🎒 Lid closed, still working
Put your Mac in your bag. Keep your agent running.
Kick off a long agent task, close the lid, and drop the Mac in your bag. Tether it to your iPhone, and it keeps working while you check in from your phone - on the train, on a walk, anywhere.
How it works
- Turn on lid-closed keep-awake. In AwakeMate, enable Keep awake with the lid closed (Settings - Options) and approve the one-time helper. Start your agent - Claude Code, Codex, a long build.
- Tether to your iPhone. Connect the Mac to your iPhone's Personal Hotspot so it keeps its network on the move. The agent talks to the model over the phone's connection.
- Set up remote access once. So you can reach the Mac from your phone: SSH (Termius, Blink), Tailscale for zero-config, or your agent's own remote client. Do this once.
- Close the lid and go. Drop the Mac in a ventilated bag, ideally on a power bank. Close the lid - the agent keeps running. From your phone, SSH in or open the remote client and keep working.
The honest part: heat and battery
AwakeMate dims the built-in screen automatically the moment the lid closes, so the panel is not burning battery or adding heat under the lid (it restores the instant you open it). That takes most of the cost off the table. It is still a Mac doing real work in an enclosed space, so be sensible: use a bag with some airflow rather than a sealed, padded sleeve, and keep it on power or a decent power bank for long sessions.
What it is great for
Overnight agents on the move
Start a long Claude Code or Codex run, pocket the Mac, and keep nudging it from your phone.
Builds and renders to go
Kick off a heavy build or render, close the lid, and let it finish while you head out.
A tiny home server
Tether, close the lid, and SSH back in - your Mac keeps doing the work without a desk.
Free 14-day trial · one-time $39.99 · no telemetry · macOS 13+
New to this? Start with why agents need your Mac awake or every way to keep a Mac awake.
Frequently asked
Does the agent really keep running with the lid closed?
Yes. With lid-closed keep-awake on and a watched tool keeping the Mac awake, the run continues with the lid shut. It works on most Apple Silicon Macs - test yours by closing the lid once.
How do I connect to the Mac from my iPhone?
Any remote method works: an SSH client like Termius or Blink, Tailscale (the easiest - a private network with no port forwarding), or a remote client built into your agent. The Mac just needs to be reachable over the network you share via the hotspot.
Does the screen stay on under the closed lid?
No - AwakeMate dims the built-in screen automatically when the lid closes, so it is not wasting battery or adding heat, then restores it when you open the lid. It is still a Mac doing real work, so keep the bag ventilated and use power or a power bank for long runs.
Is this the same as clamshell mode?
No. Clamshell mode is Apple's official lid-closed setup but needs an external display, keyboard and power. This needs none of that - just AwakeMate and a network. Clamshell is guaranteed on every Mac; lid-closed keep-awake works on most Apple Silicon Macs.