--- title: How to turn off a Mac screen without putting it to sleep titleTag: Turn off a Mac screen without sleep description: First choice on a MacBook: a Keep Mac Awake session, then close the lid. Lid open: pmset displaysleepnow turns the screen off and the Mac keeps running. date: 2026-11-06 updated: 2026-11-07 kicker: Display section: The closed lid, explained related: keep-mac-screen-from-turning-off, terminal-command-keep-mac-awake, prevent-macbook-sleep-lid-closed --- > **Short answer:** The screen and the Mac sleep separately, so you turn the screen off and keep the Mac awake as two steps. On a MacBook with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake: start a session, then close the lid; the built-in screen goes dark and the Mac keeps working for the whole session, with no external display. With the lid open, `pmset displaysleepnow` in Terminal turns the screen off at once, and the Mac keeps running as long as something holds off idle sleep: a Keep Mac Awake session, `caffeinate -i`, or, on the charger, "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" in System Settings > Battery > Options. ## How do I turn off the screen but keep the Mac running? Keep the Mac awake first, then put the screen out. The first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com), a menu bar app with its own command, for a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later: 1. Start a session from the menu bar (1 hour, 8 hours, a custom number of hours up to 168, or no limit), or run `keepmacawake start --hours 8`. 2. Close the lid. The built-in display goes dark, even if another app asked to keep the display on, and the Mac keeps working: downloads, builds, renders and AI agents carry on. 3. To keep the lid open instead, run `pmset displaysleepnow`. The session keeps the Mac awake while the screen is off. When the session ends, normal sleep comes back by itself, and a separate watchdog restores it if the app's services stop or hang. Sessions run on AC power by default; battery use down to a floor you pick is optional. ## What is the Terminal command to turn off a Mac screen? `pmset displaysleepnow`. It needs no `sudo`, and the [pmset man page](https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/PowerManagement/blob/d415e45501842834a280930c3eed9186544a67f0/pmset/pmset.1) says it "causes display to go to sleep immediately." Move the mouse or press a key and the screen comes back. It turns off the screen, not the Mac's timers. The Mac still has its own system sleep timer, the `sleep` line of `pmset -g` (the man page calls it the "system sleep timer"), and an idle Mac with a dark screen sleeps when that timer runs out. To stop that from Terminal, hold off idle sleep with caffeinate, whose `-i` flag will "Create an assertion to prevent the system from idle sleeping" ([man caffeinate](https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/PowerManagement/blob/d415e45501842834a280930c3eed9186544a67f0/caffeinate/caffeinate.8)): ```sh pmset displaysleepnow # screen off now caffeinate -i -t 7200 & # Mac awake for 2 hours (7,200 seconds) pmset displaysleepnow # then screen off caffeinate -i ./build.sh # Mac awake while a command runs ``` caffeinate -i holds only while it runs and stops at the lid; more flags are in [the Terminal command to keep a Mac awake](/blog/terminal-command-keep-mac-awake). ## Is there a keyboard shortcut to turn off a Mac screen? Not on a Touch ID keyboard. Apple lists Control-Shift-Power button as the shortcut to put displays to sleep, with the condition "On built-in keyboards without Touch ID" ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102650)), and MacBooks with Apple silicon have Touch ID. Two ways that do work: - **A hot corner.** In System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners, choose the action that puts the display to sleep for one corner, then move the pointer there ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-hot-corners-mchlp3000/26/mac/26)). - **Closing the lid**, during a Keep Mac Awake session, as above. ## Does a Mac go to sleep when the screen turns off? Not at that moment, but often soon after. The display sleep timer and the system sleep timer are separate settings ([man pmset](https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/PowerManagement/blob/d415e45501842834a280930c3eed9186544a67f0/pmset/pmset.1)), and a Mac laptop on battery sleeps once it has been idle long enough. On the charger, System Settings > Battery > Options has "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off", which will "Prevent your Mac from sleeping when it's plugged in and its display is off" ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-battery-settings-mchlfc3b7879/26/mac/26)). There is no such switch for battery, and none of these settings covers the lid: closing it puts a MacBook to sleep unless something keeps it awake. To keep the screen on longer instead, see [how to keep a Mac screen from turning off](/blog/keep-mac-screen-from-turning-off). ## Can I turn off the screen by closing the lid? Yes, and that is the quickest way on a MacBook, as long as something keeps the closed Mac awake: - **Keep Mac Awake.