Best Amphetamine Alternative for Lid-Closed Macs: Clamshell

If you need the lid-closed part, switch to Clamshell for Mac. It is one app with no admin password, sudo rule, or helper, it handles plugging in and unplugging by itself, and its thermal safety is always on. Amphetamine's closed-display use on Apple Silicon laptops relies on Power Protect, a separate install, and its App Store listing has shown no update since November 10, 2023.

One appNo add-on script or config file

No adminNo sudo or privileged helper

Thermal safetyAlways on, disarms under heat

$9.99 onceAfter a 7-day free trial

Clamshell for Mac keeps the Mac awake with the lid closed while armed. No sudo, no monitor. Free for 7 days, then $9.99 once.

Download free trial

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Notarized by Apple. 3.6 MB. Or buy now, $9.99. On your phone? Send the Mac download link to yourself.

Want every option side by side, including LidRun, pmset, caffeinate and Apple's own display setup? See the best app to keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed. This page is for people who already use Amphetamine and want the lid-closed part to just work.

Plug in, unplug, still awake, nothing extra installed.On Apple Silicon laptops, connecting or disconnecting power is where closed-display sessions can misbehave. Amphetamine handles it with Power Protect, a separate install. Clamshell re-applies itself on every plug and unplug.

Amphetamine is a capable free keep-awake toolkit, but closing the lid on an M-series MacBook is the one job where it asks for more: reliable closed-display use across plugging in and unplugging involves Power Protect, a separate download, and the latest version on its App Store listing is 5.3.2 from November 10, 2023. Clamshell for Mac does only the lid-closed part, as a single menu bar app with no admin rights, for $9.99 once after a 7-day trial.

Why Clamshell is the better pick for a closed lid

One app, nothing else to install. Amphetamine's App Store listing says Power Protect is not included in Amphetamine and needs a separate download and installation of a script and a configuration file on Apple Silicon Mac laptops. Clamshell re-applies itself on every plug and unplug, on AC or battery, with no add-on.
No admin password, sudo, or helper. Clamshell uses the unprivileged IOKit lid sleep-state control plus an idle-sleep assertion while armed. The free pmset disablesleep route needs sudo each time, and LidRun's closed-lid mode needs its helper approved or an admin password.
Nothing left switched on. Clamshell never changes pmset disablesleep. An Option-close session ends when the lid opens, normal lid sleep is restored on disarm or quit, and the lid change is never saved across a restart.
Thermal safety is always on. At serious or critical thermal pressure, Clamshell disarms toward normal lid sleep and blocks arming until the Mac cools.
Current releases. Clamshell 1.4.21 shipped on October 5, 2026, notarized by Apple. On the same day, Amphetamine's App Store listing still showed 5.3.2 from November 10, 2023 as its latest version.

Clamshell is the whole install. Amphetamine's App Store listing describes Power Protect as a separate download of a script and a configuration file. Clamshell is the app alone, with no helper.

Only need the lid part? Try Clamshell free for 7 days, no payment details. Then $9.99 once for one Mac, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Download free trial

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Notarized by Apple. 3.6 MB. Or buy now, $9.99

The alternatives compared

Our pick: Clamshell. No admin rights, no add-on, nothing that outlives the session. The other lid-closed options follow; KeepingYouAwake comes last because it does not keep the Mac awake once the lid closes.

Tool	Admin or add-on	Lid closed	Best at	Price
Clamshell Our pick	None: no sudo, admin rights, driver, or privileged helper	Yes, built-in display stays black	Closing the lid with no monitor and getting normal sleep back on lid open	7-day free trial, then $9.99 once (3 Macs: $19.99)
Amphetamine	App: none. On Apple Silicon laptops, an optional Power Protect script and configuration file, downloaded and installed separately, keep the mode working across power changes	Yes, Closed-Display Mode	General keep-awake sessions and triggers	Free
LidRun	Helper approved once in Login Items, or an admin password each time Closed-Lid Mode flips	Yes, with Pro	Detecting agent and dev workloads and stopping when they finish	Free lid-open tier; Pro from $9.90 once
`pmset disablesleep`	`sudo` each time	Yes	A free, built-in, system-wide override	Free
KeepingYouAwake	None	No, per its README	A simple, open-source, lid-open keep-awake toggle	Free, MIT licensed

Not KeepingYouAwake or caffeinate for a closed lid. Both only prevent idle sleep, so neither keeps the Mac awake once the lid closes.

Clamshell for Mac: how it works

Clamshell is a small menu bar app for Apple Silicon MacBooks on macOS 14 or later. Arm it, close the lid, and the Mac keeps running with the built-in display black. It uses the unprivileged IOKit clamshell sleep-state control plus an idle-sleep assertion while armed, not pmset disablesleep, so it needs no sudo, admin rights, kernel extension, driver, or privileged helper. There is nothing to install beyond the app.

