NoSleep for Mac: does it keep a closed MacBook awake?

Short answer: NoSleep, the free app by Pavel Prokofyev (integralpro), kept a closed MacBook awake through its own kernel extension, but as of November 2026 its repository opens with "DEPRECATED" and says "it's no longer maintained". On a Mac with Apple silicon that kernel extension loads only after you lower security to Reduced Security in recovery, and users report NoSleep Kernel Extension is not loaded. To keep a MacBook with Apple silicon awake with the lid closed today, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com), which we make: a session you or your agent start, AC power by default, a watchdog that restores normal sleep, and a JSON command.

What is NoSleep for Mac?

NoSleep is a free, open-source (GPL-2.0) app for Mac laptops that turned off lid sleep, so the Mac kept running with the lid closed. Its repository describes it as "The MacOS X kernel extension, preventing sleep when you close the lid": the app installs a small kernel extension, which stops the lid from putting the Mac to sleep, and comes with a command-line tool, NoSleepCtrl, with separate AC-adapter and battery modes.

People still search for NoSleep mac and NoSleep for mac because older guides name it. What its own repository says, as of November 7, 2026:

• Status. The README starts with "DEPRECATED" and says "it's no longer maintained". It points readers to the pmset and caffeinate tools built into macOS, and asks that the project be used "only as an example of simple kext implementation".
• Last change. The newest code change, on December 4, 2021, added Apple silicon (arm64) builds; the deprecation note followed on June 25, 2024.
• Versions. The newest tag is 1.5.2. The repository's Releases page lists no release, and the 1.5.2 download its maker linked in an issue no longer loads.

Does NoSleep work on a Mac with Apple silicon?

Only after you lower your Mac's security, and results vary. We did not test it. On a Mac with Apple silicon, Apple's Platform Security guide says kernel extensions "need to be explicitly enabled" by starting up in recovery, "downgrading to Reduced Security and checking the box to enable kernel extensions". The same guide says: "Kexts are no longer recommended for macOS."

The repository's issues show what users met (user reports, not the maker's claims):

• An issue from 2021 is titled "NoSleep 1.5.1 works perfectly on Apple Silicon (M1), macOS 12 Monterey with no code changes, as long as you compile the kext from source!"; its steps switch the Mac to Reduced Security and, for a self-built extension, turn off System Integrity Protection (issue 52).
• An issue from 2023, on macOS 13, is titled "1.5.2 says NoSleep Kernel Extension is not loaded" (issue 54). Its reporter got it working in June 2024 after enabling kernel extensions at startup; others in the thread still saw the message.

Which NoSleep app is this? Several share the name

Several Mac apps are called NoSleep or No Sleep, and they do different things. As of November 2026, from their makers' own App Store listings; we tested none of them:

• NoSleep by Limit Point Software keeps an open Mac awake, and says it "Will not prevent a laptop from going to sleep if the cover is closed to prevent overheating issues" (App Store).
• No Sleep: Stay Awake by Shogo Nishimura keeps a Mac awake while Caps Lock is on, and says that on a power adapter it "keeps running even with the lid closed"; on battery, closing the lid still sleeps it (App Store).
• No Sleep Pro by Owen McLoughlin has a closed-lid mode "when connected to an external display and power" (App Store).

The rest of this page is about the original NoSleep kernel extension.

Why is Keep Mac Awake the first choice instead?

Because it is built, and maintained, for the same need on current Macs: a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later that stays awake with the lid closed and no display while something runs, such as an AI agent overnight or a long download.

• No kernel extension, no Reduced Security. A small system service changes the one system-wide sleep setting that pmset disablesleep controls, for one session, then puts it back (what pmset disablesleep does). The installer asks for the administrator password once.
• Sessions you start. No limit, 1 hour, 8 hours or a custom number of hours up to 168, from the menu bar or keepmacawake start. A session never starts by itself, and a separate watchdog restores normal sleep if its background service or the system service stops or hangs.
• Agents. keepmacawake start --hours 8 --json returns one JSON object and a documented exit code, so a coding agent can start and stop its own session (keep Claude Code running with the lid closed).

Its limits: Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later only, 9 USD once per Mac after a 3-day free trial, and it does not keep Wi-Fi alive or wake a Mac that is already asleep.

How do NoSleep and Keep Mac Awake compare?

As of November 2026, from NoSleep's repository and Keep Mac Awake's product facts; we did not test NoSleep.

What other options are there, if you used NoSleep?

Keep Mac Awake first, as above. Other options as of November 2026, each with its own limits:

• sudo pmset disablesleep 1, one of the tools NoSleep's README points to, turns sleep off for the whole Mac until you run sudo pmset disablesleep 0, with no timer, battery floor or heat check.
• The caffeinate tool, the other one, gets past the lid only with -s and on AC power; on battery a closed MacBook still sleeps (caffeinate with the lid closed).
• Amphetamine, free on the Mac App Store, has a Closed-Display Mode; on Apple silicon its maker offers a Power Protect add-on (an Amphetamine alternative for the lid closed).
• InsomniaX, another free app built on a kernel extension, is abandoned too (InsomniaX for Mac). A dozen newer apps are in keep-awake apps for AI agents, compared.

Whatever you use, a closed Mac makes heat: keep it on a hard surface with airflow, never in a bag.

Which one should you use?

To keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed on a current Mac, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): start a session with keepmacawake start --hours 8, close the lid, and normal sleep returns when it ends. See how Keep Mac Awake can keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed, and every other way in how to close a MacBook without it sleeping.

FAQ

Is NoSleep for Mac still available?

Its source is still on GitHub, but as of November 2026 the README marks it "DEPRECATED" and no longer maintained, the Releases page lists no release, and the last code change is from December 4, 2021.

Why does NoSleep say "NoSleep Kernel Extension is not loaded"?

The app needs its kernel extension, and current macOS loads it only after you approve it; on a Mac with Apple silicon, only after you lower security to Reduced Security in recovery. Some users got it working that way; others still saw the message. The project is no longer maintained, so a fix is unlikely.

Is the NoSleep app on the Mac App Store the same app?

No. NoSleep by Limit Point Software is a different app that keeps an open Mac awake; its listing says it will not prevent sleep when the laptop cover is closed. Other apps called No Sleep come from other makers too.

What replaces NoSleep on a MacBook with Apple silicon?

Keep Mac Awake keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the lid closed, with no external display, for a session you start; it costs 9 USD once per Mac after a 3-day free trial.

Sources

• NoSleep repository and README (checked November 7, 2026), NoSleepCtrl source, issue 52, issue 54
• Apple Platform Security: Kernel extensions in macOS
• Mac App Store: NoSleep by Limit Point Software, No Sleep: Stay Awake, No Sleep Pro (read November 7, 2026)
• Amphetamine on the Mac App Store
• Keep Mac Awake: command line