Claude scheduled tasks not running on Mac?

Short answer: A local scheduled task in the Claude desktop app runs only while the app is open and the Mac is awake; if the Mac sleeps through the scheduled time, Anthropic's docs say "the run is skipped". Closing a MacBook's lid puts it to sleep, and the app's own Keep computer awake setting does not change that. To keep local scheduled tasks firing with the lid closed, the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session started before you close the lid; a task that needs no local files can run as a cloud scheduled task instead.

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Why didn't my Claude scheduled task run?

Most often because the Mac was asleep at the scheduled time. As of October 2026, Anthropic's Desktop scheduled tasks page says a local task "only fires while the app is open and your computer is awake", and: "If your computer sleeps through a scheduled time, the run is skipped."

To see the reason for one run, open the task's detail page from Scheduled in the Code tab and hover the skipped entry in its history. Anthropic lists three reasons a run is skipped:

Reason shown	What it means	Fix
Your computer was asleep	The Mac slept through the scheduled time	Keep the Mac awake through the schedule
The previous run was still in progress	One run of this task was still working	Give the task a longer interval, or a shorter job
Other scheduled tasks were already running	Other tasks were busy at that time	Spread the schedules apart

A task that did not appear to run at all may also be waiting for you: when a task in Manual mode needs a tool you have not approved, "the run stalls until you approve it". Open the run's session from the task's History list to answer it.

Does a closed lid stop Claude scheduled tasks?

Yes. Closing the lid puts a MacBook to sleep: Apple lists "On a Mac laptop, close the display" as a way to sleep a Mac (Apple Support, macOS Tahoe 26). A sleeping Mac runs nothing, so the desktop app cannot check its schedule, which it does "every minute while the app is open".

The app's Keep computer awake setting (in Settings > Desktop app or Settings > This computer > System) prevents idle sleep only. Anthropic's docs say it plainly: "Closing the laptop lid still puts it to sleep." Idle sleep is the sleep after a period of inactivity, which you set in System Settings (Apple Support, macOS Tahoe 26). Why caffeinate and the Battery settings stop at the lid too is in keep Claude Code running with the lid closed.

What happens to a run the Mac slept through?

The app runs it once, late. When the app starts or the Mac wakes, it checks each task for missed runs in the last seven days and starts "exactly one catch-up run for the most recently missed time", discarding older ones; a notification appears when it starts. Anthropic's own example: "A task scheduled for 9am might run at 11pm if your computer was asleep all day."

So a daily task does not pile up, but its work can land hours late, and a task that depends on the time of day can do the wrong thing. Anthropic suggests guardrails in the prompt, such as skipping a review that runs after 5pm.

What to use

To keep Claude's local scheduled tasks running on a MacBook with the lid closed, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): it keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with no external display for a session you start, for example with keepmacawake start --hours 8, and restores normal sleep afterwards.

Start the session before you close the lid, long enough to cover the scheduled times: no limit, 1 hour, 8 hours or a custom number of hours up to 168. A session never starts by itself and does not wake a Mac that is already asleep, so a task at 3am needs a session that is running at 3am. It runs on AC power by default; if the charger comes out, the session waits until power is back. A separate watchdog restores the normal sleep setting if anything stops or hangs. The Claude desktop app still has to be open, and the Mac still needs its network connection: Keep Mac Awake keeps the Mac awake, nothing more. More on the app: keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed.

keepmacawake start --hours 12   # cover tonight's scheduled runs
keepmacawake status             # check the session
keepmacawake stop               # end it and restore normal sleep

Other options:

A cloud scheduled task. Anthropic runs it on its own infrastructure, "so they keep working when your laptop is closed" (cloud scheduled tasks). It works from a repository, not from the folders and tools on your Mac, and it is in research preview as of October 2026.
An external display with power, keyboard and mouse. A closed MacBook stays awake this way (Apple Support), at a desk, and sleeps if the display disconnects.
The lid open, display off. Turn on "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" in System Settings > Battery > Options (Apple Support, macOS Tahoe 26); the Mac keeps working, open on the desk.
sudo pmset disablesleep 1. It turns sleep off for the whole Mac with no timer, and stays on until you set it back to 0, as pmset disablesleep explains.

A closed MacBook still makes heat. Apple says to use a Mac laptop "on a stable work surface that allows for good ventilation" and not "in your bed, on a pillow, or under bedding" (Apple Support). Never run it in a bag.

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Local, cloud or Cowork: which Claude scheduled tasks need the Mac?

Only the ones that run on your computer. As of October 2026:

Kind	Runs on	Needs the Mac awake
Local scheduled task in the Code tab ("Only on this computer")	Your Mac, with your files and tools	Yes, and the desktop app open
Cloud scheduled task (formerly a routine)	Anthropic's cloud	No
Cowork scheduled task	Remotely, "even when your computer is asleep or the Claude Desktop app is closed"	No, unless it needs local files or apps
`/loop` in a session	Your Mac, inside an open session	Yes, and the session open

Anthropic's Cowork article adds two exceptions: "If a scheduled task requires local files or apps, it will only run locally", and on Pro and Max plans, tasks created before October 6 that run on your computer keep running there (Claude Help Center). Those tasks follow the same sleep rule as local ones. For Cowork sessions that are not scheduled, see can I close my laptop while Claude Cowork runs.

FAQ

Do Claude scheduled tasks run when my computer is asleep?

Local ones do not: Anthropic's docs say a run the computer sleeps through is skipped, then caught up once on wake. Cloud scheduled tasks and remote Cowork tasks run without your computer.

Do Claude scheduled tasks run with the MacBook lid closed?

Only if the Mac stays awake. Closing the lid sleeps a MacBook, and Keep computer awake does not change that. The first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session started before you close the lid.

Why did my Claude scheduled task run hours late?

The Mac was asleep or the app was closed at the scheduled time. On wake or launch, the app starts one catch-up run for the most recent missed time.

Does the Claude desktop app have to stay open?

Yes, for local tasks. Desktop checks the schedule only while the app is open, so quitting it skips runs just as sleep does.

Can Claude Code keep the Mac awake for its own scheduled tasks?

A session must already be running when a task is due, because a sleeping Mac runs nothing. Start one before you leave, or let Claude Code run keepmacawake start --hours N --json at the end of your working session. A session never starts by itself.