keep-active

Fork of keepawake-rs with the intention of adding the ability to keep status trackers (e.g. Skype, MS Teams etc.) active.

Keep your computer awake (and active!). Like caffeinate, systemd-inhibit/gnome-session-inhibit, or PowerToys Awake, but cross-platform and written in Rust.

Usage

Keep your computer awake and active

Usage: keep-active [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]...

Arguments:
  [COMMAND]...  Run the command and wait for it to exit, keeping the computer awake while it runs

Options:
  -d, --display              Keep display on
  -i, --idle                 Keep system from idle sleeping
  -s, --sleep                Keep system from explicitly sleeping (Functionality and conditions for this to work vary by OS)
  -a, --status-active        Keep status trackers active (e.g. Skype, MS Teams etc.) by simulating activity
      --method <METHOD>      How to simulate activity (used with --status-active) [default: mouse] [possible values: mouse, key]
      --interval <SECONDS>   Interval between simulated activity events, in seconds (used with --status-active) [default: 60]
      --completions <SHELL>  Generate shell completions [possible values: bash, elvish, fish, powershell, zsh]
  -w <PID>                   Wait for the process with the specified PID to exit. This option is ignored when used with the COMMAND argument
  -h, --help                 Print help
  -V, --version              Print version

See docs.rs/keep-active for library crate documentation and usage.

Keeping status trackers active

--status-active (-a) simulates user input on an interval (--interval, default 60s) so trackers like Skype or MS Teams keep showing you as active. Two methods are available via --method:

• mouse (default): nudges the cursor one pixel and immediately back. Most compatible, but the movement is visible.
• key: taps the F15 key (which virtually nothing binds) with no cursor movement. Distraction-free, but some trackers may not treat it as activity — if key doesn't keep you active, fall back to mouse.

keep-active -a --method key      # no visible mouse movement
keep-active -a --interval 30     # mouse nudge every 30 seconds

Installation

Cargo

cargo install keep-active -F bin

Binaries

Download from https://github.com/omerbustun/keep-active/releases/latest.

Completions

Use: keep-active --completions <SHELL> to generate a completion script, you will have to install it as appropriate for the specific shell you are using.

Notes

Preventing the computer from explicitly sleeping, and/or by closing the lid, is often restricted in various ways by the OS, e.g. Only on AC power, not in any PC running Windows with Modern Standby. Also note that Modern Standby ignores/terminates power requests on DC (Battery) power, PowerSetRequest - Remarks.

License

MIT License.