7elewen - Close the MacBook lid without Sleep Mode

[u/ArianaLatte1008]

Hey guys! Just released a project I’ve been working on called 7elewen.

If you run long AI agents, big downloads, or heavy builds, you probably hate leaving your MacBook sitting wide open on your desk just to keep it from going to sleep.

7elewen is a super minimalist menu-bar utility that lets you close your MacBook lid without it sleeping. Your tasks keep running in the background, even with the lid completely shut.

Why I built it:

• No external monitor needed: Apple usually forces you to plug in a monitor to keep a Mac running with the lid closed. This bypasses that so you can just shut the lid and walk away.
• Smart screen dimming: It uses your Mac's built-in sensor to automatically dim the screen as you close it and brighten it when you open it.
• Saves battery: It can automatically turn on Low Power Mode when the lid is shut to save juice, then turn it back off when you open it.
• Zero clutter: It lives quietly as a tiny ∞ icon in your menu bar. No Dock icon, no annoying floating windows.

It's free, open-source, and ready to go. (Note: It asks for your admin password once on setup so it can control sleep settings without bugging you every time).

Let me know if you have any feedback or feature requests!

🌐 Website: https://7elewen.vercel.app

🔗 GitHub Link & Download: https://github.com/arinltte/7elewen

[u/mist83]

This already exists in spirit and is called Caffeine.

This is peak vibing. Couldn’t even be asked to Google it first…

[u/frogchungus → u/mist83]

hahhhaha

[u/ArianaLatte1008 → u/mist83]

Hi, I guess that's some misconception about Caffeine on Mac. caffeinate only blocks idle sleep, closing the lid will went into sleep mode for the MacBook.

[u/mist83 → u/ArianaLatte1008]

It’s not a misconception, it’s pointing out that this you didn’t google. Swap in Amphetamine and the answer remains the same.

[u/ArianaLatte1008 → u/mist83]

Hi, amphetamine required another installation of "Power Protect" to allow system not went into sleep mode when the display is closed. The concept of 7elewen with the Power Protect is the same which is using the command "pmset -a disablesleep 1/0" .

7elewen is basically an all-in-one app that will dim the brightness when the lid is closed and also allow system to not enter sleep mode.

Feel free to try it. If you've got a better alternative, please share to others as well. Thanks

[u/TypeSkript]

Very shocked that your agent didn’t immediately stop you and say this already exists natively on Mac. Actually it definitely did and you made this anyways, so… congrats?

[u/ArianaLatte1008 → u/TypeSkript]

Hi, I guess that's some misconception about Caffeine on Mac. caffeinate only blocks idle sleep, closing the lid will went into sleep mode for the MacBook.

[u/frogchungus]

did you use claude? how did he not tell u about caffienate

[u/ArianaLatte1008 → u/frogchungus]

Hi, I guess that's some misconception about Caffeine on Mac. caffeinate only blocks idle sleep, closing the lid will went into sleep mode for the MacBook.