--- title: Do downloads continue with the lid closed? description: No: a closed MacBook sleeps and downloads stop. Keep Mac Awake keeps it awake with the lid closed and no display, so a large download can finish. date: 2026-10-30 kicker: Downloads section: The closed lid, explained related: keep-mac-awake-without-an-app, macbook-lid-closed-heat-and-battery, prevent-macbook-sleep-lid-closed --- > **Short answer:** No. Closing the lid puts a MacBook to sleep, and a sleeping Mac downloads nothing: a browser download, a game, an Xcode download or a torrent stops until the Mac wakes. Apps that keep the Mac awake during a transfer only prevent sleep after inactivity, and Apple notes that the system may still sleep for lid close. To let a large download finish with the lid closed, keep the Mac awake for the session; the first choice is Keep Mac Awake, which keeps a MacBook awake with the lid closed and no external display for the hours you pick, then restores normal sleep. ## Does a MacBook keep downloading when the lid is closed? No, not on its own. Apple lists "On a Mac laptop, close the display" as one of the ways to put a Mac to sleep ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/put-your-mac-to-sleep-or-wake-it-mh10330/26.0/mac/26.0)). While a Mac sleeps, apps do not run, so nothing downloads, uploads or seeds. The one documented exception is narrow. On a power adapter, "Power Nap can also do activities such as downloading software updates and performing Time Machine backups", on Macs that support it ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/turn-power-nap-on-or-off-mh40774/26/mac/26)). That covers Apple's own software updates, not a file in your browser, a game or a torrent ([what Power Nap does](/blog/power-nap-wake-for-network-access)). A macOS update also restarts the Mac to install, so it has its own rules: [can I close my MacBook while it updates](/blog/close-macbook-while-updating). ## Why does a download stop when I close the lid? Because the lid is a sleep reason that the usual keep-awake tricks do not cover. Apps keep a Mac awake with a power assertion, and the common one prevents idle sleep. Apple's developer documentation for it says: "The system may still sleep for lid close, Apple menu, low battery, or other sleep reasons" ([Apple developer docs](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/iokit/kiopmassertiontypepreventuseridlesystemsleep)). So a download app that keeps the Mac awake while it works protects you from the idle timer with the lid open, and from nothing once you close it. To see which apps hold such an assertion right now, run `pmset -g assertions` in Terminal; `man pmset` says it "displays a summary of power assertions". ## Don't torrent and download apps keep the Mac awake? Some do, for an open lid. qBittorrent's own wiki describes its Power Management option under Behavior: "This allows you to prevent the system from going into sleep mode when torrents are active" ([qBittorrent wiki](https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/wiki/Explanation-of-Options-in-qBittorrent), as of October 2026). That stops sleep after inactivity. It does not change what the lid does, by the rule above. From Terminal, caffeinate does the same for one command: caffeinate -i curl -L -O followed by the address keeps the Mac out of idle sleep until curl finishes (`man caffeinate`: "-i Create an assertion to prevent the system from idle sleeping"). The lid still has to stay open. More in [how to keep a Mac awake without an app](/blog/keep-mac-awake-without-an-app). ## Will the download resume after the Mac wakes? It depends on the app and the server; check before you rely on it. Some tools document resuming: curl's `-C -` option tells curl "to automatically find out where/how to resume the transfer" ([curl manual](https://curl.se/docs/manpage.html)). Not every app documents resuming, and a server may drop a connection that went quiet. For a large download you need tonight, keeping the Mac awake is more reliable than hoping it resumes. ## How do I keep downloading with the lid closed? Keep the MacBook awake for longer than the download, then close it. The first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session, which keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the lid closed and no display, keyboard or mouse: 1. Plug the Mac into power. 2. Start a session from the Keep Mac Awake menu bar app, or in Terminal: `keepmacawake start --hours 4`. 