caffeinate
Shares rank 73 of 86 privilege escalation tools by recommenders
Free command built into macOS that keeps a Mac awake from the terminal. Critics say it does not stop sleep when the lid is closed.
Free command built into macOS that keeps a Mac awake from the terminal. Critics say it does not stop sleep when the lid is closed.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Built into macOS
“I have been using the builtin macOS `caffeinate` command for this.”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Adrafinil – keep a lid-closed Mac awake only while agents work” “You can use the caffeinate command (CLI) to do that, IIRC.”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Decapitating a MacBook (2025)” Reverts automatically when lid closes
“As soon as the lid closes the command is automatically reverted so you can't forget to do it yourself.”
Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “Caffeine-like utility to keep you MacBook awake with its lid closed”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Does not stop sleep with lid closed
“It doesn't prevent sleeping due to lid closure while on battery.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “AI coders are carrying half-open laptops through airports, offices, ice rinks” “caffeinate fails when I physically close the MacBook lid”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “Show HN: Lockpaw One hotkey to cover your Mac screen without putting it to sleep” “Caffeinate doesn’t prevent sleep with the lid closed.”
Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Adrafinil – keep a lid-closed Mac awake only while agents work”
Other privilege escalation tools people recommend
The four most recommended other privilege escalation tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 86 privilege escalation tools, rankedWhat people said
6 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“As soon as the lid closes the command is automatically reverted so you can't forget to do it yourself.”
“You can use the caffeinate command (CLI) to do that, IIRC.”
“I have been using the builtin macOS `caffeinate` command for this.”
“Caffeinate doesn’t prevent sleep with the lid closed.”
“It doesn't prevent sleeping due to lid closure while on battery.”
“caffeinate fails when I physically close the MacBook lid”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.