** The first choice: a session you start keeps a closed MacBook awake with no display, keyboard or mouse, then restores normal sleep. - **Closed-display mode.** With an external display, keyboard, mouse and power, the Mac keeps working on the external display. - caffeinate -s, on AC power only, holds a closed MacBook in dark wake, with the display off, while caffeinate runs; on battery it does nothing for the lid ([does caffeinate keep a Mac awake with the lid closed?](/blog/caffeinate-lid-closed)). - **`sudo pmset disablesleep 1`.** Turns sleep off for the whole system, lid included, with no timer, until `sudo pmset disablesleep 0` ([what it does](/blog/pmset-disablesleep)). Every way, compared, is in [how to close a MacBook without it sleeping](/blog/prevent-macbook-sleep-lid-closed). > **Careful:** 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)). Never leave it running in a bag or under a pillow. ## What to use To turn off a MacBook's screen and keep the Mac working, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): `keepmacawake start --hours 8`, then close the lid, keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the screen dark for that session, and restores normal sleep when it ends, with a separate watchdog if Keep Mac Awake's background service or the system service stops or hangs. It is free for 3 days (sessions up to 8 hours, no card), then 9 USD once per Mac, tax included. It keeps the Mac awake, not the network, and does not wake a Mac that is already asleep. See how to [keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed](/). Other options: `pmset displaysleepnow` turns the screen off with the lid open, and the Mac then sleeps on its own timer unless caffeinate -i runs or, on the charger, the Battery option is on; a hot corner does the same as the command. ## FAQ ### How do I turn off my MacBook screen without it going to sleep? Start a Keep Mac Awake session and close the lid: the screen goes dark and the Mac keeps working until the session ends. With the lid open, run `pmset displaysleepnow` and keep the Mac awake with the session, `caffeinate -i`, or the Battery option "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" on the charger. ### Does turning off the screen stop a download? No, the screen alone does not. A download stops when the Mac goes to sleep, which can follow a dark screen on the system sleep timer or a closed lid. Keep the Mac awake for the whole download; see [do downloads continue with the lid closed?](/blog/macbook-download-lid-closed). ### Does turning off the screen lock my Mac? It does if System Settings > Lock Screen asks for it: the setting "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off" locks the Mac when the display turns off ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-lock-screen-settings-mh11784/26/mac/26)). Apps keep running behind the lock; see [is a closed MacBook locked while it keeps working?](/blog/closed-macbook-locked-and-secure). ### How do I turn the screen back on? Press a key, or click the mouse or trackpad; on a Mac laptop with the lid closed, open the display ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/put-your-mac-to-sleep-or-wake-it-mh10330/26/mac/26)). ## Sources - Apple open source: [man pmset](https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/PowerManagement/blob/d415e45501842834a280930c3eed9186544a67f0/pmset/pmset.1) and [man caffeinate](https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/PowerManagement/blob/d415e45501842834a280930c3eed9186544a67f0/caffeinate/caffeinate.8) - [Apple Support: Mac keyboard shortcuts](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102650) - Apple Mac User Guide for macOS Tahoe 26: [Use hot corners](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-hot-corners-mchlp3000/26/mac/26), [Change Lock Screen settings](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-lock-screen-settings-mh11784/26/mac/26), [Change Battery settings](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-battery-settings-mchlfc3b7879/26/mac/26), [Set sleep and wake settings](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-sleep-and-wake-settings-mchle41a6ccd/26/mac/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/mac/26) - [Apple Support: Mac laptop operating temperatures](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102336) - [Keep Mac Awake: command line](https://keepmacawake.com/command-line.md)