Arming: hold ⌥ Option while closing the lid on MacBooks with a lid angle sensor (MacBook Air M2 2022 or later, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 or later), or arm from the menu bar on any supported Mac.
Ending: an Option-close session ends when you open the lid, and the Mac locks. Arming from the menu bar menu also covers the next close only; right-click and Shortcuts arming stay until you disarm. The setting never persists across a restart.
Power changes: works on AC and battery and re-applies on every plug or unplug, the transition that Power Protect exists to handle in Amphetamine.
Safety: thermal safety is always on and disarms toward normal lid sleep under serious or critical thermal pressure. An optional low-battery disarm is off by default.
Agents and the screen: agents can use the screen during an armed closed-lid session while the built-in display stays black, a setting that is on by default. SSH and screen sharing keep working.
Automation: clamshell://arm, clamshell://disarm, and clamshell://toggle URLs, plus Arm, Disarm, Toggle, and Status actions in Shortcuts. It does not detect agents automatically.

Clamshell pauses while an external display is connected, where Apple's own setup already works, and arms again after the display disconnects. It is sold from clamshell.dev and on Setapp, not on the Mac App Store; an unrelated App Store app shares the name.

What changes when you leave Amphetamine

Amphetamine is free, has no in-app purchases, and has been on the Mac App Store for years. Its feature list is broad: keep-awake sessions that run indefinitely, for a set time, while a file downloads, or while an app runs; per-session choices for display sleep, screen saver, and system sleep when the built-in display is closed; triggers based on displays, apps, battery, and power; and extras such as locking the screen after inactivity. Clamshell does not replace those lid-open triggers. It replaces the closed-lid part.

That closed-lid part is where Amphetamine's version notes describe an extra step. Version 5.3 added a Closed-Display Mode script for an Apple Silicon issue where connecting or disconnecting a laptop from power could cause unexpected session behavior. That feature is now called Power Protect. The listing says it is only needed and available on Apple Silicon Mac laptops, and that it is not included in Amphetamine itself: it needs a separate download and installation of a script and a configuration file. The same listing, checked October 5, 2026, shows version 5.3.2, released November 10, 2023, as the latest.

LidRun

LidRun is a menu bar utility aimed at AI and developer jobs. Its free tier covers lid-open sessions with timers, charging-only mode, low-battery auto stop, and a lidrun command-line wrapper. Closed-Lid Mode is part of Pro, together with Auto Mode, which its pricing page says detects Claude Code, Cursor, Docker, and Ollama and keeps the Mac awake while they run. Pro is a one-time purchase: $9.90 for one Mac at its launch price, $14.90 for two, $19.90 for three, and $59.90 for ten. Its FAQ says Closed-Lid Mode calls pmset disablesleep; LidRun's helper, approved once as a Login Items toggle, avoids an administrator password prompt each time the setting flips, and restores normal sleep if the app stops checking in. It runs on macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon and Intel. See the three-way comparison for the full table.

`pmset disablesleep`

If you do not want another app, sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1 keeps the Mac awake with the lid closed and sudo pmset -a disablesleep 0 restores it. It is built into macOS, but it is system-wide, needs sudo, has no timer or menu bar indicator, and stays on until you undo it. The pmset guide covers checks and the undo.

KeepingYouAwake: idle sleep only

KeepingYouAwake is a free, open-source menu bar app under the MIT license, installable from GitHub releases or with brew install --cask keepingyouawake. Its README answers the lid question directly: because of macOS limitations and thermal considerations, it only prevents sleep on desktop Macs and on laptops with an open lid, so it does not keep the Mac awake once the lid closes. The same goes for caffeinate, as the caffeinate guide explains.

If you want a free all-in-one keep-awake toolkit, agent auto-detection, or support for an Intel MacBook, Amphetamine or LidRun covers that.

Frequently asked questions

Does Clamshell need an admin password or a helper?

No. Clamshell for Mac is a normal menu bar app with no sudo, admin rights, kernel extension, driver, or privileged helper. It does not use pmset disablesleep, and there is no add-on to install.

Does Clamshell leave anything behind?

No. Clamshell restores normal lid sleep when you disarm or quit, an Option-close session ends when the lid opens, and its lid change is never saved across a restart. It never changes pmset disablesleep.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. Clamshell is free for 7 days with no payment details, then $9.99 once for one Mac or $19.99 for up to 3 Macs, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Does Amphetamine work with the lid closed on Apple Silicon?

Yes, through Closed-Display Mode. Closed-Display Mode is built in. On Apple Silicon Mac laptops, the developer offers Power Protect, a separate install, so the mode keeps working when you plug in or unplug.

When was Amphetamine last updated?

On October 5, 2026, the Amphetamine App Store listing showed version 5.3.2, released November 10, 2023, as the latest version.

Does KeepingYouAwake work with the lid closed?

No. Its README says it only prevents sleep on desktop Macs and on portable Macs with an open lid, citing macOS limitations and thermal considerations.

Which Amphetamine alternative detects AI coding agents?

LidRun Pro. Its pricing page says Auto Mode detects Claude Code, Cursor, Docker, and Ollama. Clamshell does not detect agents; you can arm it from scripts with its URL scheme or Shortcuts actions.

Close the lid, keep working. Clamshell is free for 7 days. No admin password, no add-on, $9.99 once if you keep it.

Download free trial

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Notarized by Apple. 3.6 MB. Or buy now, $9.99

Related guides

Sources checked September 29, 2026, with the Amphetamine listing and LidRun FAQ rechecked October 5, 2026: the Amphetamine App Store listing and version history, the KeepingYouAwake README, LidRun pricing, the LidRun FAQ, the LidRun helper guide, LidRun download page, and the macOS pmset(1) manual. Clamshell is the publisher of this guide. Product names belong to their respective owners.