---
title: "Keep your Mac awake until a download finishes · Kilobat Recipes"
url: "https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/keep-mac-awake-download"
description: "Stop a Mac from sleeping during a download, then let it sleep when the transfer goes quiet, from the Kilobat teacup, the CLI or an AI agent."
---

Recipe

# Keep your Mac awake until a download finishes

Kilobat keeps the Mac awake while transfers run. When the traffic stays low for some minutes, it lets the Mac sleep again.

Free in the app and the CLI · Checked: 29 October 2026

## In the app

1. Click the Kilobat item in the menu bar.
2. Click the teacup at the top of the popover.
3. Choose Until Downloads Finish. You can also choose For 1 Hour or Until I Turn It Off.
4. To follow one app, right-click its row in the app list and choose Keep Mac Awake Until It Finishes.
5. To stop early, open the teacup menu and choose Turn Off.

## With the CLI

1. Stay awake until the traffic of the Mac stays below 16 KB/s for 3 minutes.

   ```
   kilobat awake --until-quiet
   ```
2. Follow one app only, with its `id` from `kilobat status --json`.

   ```
   kilobat awake --until-quiet --app com.apple.Safari
   ```
3. Stay awake for a fixed time.

   ```
   kilobat awake --for 2h
   ```
4. Stay awake while one command runs. Kilobat then reports the data that the command moved.

   ```
   kilobat awake -- curl -O https://example.com/big.iso
   ```

## Through MCP

Connect the MCP server once with `claude mcp add kilobat -- kilobat mcp`. For other clients, see [the docs](https://kilobat.app/docs#agents). Then an agent can call these tools. Tools that change settings tell the agent to ask you first.

| Tool and arguments | What it does |
|---|---|
| `keep_awake` `{"minutes": 120, "reason": "Downloading the model"}` | Stops idle sleep for that time. It changes no settings. |
| `release_awake` | Ends the hold early. |
| `list_sessions` `{"days": 1}` | Awake sessions with the data used and the network changes. |

## Good to know

- Closing the lid still puts the Mac to sleep. See [Keep an agent running with the lid closed](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/agent-lid-closed).
- Each awake session goes into History with the data moved and the battery used.
- The built-in `caffeinate` command also stops sleep. See [Keep a Mac awake from Terminal with caffeinate](https://kilobat.app/guides/caffeinate-keep-mac-awake).

## Sources

- [Kilobat docs: Commands, Awake and agents](https://kilobat.app/docs#commands)
- [Kilobat changelog 1.1](https://kilobat.app/changelog)
- [Kilobat llms.txt: CLI and MCP reference](https://kilobat.app/llms.txt)

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with `man <name>` in Terminal.

## Related guides

- [Keep a Mac awake from Terminal with caffeinate](https://kilobat.app/guides/caffeinate-keep-mac-awake): The caffeinate command stops a Mac from sleeping while a task runs.
- [Mac sleep stops downloads](https://kilobat.app/guides/mac-sleep-stops-downloads): A Mac that goes to sleep stops most app activity, so a long download can stop or fail.
- [Keep an agent running with the lid closed](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/agent-lid-closed): Closing the lid puts a Mac laptop to sleep.
- [Check the network before a big download in an agent](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/check-network-before-download): An agent can ask Kilobat if now is a good time for a large transfer.