Only the part that runs in Anthropic's cloud. Closing a MacBook lid puts the Mac to sleep, and Claude Desktop's Keep computer awake setting only stops idle sleep, so local Claude Code sessions, Dispatch, local scheduled tasks, MCP servers and anything using your files or screen pause until you open it. To keep that local work going, leave the lid open, use Apple's external display setup, or arm Clamshell for Mac before you close the lid.
Clamshell for Mac keeps the Mac awake and online with the lid closed while armed, so Claude's local work keeps going. No sudo, no monitor. Free for 7 days.
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You give Claude a long task in the desktop app, fold the MacBook and head out. Whether anything happened when you get back depends on where that task was running, not on which tab you started it from. This page sorts each part of Claude Desktop into "keeps going" or "pauses", explains the Keep computer awake setting that a lot of people read as a lid fix, and lists what does keep local work alive with the lid shut. Everything about Claude below comes from Anthropic's own docs and help pages, checked October 14, 2026, plus the setting text in the Claude Desktop app itself.
What closing the lid does to Claude on a Mac
Closing the display is one of Apple's documented ways to put a Mac laptop to sleep. A sleeping Mac is still on but uses much less power, and apps on it stop running. For Claude that means:
- Local processes stop. A Claude Code session on the Mac, an MCP server installed on the Mac, a local scheduled task and any tool call that reads your files or drives your browser or screen all wait for the Mac to wake.
- The Mac drops off the network. Anthropic's Remote Control docs put it this way: "if your laptop sleeps or your network drops, Claude Code reconnects automatically when your machine comes back online." Until then, your phone has nothing to connect to.
- Cloud work is untouched. A task running on Anthropic's servers does not depend on your laptop, so it carries on and the result waits in the conversation.
What "Keep computer awake" does, and what it does not
Claude Desktop has a setting called Keep computer awake. In the macOS app (version 2.31226.1, checked October 14, 2026) its description reads, word for word:
"Prevent your computer from idle-sleeping while Claude is open so scheduled tasks can run. Your display can still turn off. Closing the laptop lid will still put it to sleep."
The same app build has a second toggle, Keep computer awake while Claude works, for Claude Code sessions: "Prevent your computer from sleeping while a Code session is running, so long tasks can finish. Your display can still turn off. Closing the laptop lid will still put it to sleep." Anthropic's scheduled tasks docs say the same in their own words: "To prevent idle-sleep, turn on Keep computer awake in Settings > This computer > System. Closing the laptop lid still puts it to sleep."
So the setting is useful, just for a different situation: a Mac left open on a desk, maybe with the screen dimmed, so that scheduled tasks fire on time and a Code session is not cut off by the idle timer. Leave it on. It does not conflict with anything below. The same idle-versus-lid split is behind Claude Code's built-in keep-awake and why caffeinate does not work with the lid closed.
What keeps running and what stops
As of October 2026, Anthropic runs most of Claude's longer work in the cloud and reaches into your Mac only for local things. On October 6, 2026, new Cowork tasks on Pro and Max plans moved to the cloud, and Anthropic is folding Cowork into plain Claude conversations, so your app may not show a separate Cowork option at all.
| What you are using | Lid closed | Why | Anthropic's wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Claude task in the cloud (chat or Cowork) | Keeps going | Runs on Anthropic's servers | "More involved tasks keep running in the cloud even if you close your laptop or leave the page." |
| That same task using local folders, your browser or computer use | Local part waits | Reaches your Mac through Claude Desktop | "keep the desktop app open so Claude can reach them" |
| Cowork scheduled task | Runs | Runs remotely on its schedule | "even when your computer is asleep or the Claude Desktop app is closed" |
| Claude Code cloud session in Desktop | Keeps going | Anthropic-managed infrastructure | "continue even if you close the app or shut down your computer" |
| Claude Code local session in Desktop | Pauses | Runs on your Mac | "runs on your machine with direct access to your files" |
| Local scheduled task in Claude Code Desktop | Skipped | Fires on your Mac; one catch-up run on wake | "only fires while the app is open and your computer is awake" |
| Dispatch | Pauses | Works on your desktop computer | "your computer needs to be awake and the Claude Desktop app open while Claude works" |
| Local MCP servers and desktop extensions | Pause | Installed and run on your Mac | Plugins with local MCP servers "work through the desktop app only" |
| Claude Code SSH session in Desktop | Usually keeps going | Runs on the remote machine; its sign-in can expire while you are away | "Closing the lid counts as sleep." The task goes on until it finishes, needs you, or hits a limit. |
Two gaps in Anthropic's material are worth knowing. First, its help pages do not say what happens to a short chat reply that is still streaming at the moment the Mac sleeps; Anthropic only says that "a quick question still gets a quick answer" and that longer tasks run on in the cloud. If a reply looks cut off when you come back, reopen the conversation before you resend. Second, Anthropic does not say whether a Dispatch task resumes after a wake. The Dispatch and Cowork guide covers what is and is not documented there, and the cloud vs local guide helps decide which Claude Code work belongs in the cloud.
Using the Claude Code CLI instead?
