Downloads

Will Steam keep downloading if I close my MacBook?

No: a closed MacBook sleeps and Steam's download stops. Keep Mac Awake keeps it awake with the lid closed and no display until the game is in.

By , who makes Keep Mac Awake. . 6 min read. Markdown

Short answer: No. Closing the lid puts a MacBook to sleep, and while it sleeps Steam does not run, so a game download or update stops until the Mac wakes, and an overnight update window passes unused. Steam's download settings cover bandwidth, update hours and the order of the queue, not sleep. To let a big Steam download finish with the lid closed, 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 Steam download with the laptop lid closed?

Not on a MacBook that is asleep, and closing the lid puts it to sleep. Apple lists "On a Mac laptop, close the display" as one of the ways to put a Mac to sleep (Apple Support). A sleeping Mac runs no apps, so Steam neither downloads nor installs. Power Nap does not cover games either: its documented downloads are Apple's software updates (what Power Nap does).

The lid rule is the same for every download on a Mac, from a browser file to a torrent: do downloads continue with the lid closed. This page is about what Steam adds to it.

Doesn't Steam keep the Mac awake while it downloads?

Not with the lid closed. Steam's help article Managing Steam Downloads & Updates describes no sleep setting: as of November 2026 it covers bandwidth limits, scheduled auto-updates, per-game update choices and moving game folders, under Steam > Settings > Downloads or the Download Manager.

And most apps that keep a Mac awake stop only idle sleep, the sleep after inactivity. Apple's developer documentation for that kind of request says: "The system may still sleep for lid close, Apple menu, low battery, or other sleep reasons" (Apple developer docs). The lid decides, whatever the launcher does.

Will Steam download overnight if I schedule updates?

Only if the Mac is awake during the window. Steam lets you check Only auto-update games and pick the hours; in Steam's example, it "will only download auto-updated games between midnight and 8 AM your local time" (Steam Support).

A MacBook closed at 11 PM sleeps through that window, and the queued updates wait for the next one. Two ways around it:

  • Keep the Mac awake for the whole window. Start a session that lasts past the window's end, then close the lid (steps below).
  • Download now instead. Steam says you can tell it "to download the update immediately from the Download Manager", and that launching the game also forces the update. Start it before you close the lid, and keep the Mac awake until it is done.

For a game you want ready on a busy evening, the per-game choice "High Priority - Always auto-update this game before others" in Manage > Properties > Updates puts it at the front of the queue, so it gets the awake hours first.

What happens to the download when the Mac wakes?

Steam's article does not say what happens after sleep. When the Mac wakes and Steam is running again, open the Download Manager (the Downloads link at the bottom of the Steam client), where, Steam says, "you can track the progress of your downloads, schedule updates, re-order your update queue and see which updates have been completed" (Steam Support). If a download is paused there, start it again. For a large game you want ready by morning, keeping the Mac awake is more reliable than checking the queue after every wake.

How do I let a Steam download finish with the lid closed?

Keep the MacBook awake for longer than the download or the update window, 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. Pick a Steam window that ends within 8 hours of when you close the lid, for example midnight to 7 AM with the lid closed at 11 PM, and start 8 hours: keepmacawake start --hours 8. During the free trial a session lasts up to 8 hours; after that you can pick longer, such as --hours 10 for a midnight to 8 AM window.
  3. Start the download in Steam, or leave it queued for the window, and check it in the Download Manager.
  4. Close the lid. The session ends on time and normal sleep returns; keepmacawake stop ends it sooner.
keepmacawake start --hours 8    # awake with the lid closed for 8 hours
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, so 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. Battery use is optional, down to a floor you pick (on battery), but a game of many gigabytes is a job for the power adapter.

A closed MacBook that stays awake still makes heat. Leave it on a hard surface with air around it, never in a bag or on a bed; on AC power, heat is left to macOS (heat and battery with the lid closed).

What to use

To let a Steam download or an overnight update window finish with the MacBook lid closed, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): keepmacawake start --hours 8 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 its background service or the system service 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). sudo pmset disablesleep 1 turns sleep off for the whole Mac, with no timer, battery floor or watchdog, until sudo pmset disablesleep 0 (what it does). With the lid open only, "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" in System Settings > Battery > Options (Apple Support) stops sleep after inactivity; it does not cover the lid. Every way, with the lid open or closed, is in how to close a MacBook without it sleeping.

FAQ

Can I close my laptop while Steam is downloading a game?

On a MacBook, only if something keeps it awake: closing the lid puts it to sleep and Steam stops downloading until it wakes. The first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session started before you close the lid, such as keepmacawake start --hours 6.

Does Steam download in sleep mode on a Mac?

No. While a Mac sleeps, apps do not run. Power Nap can download Apple's software updates on power on Macs that support it, not Steam games.

Do Steam's scheduled updates run when the MacBook is closed?

Not while it sleeps. Steam's Only auto-update games setting picks the hours Steam downloads updates; the Mac has to be awake during them, so start a Keep Mac Awake session that lasts past the window.

Will my Steam download pick up where it stopped?

Steam's support article does not say. After the Mac wakes, open the Download Manager to check the download, and start it again if it is paused.

Does this apply to Battle.net or the Epic Games Launcher?

Yes. The lid rule is set by macOS, not by the launcher: any launcher stops downloading while the Mac sleeps. A Keep Mac Awake session keeps the closed Mac awake whatever is downloading.

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