Keep Your PC Awake Without Doing Anything with Caffeine

By Sia. in Desktop. Updated on December 8, 2017.

Let your PC idle for long enough and you’ll eventually see it enter either Sleep Mode or Hibernate Mode in order to conserve energy. While the mode themselves are pretty useful, there are times where you need the PC to run normally while you’re away.

For those who require their PC to operate as per normal while they’re away for extended periods of time, there’s an app called Caffeine that can help you do just that. Developed by Zhorn Software, Caffeine is a tiny little tool that simulates a keypress once every 59 seconds. By default, the software toggles the F15 key every minute.

While the choice of using an F15 key may seem odd considering the fact that the modern day keyboard doesn’t contain said key, the use of the F15 key was a conscious decision made by the developer as it is least likely to interfere with work.

Once you launch Caffeine, putting it in "Active" mode will have the app simulate the keypress. Double-clicking the Caffeine logo on the task tray will toggle it between "Active" and "Inactive". In addition to manually toggling Caffeine on and off, the tool also comes with a timer that lets you set the active or inactive period.

For those who need finer control over the tool, Caffeine also comes with a series of command lines that you can use to alter the way it works.

So why should you use Caffeine instead of just changing your computer’s settings to disable Sleep Mode or Hibernation Mode? Well, with this tool, you can easily enable or disable your computer’s power saving mode without needing to access the OS’s settings page.

For those who only need their computers operating at normal capacity occasionally, Caffeine is a far more convenient option.