The same rule applies: claude in Terminal runs on your Mac, so a closed lid pauses it like any other local session. Start with how to keep Claude Code running with the lid closed, which includes a short test that proves the session kept working. If you steer the CLI from your phone, read Claude Code Remote Control with the lid closed.
How to keep local Claude work going
Pick by situation. The first three are free.
The task needs nothing from this Mac
Run it in the cloud: a normal Claude or Cowork task, a Cowork scheduled task, or a Claude Code cloud session. There is nothing to keep awake. A cloud task reaches folders on your Mac only through Claude Desktop while it is open.
The lid can stay open
Turn on Keep computer awake in Claude Desktop, plug in, and let the display turn off. This is the case the setting was built for, and it costs nothing.
Lid closed at a desk with a monitor
Apple's closed-display mode keeps a closed Mac laptop running with an external display, as long as Apple's conditions are met: the Mac is connected to power and using an external keyboard and mouse.
Lid closed, no monitor
Arm Clamshell for Mac. It keeps an Apple Silicon MacBook awake and on the network with the lid closed while armed, with no sudo or admin rights, and normal lid sleep returns when you disarm or quit. $9.99 once after a 7-day free trial.
There is also sudo pmset -a disablesleep 1, which does survive a closed lid but is a system-wide admin switch that stays on until you undo it. pmset disablesleep explained covers the risks and the undo command.
Keep Claude Desktop working with the lid closed
You need an Apple Silicon MacBook on macOS 14 or later, on a hard surface with air around it, ideally on power.
- Start the task with the lid open and approve any permission prompts while you can still see the screen. Clamshell does not detect Claude or answer prompts for you.
- Leave Keep computer awake on. It still covers idle sleep whenever the lid is open.
- Disconnect external displays. With a display connected, Clamshell pauses instead of arming.
- Arm Clamshell from the menu bar. On a MacBook Air M2 (2022) or later, or a 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) or later, holding Option while you close the lid also works for that close.
- Check that it shows armed, then close the lid. The built-in display stays black, the Mac stays online, and agents can still use the screen, so computer use keeps working. The Mac locks when you open the lid.
Thermal safety is always on: at serious or critical thermal pressure Clamshell disarms toward normal lid sleep, which pauses Claude's local work too. Disarm when the task is done, and check it is inactive before the Mac goes in a bag.
Clamshell keeps your Mac awake with the lid closed, so Claude Code, Dispatch and local MCP servers keep running. Free for 7 days, then $9.99 once for one Mac. 14-day money-back guarantee.
Download free trialFrequently asked questions
If I close my laptop, will Claude still run?
Work that runs in Anthropic's cloud does: Anthropic says Cowork sessions, cloud scheduled tasks and Claude Code cloud sessions keep going when you close the laptop. Work that runs on your Mac does not. Closing the lid sleeps the Mac, so local Claude Code sessions, Dispatch, local scheduled tasks, local MCP servers, and anything that needs your files, browser or screen stop until it wakes.
Does Claude's Keep computer awake setting work with the lid closed?
No. The setting prevents idle sleep while Claude Desktop is open, and its own description in the app says closing the laptop lid will still put the computer to sleep. Anthropic's docs say the same. It keeps an open, untouched Mac awake, which is what scheduled tasks need.
Will a Claude chat keep generating if I close my laptop?
Anthropic says more involved tasks keep running in the cloud even if you close your laptop or leave the page, and the result waits in the conversation. Its help pages do not say what happens to a short reply that is still streaming, so reopen the chat and check. Anything that uses files or apps on your Mac needs Claude Desktop open on an awake Mac.
Do Claude scheduled tasks run while my Mac is asleep?
Cowork scheduled tasks run remotely, so Anthropic says they run even when the computer is asleep or the desktop app is closed. Local scheduled tasks in Claude Code Desktop only fire while the app is open and the computer is awake. A run the Mac sleeps through is skipped, and on wake Desktop starts one catch-up run for the most recent miss.
How do I keep Claude running on my Mac with the lid closed?
Move the task to the cloud if it needs nothing from your Mac. Otherwise the Mac itself has to stay awake after the lid closes: use Apple's closed-display mode with power, an external display, keyboard and mouse, or arm Clamshell for Mac, which keeps an Apple Silicon MacBook awake with the lid closed without a monitor or admin rights.
Related guides
- Claude Dispatch and Cowork: keep awake with the lid closed
- Keep Claude Code running with the lid closed
- Does Claude Code keep your Mac awake with the lid closed?
- Claude Code cloud sessions vs running locally on your Mac
- Claude Code Remote Control with the MacBook lid closed
- Can AI agents use the screen with the lid closed?
Sources checked October 14, 2026: Anthropic's Claude Code docs for Desktop, Desktop scheduled tasks and Remote Control; the Claude Help Center articles on Cowork, Cowork on web, desktop and mobile, Cowork and chat as one Claude, Cowork scheduled tasks, Dispatch, computer use and local MCP servers; the setting text in Claude Desktop for macOS 2.31226.1; and Apple's guides on putting a Mac to sleep and using a Mac laptop with its lid closed. Claude Desktop changes quickly, so check Anthropic's current pages before relying on a detail. No new hardware testing was done for this page. Clamshell is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic or Apple. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic.