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When App Nap was added to macOS in 2013, it didn’t make the news. So you shouldn’t feel bad if, after three years, you still don’t know How to Turn off App Nap. App Nap “sleeps” programmes you aren’t using or looking at right now, preventing them from using system resources, especially the CPU, until you pay attention to them again.
If you have 20 windows open, only the ones you are using should use system resources and battery life. Saving energy can add up. App Nap is not the same as Power Nap, which has a similar name and lets your Mac do things like download updates or make backups while it is sleeping. The two things don’t go together.
Steps to Disable App Nap in Mac
Turning this off may impact every task, process, or application that runs in the background of Mac:
- Open the Terminal app, found in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder
- Copy and paste the following defaults string into the terminal, then hit the return key:
- defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAppSleepDisabled -bool YES
- Close out of Terminal and relaunch apps and/or processes for the change to carry through
There is no confirmation, as there is with other default command strings. All running apps must be relaunched for changes to take effect. You can do this yourself by closing and reopening apps, or you can use our DIY Quit All Apps tool, which was made with Automator to make this process go quickly. Restarting the Mac will also work, so if you need to update the system or restart it anyway, this could be a good time.
What Is Power Nap in macOS?
Power Nap is a feature that lets your Mac automatically wake up from sleep every so often to run some administrative tasks in the background. This feature is only available on Macs that have SSD flash storage instead of regular hard drives.
- Check for new emails
- Update events in your calendar
- Update iCloud events
But when it’s plugged into a power source, your device can also start Time Machine to do regular backups, index files in Spotlight, update Help Center content, and download software updates. Most of these things happen on your Mac every hour, but it only tries to update macOS once a day and Mac App Store apps once a week.
FAQ
What does app Nap mean on Mac?
Power Nap is a feature in macOS that some apps can use to save battery life. To turn on Power Nap (App Nap), go to Settings > Energy Saver and select Enable Power Nap under the right tab (Battery or Power Adapter).
Should I turn off Power Nap on Mac?
Information. Power Nap MUST be disabled. With Power Nap, your Mac can do things while it is sleeping. This can mess with USB power and stop devices from working until a reboot, so it needs to be turned off on all systems that need it.
Should I always quit apps on Mac?
If you only use an app once in a while, you may want to close it when you’re done, especially if it uses a lot of power. Choose App Name > Quit App from the menu bar to close an app.
What is the difference between quit and close in Mac?
driver. quit(): The quit() method stops the driver and closes all of the windows it is connected to. driver. close(): The close() method closes the window that is currently in focus and stops the driver if that is the only window that is open.