How do I keep my Mac awake for a task and use a battery cutoff?

Which Keep Awake mode should I choose?

Use Timed for a task with an end time, such as a two-hour transfer. Use Always when you want continued idle-sleep prevention and will change the mode yourself later.

These controls do not guarantee that a task survives a shutdown, battery exhaustion, or an explicit sleep request. Closing a MacBook lid follows its separate Closed Lid Mode.

How do I start a timed session?

1. Open the panel and find Behavior → Keep Awake.
2. Choose Timed.
3. In Duration, choose 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, Custom duration…, or Until….
4. In Displays, choose Keep Awake or Allow Sleep.
5. On a MacBook, choose Battery Cutoff if you want a battery limit.
6. Click Start Session.

The editor initially offers 1 hour when no session is running. The initial Displays choice is Keep Awake; your choice is saved for later sessions. The button becomes End Session when the session starts, and a remaining-time readout appears. It uses hours:minutes:seconds for an hour or more and minutes:seconds for a shorter remainder.

If the start fails, read the displayed message. A selected mode or duration alone is not proof that the Mac is being kept awake. Check the menu-bar status described below.

How do I set a custom duration or a specific end time?

For a duration, choose Custom duration… and enter Minutes. Valid durations are from 1 minute to 7 days, or 10,080 minutes. The custom field initially contains 60 minutes. Press Return or leave the field to apply an edit to a running session; otherwise click Start Session after choosing it.

For a deadline, choose Until…. Set Day and End Time, including the hour, minute, and AM/PM. Day choices include Today, Tomorrow, and upcoming weekdays. The end time must be in the future and no more than seven days away. A visible future day does not make a time beyond that limit valid.

The app reports Choose a duration between 1 minute and 7 days. or Choose an end time in the next 7 days. for invalid input. An invalid edit does not replace the running session.

Example: choose Until…, Today, and 10:30 PM for a task that should stop keeping the Mac awake at that time. The deadline uses the Mac's local calendar and time settings.

Can the Mac keep working while its screens sleep?

Yes. In a timed session, choose Displays → Allow Sleep. Radar Display prevents idle system sleep while allowing the screens to follow their normal sleep schedule. Keep Awake prevents idle display sleep as well.

You can change Displays during a running session; it takes effect immediately. The choice is retained for later timed sessions. Always always requests display wakefulness, regardless of this saved choice.

Allow Sleep does not disconnect a monitor or choose an input. For a monitor handoff, use the display connection switch. For lid-close behavior, use Closed Lid Mode.

How do I change, end or resume a session?

While a session runs, changing its Duration choice or valid end time updates the session immediately. A preset duration is counted from the time you choose it, rather than added to the old deadline. For example, choosing 1 hour during an existing session gives it a new end time one hour from now.

When you reopen the editor during a session, it shows Until… and the current deadline. This lets you inspect or adjust the actual end time rather than silently resetting the duration.

Click End Session to stop the timed session. Expiry also ends it. In both cases, Keep Awake stays in Timed with no session running. Selecting Automatic or Always ends the timed session if the requested sleep-control change succeeds.

Closing the panel does not stop the session. A normal app quit releases Radar Display's sleep prevention. The saved session can resume after relaunch if its original deadline is still in the future. Relaunching does not grant a fresh full duration; an expired session is not restarted.

Ending a session releases that session's Keep Awake request. Stay awake or Screens off under Closed Lid Mode can still prevent system sleep, including while the lid is open.

How does Battery Cutoff work?

On a MacBook in Timed mode, use Battery Cutoff to choose Off or a percentage. It starts off; the underlying initial threshold is 20% if a limit is enabled. The menu normally offers 5% through 100% in 5-point steps and can retain an already saved intermediate percentage. A cutoff change takes effect immediately, including during a running session.

When the Mac is running on battery at or below the selected cutoff, Radar Display ends the timed session and suspends its sleep prevention, including the helper used by Stay awake or Screens off. It keeps your selected lid mode saved. It does not force the Mac to sleep or stop the task; normal sleep rules and other apps still matter.

For example, with a 20% cutoff, reaching 20% while on battery ends the session and shows Paused: battery cutoff once Radar Display's sleep prevention has stopped.

The cutoff uses the Mac's internal battery, not an iPad, accessory battery, or external UPS. It only applies in Timed mode. Always does not use it. If battery status is temporarily unknown while a cutoff is enabled, the app can wait for a valid reading before starting sleep prevention.

How do I resume after a battery cutoff?

1. Connect the Mac to power, charge above the cutoff, lower the cutoff below the current charge, or set the cutoff to Off.
2. Open Radar Display and click Resume when it is available to clear the pause without starting a session.
3. If you want a timed session, choose the duration or end time and click Start Session. Once the battery condition is safe, Start Session can also start a new session and clear the pause directly, without a separate Resume click.

Connecting power alone does not resume. Raising the charge or changing the cutoff alone does not clear the paused state. Resume clears the battery pause and can reactivate the saved helper-based lid mode, but it does not recreate the session that the cutoff ended.

Switching Keep Awake to Automatic or Always also clears the battery pause after a successful change. The saved cutoff remains inactive outside Timed. Choosing Always therefore continues without that battery limit.

If Resume or Start Session is disabled, read the status detail. The battery can still be at or below the cutoff, or its reading may still be unavailable.

How can I tell whether Radar Display is keeping the Mac awake?

The menu bar icon gains a small activity dot while Radar Display reports an active sleep-prevention request. Its tooltip and accessibility text begin Radar Display — and include the current power status. The dot is not a session countdown and is not a battery indicator.

Useful status text includes:

Use Retry Sleep Controls when it appears after a sleep-control failure. See sleep and battery problems for checks based on the actual status.