3. Start the download, then close the lid. 4. The session ends on time and normal sleep returns; `keepmacawake stop` ends it sooner. ```sh keepmacawake start --hours 4 # awake with the lid closed for 4 hours curl -L -C - -O https://example.com/big.zip # resumes a partial file if one exists keepmacawake status # check the session ``` Keep Mac Awake keeps the Mac awake, not the network: it does not keep Wi-Fi or any other connection alive, and it does not wake a Mac that is already asleep. Start the session before you close the lid. Sessions run on AC power by default; if you unplug, the session waits until power is back, and battery use is optional, down to a floor you pick ([on battery](/blog/keep-macbook-awake-lid-closed-on-battery)). ## Is it safe to download overnight with the lid closed? Yes, with air around the Mac. A download is light work, but a closed MacBook that stays awake still makes heat. Apple says to use a Mac laptop "on a stable work surface that allows for good ventilation" ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102336)). > **Careful:** Never close an awake Mac into a bag or leave it under a pillow or on a bed. On AC power, heat is left to macOS. More in [is clamshell mode bad for a MacBook: heat and battery](/blog/macbook-lid-closed-heat-and-battery). ## What to use To let a large download finish with the MacBook lid closed, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): `keepmacawake start --hours 4` keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the lid closed and no display for that time, then restores normal sleep, with a separate watchdog if anything stops or hangs. See how to [keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed](/). Other options: closed-display mode keeps a closed Mac awake but needs a display, keyboard, mouse and power ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102501)). `sudo pmset disablesleep 1` is system-wide, has no timer, battery floor or watchdog, and stays on until `sudo pmset disablesleep 0` ([what it does](/blog/pmset-disablesleep)). With the lid open only, "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" in System Settings > Battery > Options, caffeinate -i, or a download app's own sleep option stop sleep after inactivity; none of them covers the lid ([every way compared](/blog/prevent-macbook-sleep-lid-closed)). The same holds for a long render or export: [render with the MacBook lid closed](/blog/render-export-macbook-lid-closed). For files going the other way, see [can I close my laptop while uploading to YouTube](/blog/close-laptop-uploading-youtube-video), [can I close my laptop while files sync](/blog/close-laptop-cloud-sync) for iCloud Drive, Google Drive and Dropbox, and [can I close my laptop while copying files](/blog/close-laptop-transferring-files). ## FAQ ### Does a MacBook still download when the lid is closed? No. Closing the lid puts it to sleep and downloads stop until it wakes. Power Nap can download Apple's software updates on power on Macs that support it, but not your files. To keep downloading with the lid closed, the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session. ### How do I keep my Mac from going to sleep while downloading? With the lid closed, start a Keep Mac Awake session longer than the download, such as `keepmacawake start --hours 4`. With the lid open, the Battery option "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" or caffeinate -i stops sleep after inactivity. ### Can I close my MacBook while a game is downloading? Not unless something keeps it awake: no app runs while the Mac sleeps. Power Nap's documented downloads are software updates; Apple does not say a game launcher or browser download carries on, so keep the Mac awake for it, lid closed or not. ### Can I torrent with the MacBook lid closed? Only while the Mac stays awake. A torrent app's sleep option prevents idle sleep, not lid sleep. Keep Mac Awake keeps the closed Mac awake for the session; it does not keep the network connection alive. ### Will my download resume after sleep? It depends on the app and the server. curl resumes with `-C -`; check your app's own documentation for the rest. Keeping the Mac awake avoids the question. ## Sources - Apple Mac User Guide for macOS Tahoe 26: [Put your Mac to sleep or wake it](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/put-your-mac-to-sleep-or-wake-it-mh10330/26.0/mac/26.0), [Turn Power Nap on or off](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/turn-power-nap-on-or-off-mh40774/26/mac/26), [Change Battery settings](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-battery-settings-mchlfc3b7879/26/mac/26) - [Apple developer docs: kIOPMAssertionTypePreventUserIdleSystemSleep](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/iokit/kiopmassertiontypepreventuseridlesystemsleep) - [Apple Support: If your external display is dark or low resolution](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102501) - [Apple Support: Keep your Mac laptop within acceptable operating temperatures](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102336) - [qBittorrent wiki: Explanation of Options in qBittorrent](https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/wiki/Explanation-of-Options-in-qBittorrent) (read 2026-10-30) - [curl manual: --continue-at](https://curl.se/docs/manpage.html) (read 2026-10-30) - man pmset and [man caffeinate](https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/PowerManagement/blob/d415e45501842834a280930c3eed9186544a67f0/caffeinate/caffeinate.8) (Apple open source) - [Keep Mac Awake: command line](https://keepmacawake.com/command-line.md)