Stim FAQs

Q: How do I know if Stim is working?

Stim should prevent your Mac from sleeping but it's not foolproof because certain macOS functions and even other programs can take priority at various times for different reasons.

Instead, Stim makes a best effort to keep your Mac awake. You can quickly verify if Stim is working as intended by typing the following from the Terminal:

$ pmset -g

You should then see output similar below:

sleep 1 (sleep prevented by Stim, powerd)
display sleep 10 (display sleep prevented by Stim)

If you see any references to Stim preventing sleep or display sleep, then you know it is indeed working.

Q: My Mac did not go to sleep when using Stim. Why not?

There could be some reasons for this, including:

• You set up a sleep schedule in System Preferences › Battery › Schedule, which has priority over Stim in controlling your Mac's sleep.
• You have set the computer to log out after a certain amount of time in System Preferences › Security & Privacy › Advanced, which will take priority over Stim.
• Stim is not actually configured to keep your Mac awake. Make sure you see the 👁 in the menu bar.

Q: Why does Stim constantly switch between allowing my Mac to sleep and not allowing it?

This can happen if you have enabled the Keep Awake only when running... option, which monitors when you have started a specific program to keep your Mac awake while it runs. If Stim detects the program running, it will automatically keep your Mac awake even if you have manually chosen to let it sleep. You can fix this by simply unchecking that option in the Preferences... window.

Q: Are there known caveats with Stim?

Besides of cases where Stim won't keep your Mac awake due to other system processes, there can be some incompatibilities with certain programs such as Handbrake. However, most programs I have tried seem to work.

Q: Why did you name this program Stim?

Given various similar programs like Caffeine, Amphetamine, etc. I figured I'd give my program an equally stimulating name!

Q: This program isn’t bad. Do you have others?

Yes. I’ve made quite a few. You can find them here: https://www.widgetworx.com/apps/

Q: Can you add such and such feature?

Uh, sure…maybe? This is a hobby for me and there are many limits to my ability and time. However, I would be willing to at least entertain any feature suggestions if they made sense.