Keep agents working with the Mac lid closed

Normally a Mac goes to sleep as soon as you close the lid, and the agent stops in the middle of a task. In this mode the Mac stays awake: sessions keep going, and the iPhone stays connected.

Step by step

1. Hover the notch. At the bottom there is a switch with a laptop: “Work with the lid closed”.
2. Turn it on. Or: gear, “Notch and Mac” block, “Stay awake with the lid closed”.
3. The first time, macOS asks for an administrator password. You only do this once.
4. Close the lid and take the Mac with you.
5. Open it later: the work is done.

What happens with the lid closed

• The display turns off by itself to save power.
• The end-of-turn sound is muted. Your sound setting does not change.
• The Mac stays awake the whole time the mode is on, not only while sessions are busy. That way the iPhone does not lose the connection.
• Open the lid and the display wakes up.

Good to know

• On battery below 20%, the mode lets go: the Mac with a closed lid goes to sleep, so it does not drain to zero.
• Hedoq has to be running. If you quit Hedoq, or it closes, the Mac sleeps as usual again.
• For the password, Hedoq adds one narrow system rule: it only allows turning sleep prevention on and off without a password.
• To turn it off, use the same switch. The notch tells you “The Mac sleeps when the lid is closed”.
• Automations and scheduled tasks only run while Hedoq is open and the Mac is awake. This mode is made for them.

If something does not work

• The switch asks for a password: you need this Mac’s administrator password.
• The Mac went to sleep anyway: check the battery. Below 20% it sleeps on purpose.

See also: automations, iPhone.