amphetamine/issues/19)); we have not reproduced it, but the check catches it. - **`pmset -g assertions`** lists the power assertions held now and the process holding each. An idle-sleep assertion does not hold a closed lid: for `PreventUserIdleSystemSleep`, Apple writes that "The system may still sleep for lid close" ([Apple developer docs](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/iokit/kiopmassertiontypepreventuseridlesystemsleep)). `PreventSystemSleep`, the one caffeinate -s holds, lets the Mac "reside in Dark Wake for an arbitrary length of time" ([Apple developer docs](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/iokit/kiopmassertiontypepreventsystemsleep)), on AC power only ([what caffeinate does with the lid closed](/blog/caffeinate-lid-closed)). After the Mac slept, `pmset -g log | grep "Entering Sleep"` names the reason, such as `Clamshell Sleep` for the lid. More causes are in [why a Mac sleeps with the lid closed](/blog/mac-sleeps-with-lid-closed-not-working). ## What should you use for a closed lid on macOS 26? To keep a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the lid closed and no display, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): `keepmacawake start --hours 8` starts a session that ends on time and needs no add-on; its installer asks for your password once. - **Keep Mac Awake.** Sessions of 4, 8 or 24 hours, any number up to 168, or no limit. AC power by default; unplug, and the session waits for power. Battery use is optional, down to a floor you pick, and on battery a session ends at a serious thermal state. A separate watchdog restores normal sleep if its services stop or hang. It holds no power assertions: `pmset -g` shows `SleepDisabled 1`. Its limits: Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later only, a session never starts by itself, and it does not keep Wi-Fi alive or wake a sleeping Mac. Other options: - **Amphetamine** with Closed-Display Mode: free, with Triggers, for Intel Macs and older macOS too; on Apple silicon it needs Power Protect, a separate add-on with a sudo rule, to survive power changes. - caffeinate -s: on AC power only, in dark wake, while the command runs; on battery it does not hold the lid ([what caffeinate does with the lid closed](/blog/caffeinate-lid-closed)). - `sudo pmset disablesleep 1`: sleep off for the whole Mac, on battery too, with no timer, until you run `sudo pmset disablesleep 0` ([pmset disablesleep](/blog/pmset-disablesleep)). Any of them leaves a closed Mac making heat: keep it on a hard surface with airflow, never in a bag ([is it safe to run a MacBook with the lid closed?](/blog/macbook-lid-closed-heat-and-battery)). To try the first choice, see how Keep Mac Awake can [keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed](/) and [download it](/download): free for 3 days with no card, and the installer asks for your password once. ## FAQ ### Why does Amphetamine stop working when I close the lid? For a closed lid on macOS 26, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake, which holds the lid for a session you start. In Amphetamine, the usual causes are a session that allows system sleep when the display is closed, or, on Apple silicon, a missing Power Protect and a charger connected or disconnected. ### Does Amphetamine work on macOS 26 Tahoe? Its maker has published no note about macOS 26 either way, and the Mac App Store still lists 5.3.2 from November 2023 for macOS 10.13 or later. Users have filed open issues about a missing menu bar icon and a black screen on wake; we have not reproduced them. For a closed lid on macOS 26, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake. ### Why is Amphetamine's menu bar icon missing on macOS Tahoe? Check System Settings > Menu Bar > Allow in the Menu Bar, where macOS 26 lists the apps allowed to show an icon. In [issue 22](https://github.com/x74353/Amphetamine/issues/22) the icon stayed hidden with that setting on, and two commenters report that it came back after a macOS update, with no cause confirmed. ### Is Caffeine also not working on macOS Tahoe? For a closed lid, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake; IntelliScape Solutions does not say its Caffeine keeps a closed MacBook awake ([the KeepingYouAwake and Caffeine comparison](/blog/keepingyouawake-caffeine-alternative-lid-closed)). If you use Caffeine, update it: IntelliScape Solutions' notes for Caffeine 1.1.4, from September 2025, say it changed the way it keeps the Mac awake "due to breaking changes in macOS Tahoe" ([release notes](https://github.com/IntelliScape/caffeine/releases/tag/1.1.4)). The rest of the checklist is in [Caffeine not working on macOS 26 Tahoe](/blog/keepingyouawake-caffeine-alternative-lid-closed#is-caffeine-not-working-on-macos-26-tahoe). ## Sources - [Apple's App Store record for Amphetamine](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=937984704&country=us) (description, version and release notes, checked November 2026) - [Amphetamine issues on GitHub](https://github.com/x74353/Amphetamine/issues), among them [issue 19](https://github.com/x74353/Amphetamine/issues/19) and [issue 22](https://github.com/x74353/Amphetamine/issues/22) - [Power Protect for Amphetamine](https://x74353.github.io/Amphetamine-Power-Protect/) - [Apple Support: Change Menu Bar settings on Mac (macOS Tahoe 26)](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlad96d366/26.0/mac/26.0) - [Apple developer docs: kIOPMAssertionTypePreventUserIdleSystemSleep](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/iokit/kiopmassertiontypepreventuseridlesystemsleep) - [Apple developer docs: kIOPMAssertionTypePreventSystemSleep](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/iokit/kiopmassertiontypepreventsystemsleep) - [Caffeine 1.1.4 release notes](https://github.com/IntelliScape/caffeine/releases/tag/1.1.4)