Keep-awake tools

Orson and Caffeine.

Caffeine is a quick way to keep your Mac awake. Orson is being built around a scheduled workday and a private time record. The right choice depends on which job you need done.

Orson's timeline and reports are in development. Its signed download and checkout are not available yet.

Why people use Caffeine

The maintained Caffeine app puts a coffee-cup switch in the menu bar. You can toggle wakefulness or set a timeout. Its official site explains the simple controls.

Caffeine's support page also makes an important distinction: keeping a Mac awake may affect messaging-app status, but it cannot promise that any particular app will show Available.

What Orson adds to a workday

Orson already schedules local activity, keeps the display awake during selected hours, and opens the work apps you chose. These are visible controls, not evidence that work was done.

The launch plan adds an opt-in local app/idle timeline, manual project timers, and editable client reports. Screenshots and on-device text recognition will require separate consent.

Which one fits?

Choose Caffeine if you need a simple wake switch now. It does that job without asking you to adopt a workday system.

Keep an eye on Orson if you also want scheduled app setup and a reviewed record of client time when the launch version is ready.

Sources checked September 23, 2026: Caffeine product site and Caffeine support. Vendor descriptions are not hands-on tests. Orson is not affiliated with Caffeine.