Adrafinil vs Lidnight
Both keep a Mac awake only while AI coding agents work. The difference is a free open-source tool versus an app that also handles your phone and a recap.
In one line
Adrafinil is free and open source (MIT). It knows when work runs through hooks for 10 agents and blocks lid-close sleep with a privileged helper. It needs macOS 26.4 or later (a macOS 15 backport is linked). If that's all you need, it's a good choice.
Lidnight does the same (macOS 13 or later) and adds answering Claude Code and Codex permission prompts (and Claude's questions) from your phone, plus a recap when you open the lid: each task's result, what's waiting for your reply, errors and tokens.
Compared
| Adrafinil | Lidnight | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (MIT) | Free (lid open) · Pro one-time, free trial |
| Detection | Hooks for 10 agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI…), optional process detection | Hooks (Claude Code, Codex) + ~40 more by process |
| Lid closed | Privileged helper (admin approval) | Helper (admin password once) |
| Protection | Thermal cutout, releases abandoned holds | Battery floor and heat protection, restored at boot |
| On lid open | Activity and temperature summary | Per-task results, waiting for you, errors, tokens |
| Phone | Not mentioned on its page | Approvals, answering questions, status page (encrypted) |
| macOS | 26.4 or later (macOS 15 backport) | 13 or later, Apple Silicon |
Checked 2026-10-26 against the Adrafinil GitHub README (kageroumado/adrafinil).
Try Lidnight free
Apple Silicon Macs · macOS 13 or later. Every download includes a free trial of everything in Pro (5 lid-closed runs or 14 days), no payment details needed. Pro is a one-time payment (1 Mac $9.99 · 3 Macs $14.99) with a 14-day refund.