still

Keep going, even when your MacBook closes.

Still is a lightweight native macOS menu bar utility that helps selected streaming sessions
and long-running tasks continue while your MacBook is closed.

Download

A notarized release is not available yet. Until it is, build Still from source; it takes about a minute. See Build from source.

Releases will appear on the Releases page once the app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Features

• Streaming continuity. Detects Safari audio playback and keeps your Mac awake while the lid is closed. If WebKit pauses playback on the lid transition, Still can send a single Play key press to resume it.
• AI coding-agent sessions. Stays active while Claude Code or Codex is writing to its local session files.
• Manual mode. One click to keep the Mac active, with a Safety Timeout (3 hours by default).
• Safety Timeout. Manual sessions end on their own. Automatic sessions have an 8-hour ceiling.
• Battery and thermal safeguards. Normal sleep is restored below a battery level you choose, under thermal pressure, and in Low Power Mode.
• Native menu bar integration. SwiftUI and Liquid Glass. The menu bar shows the mark and the name; the name can be hidden in Settings.
• Local-first. No network access, no accounts, no analytics.

Still does not guarantee that every app or streaming service keeps playing with the lid closed. It is tested with Safari and AirPlay.

Installation

1. Build the app (see below) or download a notarized release when one is available.
2. Move Still.app to /Applications.
3. Open it. Still lives in the menu bar and has no Dock icon.
4. Click Set Up and approve the administrator prompt once.

Requirements

• macOS 26 or later
• Apple silicon Mac (arm64)

Permissions

Permission	Why	Required
Administrator (once)	Installs /etc/sudoers.d/still, which lets your user run exactly pmset -a disablesleep 1 and pmset -a disablesleep 0 without a password. Nothing else.	Yes
Accessibility	Only to press Play in Safari after the lid closes. Without it, Still works but does not resume playback.	No
Notifications	One quiet message when a Safety Timeout ends.	No

How it works

Still holds a power assertion and sets the system SleepDisabled flag with pmset -a disablesleep, which keeps a MacBook running with its lid closed. It reads the flag back after every change and reconciles it at launch, so a crash or force quit cannot leave your Mac stuck awake.

disablesleep is an undocumented pmset option. Apple does not officially guarantee it will keep working across macOS versions and hardware. If it stops working, Still fails safe: your Mac sleeps normally.

Activity detection:

• Streaming: public CoreAudio process objects identify Safari/WebKit audio output.
• AI work: FSEvents watch ~/.claude/projects and ~/.codex/sessions. A transcript write within 180 seconds counts as work. Still reads file timestamps only, never their contents.
• Playback resume: one synthesized Play/Pause media key through public NSEvent/CGEvent APIs. No private frameworks are used.

Build from source

You need Xcode 26 (Swift 6.2).

git clone https://github.com/sachawicky/still.git
cd still
swift run StillCheck            # run the test harness
./Scripts/build-release.sh      # produces dist/Still.app
open dist/Still.app

The local build is ad-hoc signed with Hardened Runtime. macOS may ask you to re-grant Accessibility after each rebuild because the code identity changes.

Safety

• Do not put a closed, actively running MacBook in a bag or any poorly ventilated space. A running Mac produces heat.
• Keep the Safety Timeout on. Use "until I turn it off" only when you are watching the Mac.
• Another utility may also change sleep settings. If Still reports that another app disabled sleep, use Restore Normal Sleep.
• To check the current state: pmset -g | grep SleepDisabled (0 is normal).

Uninstall

1. Quit Still from its menu. This restores normal sleep.
2. Confirm with pmset -g | grep SleepDisabled. If it shows 1, run sudo pmset -a disablesleep 0.
3. Turn off Open at login in Still's settings.
4. In Settings, choose Administrator access → Remove, or run sudo rm /etc/sudoers.d/still.
5. Delete /Applications/Still.app.
6. Optional: defaults delete app.still.macos

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md. For security reports, see SECURITY.md.

License

MIT © 2026 Sacha Wicky

Creator

Designed & developed by Sacha Wicky.