What should happen when I close my MacBook's lid?
On a MacBook, open Behavior → Closed Lid Mode. The initial mode is Automatic. The other choices are Stay awake, Screens off, and Sleep.
In this article
When should I use Automatic?
Choose Automatic when you want macOS to handle lid closing normally. Radar Display does not add a helper sleep veto for this mode.
The app describes normal clamshell use as connected to power with an external display and an external keyboard and mouse or trackpad. Without the normal clamshell conditions, closing the lid normally sleeps the Mac.
Keep Awake's Automatic and Closed Lid Mode's Automatic are separate choices. An active timed session or Always prevents idle sleep, but lid closing still follows Closed Lid Mode. A MacBook must still finish the helper setup to access the main panel even when this mode is selected.
When should I use Stay awake?
Use Stay awake to keep the MacBook working with its lid closed, including on battery power.
- Finish the background helper setup and confirm that it is approved and connected.
- Connect the external display you want to use.
- Have an external keyboard and pointing device ready if you want to interact with the closed MacBook.
- Choose Stay awake in Closed Lid Mode.
- Check the power status before closing the lid.
The helper prevents system sleep while this mode is active, including with the lid open. It is not limited to the moment you close the lid. It does not by itself promise that displays stay lit indefinitely; their idle-sleep behavior also depends on Keep Awake and other system settings.
Use Timed mode with a Battery Cutoff if you want Radar Display's battery guard to suspend the helper at a chosen charge level. Always does not use that cutoff.
When should I use Screens off?
Choose Screens off when you want the MacBook to keep working after lid closing while its physical screens go dark.
- Confirm that the background helper is approved and connected.
- Select Screens off.
- Close the lid. macOS turns off the built-in panel, and Radar Display disconnects the physical external screens that were drawing.
- Open the lid to restore the physical external displays darkened by this policy.
While the lid stays closed, keyboard or mouse activity does not deliberately reconnect those policy-darkened monitors. A newly active physical external display is also subject to the policy.
A monitor you manually switched off before closing the lid remains off when the lid opens. Radar Display restores screens darkened by the policy rather than overriding every saved off request.
Sidecar is exempt: Radar Display does not end the iPad's session or turn off the iPad through this policy. The helper also prevents system sleep with the lid open while Screens off is selected.
When should I use Sleep?
Choose Sleep if you want lid closing to request system sleep regardless of whether the MacBook is on battery or power.
Radar Display darkens the relevant physical external displays and requests sleep when the lid closes. If the Mac wakes with the lid still closed, the app requests sleep again. Open the lid to resume using the Mac and restore policy-darkened screens.
This is a lid policy, not a separate Sleep Now button. Selecting it while the lid is already closed can apply the policy immediately.
How does Closed Lid Mode interact with Keep Awake?
Think of them as two sources of behavior:
| Your choices | Result to expect |
|---|---|
| Keep Awake: Automatic and Closed Lid Mode: Automatic | Radar Display adds no ongoing idle-sleep prevention. macOS handles lid closing. |
| A timed session with Displays: Allow Sleep | Idle system sleep is prevented during the session; displays may sleep. Lid closing still follows Closed Lid Mode. |
| Stay awake or Screens off, with no timed session | The helper can still prevent system sleep, including with the lid open. |
| Keep Awake: Always and Screens off | Keep Awake prevents idle display sleep while open, but closing the lid applies Screens off to physical external displays. |
| Closed Lid Mode: Sleep | Lid closing requests sleep even when a Keep Awake choice was preventing idle sleep. |
| Timed with a triggered Battery Cutoff | The session ends and helper-based sleep prevention is suspended; the selected lid mode remains saved. |
Ending a timed session is therefore not always enough to allow system sleep. Change Closed Lid Mode to Automatic if you want to remove its helper-based prevention too.
What should I do if the helper or display restoration fails?
If the helper is not approved and active, a selected Stay awake or Screens off mode cannot provide its intended sleep veto. Check Welcome & Help…, the approval and connection statuses, and the current power status. Use Check Again or Retry as offered.
If approval is revoked while the panel is open, Radar Display can close that panel and return to setup. A Battery Cutoff pause needs an explicit action once its battery condition permits: Resume clears the pause without a session, or Start Session begins a new one. Re-approving the helper alone does not recreate an ended timed session.
For a dark monitor, open the lid, select the Mac's monitor input, and reopen the panel. Radar Display retries retained restoration work as displays become available. Read any display error. A normal quit also attempts restoration, but a force quit does not run that cleanup.
Disabling the helper resets Stay awake or Screens off to Automatic and attempts to restore policy-darkened monitors before removal. See helper troubleshooting and sleep troubleshooting.