Installation & help

From your first download to restoring normal sleep. If something gets in the way, email support@lidkeeper.com.

Install the preview

1. Check your Mac. This preview targets Apple Silicon and macOS 13 or later; see the download page for testing coverage. Download the preview ZIP, then open it in Finder.
2. Move Lid Keeper to Applications. If you already have a copy running, end its session and quit before replacing it.
3. Review the macOS prompt. This preview has no Developer ID signature or Apple notarization. If macOS blocks it, use Apple’s guidance to make your own trust decision, or wait for the notarized release. Do not disable security protections.
4. Find the moon in your menu bar. Open Lid Keeper there. The app does not keep a normal Dock window open.

Start with five minutes

1. Select the five-minute test. macOS asks for administrator approval because the session changes a system sleep setting and starts a temporary recovery watcher.
2. Wait until the app confirms it is ready to close the lid. Your seven-day trial starts only after a successfully verified session.
3. Keep the Mac on a ventilated surface, close the lid briefly and check that your work or audio continues. Audio devices and apps can behave differently.
4. Reopen the lid and choose End session. Check normal sleep before relying on longer sessions.

End a session or restore sleep

Open the menu-bar control and choose End session. If the app reports a restoration problem, use its Restore normal sleep control and approve the macOS request if shown. Recovery remains available after the trial expires and without a paid license.

If the menu-bar app is missing, reopen Lid Keeper from Applications. A separate recovery watcher is designed to restore sleep when the app stops responding. If you still see a repair message, keep the lid open and contact support with the message shown.

Music, downloads and background work

Start playback or work in its own app, then start a Lid Keeper session. A timed session keeps the Mac awake for your chosen duration. For a build or script, use a command session to restore sleep when the command exits. An app, browser or audio device can still pause independently.

End the session when you finish, or let the timer restore the normal sleep setting. That restoration does not force every other app to sleep immediately.

Trial and Plus

The preview includes seven days of Plus, then Free sessions up to 20 minutes. Paid activation is not open yet. You do not need a key to try the app. A license issue never blocks End session or recovery.

Remove Lid Keeper

End any active session, confirm restoration and quit the app before moving it to Trash. Keychain trial information and saved preferences may remain after removal. Contact support for help removing local app data.

Get help

Email support@lidkeeper.com. Include your Mac model, macOS version, Lid Keeper version and what you were trying to do. Please leave out administrator passwords, payment details, full purchase keys and private files.

Choose a custom time

During the Plus trial or with Plus, use the hours and minutes fields in the menu-bar panel to choose a duration from 1 minute to 24 hours. Save a named preset if you use that time often. Free sessions can run for up to 20 minutes.

Start and stop from Shortcuts

In Lid Keeper’s settings, turn on Allow URL automation. It is off by default. In Apple Shortcuts, use the Open URLs action with either of these URLs:

• lidkeeper://start?minutes=60 starts a one-hour session.
• lidkeeper://stop ends the active session.

Choose a start duration from 1 to 1440 minutes. Starting needs the Plus trial or Plus and the usual macOS administrator approval. Stop remains available after the trial ends while URL automation is enabled. Turn the setting off to disable these URL actions.

These actions start and stop a timer. They do not detect when a download, export or AI agent finishes.

Get an end-of-session alert

Turn on Session-ended alerts in settings, then allow notifications when macOS asks. Notifications are optional and available on Free and Plus. Lid Keeper sends the alert only after it has verified that normal sleep was restored.

Run a command session

During the Plus trial or with Plus, choose Run a task… and enter a local foreground command. It runs as your user from your home folder; redirect output in the command if you need a log. The command starts after the awake session is verified. When it exits, Lid Keeper restores the normal sleep setting. Your selected duration is the maximum, not a minimum: a task that finishes after 15 minutes ends a two-hour session early. Ending the session, reaching its deadline or a battery or thermal cutoff also stops the task’s process group.

This follows the command Lid Keeper launched. A command that hands work off to another process can finish before that other work does. For work already running in another app, use a timed session.