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Keep your Mac awake while Ollama runs
You are chatting with a local model or running a long batch through Ollama, and the Mac sleeps between prompts and drops the server. AwakeMate keeps it awake while Ollama is running.
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When your Mac sleeps mid-Ollama
Ollama keeps a local model server alive and generates on your own CPU and GPU. Generation itself is heavy, but an interactive session is mostly waiting: the server sits idle between your prompts, and macOS reads that quiet as idleness and sleeps. A long unattended batch job runs into the same problem during any lull. When the Mac sleeps, in-flight requests stall and a model you had warm in memory may have to reload.
AwakeMate keeps it awake while Ollama runs
AwakeMate detects the ollama process and keeps your Mac awake while the local server is running. Ollama ships as a native binary, so it reports its name directly and no Deep CLI detection is needed to recognise it.
Detected process: ollama
Tip: leave "Sleep when tools go idle" off
Even though local generation is GPU and CPU heavy, an interactive Ollama session sits idle between prompts, so keep "sleep when tools go idle" OFF - otherwise the Mac would sleep during the wait and drop the server you were chatting with.
Get the most out of it
- For interactive chat, keep idle sleep off so the server stays up between prompts and the model stays warm in memory.
- Running a long unattended batch overnight? Leaving AwakeMate on keeps the server alive through quiet stretches so the whole job completes.
More questions about Ollamatap to expand
Ollama generation is CPU and GPU heavy. Shouldn't I use idle-sleep mode?
For interactive chat, no. The server is busy only while generating and sits idle between your prompts, so idle sleep would drop the Mac during the wait. Leave it off so the session and the warm model survive.
Does AwakeMate keep the Mac awake while the Ollama server waits for the next request?
Yes. With idle sleep off, the Mac stays awake the whole time the ollama process is running, so the local server stays reachable between prompts and across a long batch.
Does AwakeMate need any special permissions or detection mode for Ollama?
No. Ollama runs as a native binary that reports ollama directly, so it is recognised without Deep CLI detection, and process detection needs no permissions at all.
What is the best way to keep my Mac awake while Ollama is serving a model?
Add ollama to AwakeMate's watched tools and it keeps the Mac awake automatically while the local server is running, then releases the hold when Ollama stops. No commands to remember and no babysitting between prompts. Ollama ships as a native binary that reports ollama directly, so it is recognised without Deep CLI detection. It is the simplest way to stop the server being dropped mid-session.
Is AwakeMate worth it over caffeinate or setting sleep to Never for Ollama?
If you only ever ran Ollama, caffeinate or a Never setting could work - but both are manual and global. You would have to wrap each run or remember to toggle Never off again, and either way the whole Mac stays awake for everything, not just while Ollama runs, with no idle-aware sleep and no notch status. AwakeMate does exactly this automatically and scoped to the tool, using the same gentle idle-sleep assertion and leaving your energy settings untouched.
Can I run a long Ollama batch job overnight on battery without the Mac sleeping?
Yes. AwakeMate keeps the Mac awake while the ollama process runs, so an unattended batch rides through the quiet gaps between requests. You can decide whether to allow this on battery or only on power, and set a low-battery cutoff so the Mac is free to sleep before it drains completely. Note this holds only while the lid is open - with the lid shut macOS still sleeps unless the Mac is on power with an external display attached.
Will it keep my Mac awake for Ollama with the lid closed, even on battery?
Yes. Turn on "Keep awake with the lid closed" in Settings - Options and approve the one-time helper; AwakeMate then keeps the Mac awake with the lid shut while Ollama runs, and dims the built-in screen so it is not draining the battery under the lid. It works on most Apple Silicon Macs (Apple forces sleep on some, so close your lid once to confirm). It works on battery too, but real work drains it faster, so keep it on power for long runs. See how it works.