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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →On a Mac mini, open Apple menu > System Settings > Energy and turn on Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off. Set the display’s inactive timeout separately in System Settings > Lock Screen. For a single listening session, run caffeinate in Terminal and stop it with Control-C when you are done.
These options keep the Mac from entering idle sleep; they cannot guarantee uninterrupted YouTube playback, a live stream, or a working network connection.
Keep the Mac mini awake with its Energy setting
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings > Energy.
- Turn on Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off.
- To let the screen turn off while the Mac stays awake, open System Settings > Lock Screen and choose the desired display-off timeout separately.
Apple documents this control for desktop Macs, but available options can vary by Mac and macOS version. If the exact switch is not shown, use the sleep controls available for your desktop Mac rather than assuming a setting from another model applies. Apple cautions that “Delaying, preventing, or allowing disruption of sleep may increase power consumption.” Apple’s sleep and wake settings guide and its desktop Energy settings guide describe the controls.
Use Terminal to keep the Mac awake for one session
- Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities, or find it with Spotlight.
- Enter
caffeinateand press Return. Leave that Terminal process running while you listen or watch. - When the session is over, return to the Terminal window and press Control-C.
With no flags, the macOS caffeinate command prevents idle sleep until the command exits. This is useful when you only need the Mac awake temporarily; it does not keep a browser tab, YouTube, Wi-Fi, or a remote stream alive by itself. See the macOS caffeinate manual.
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Choose between a persistent setting and a temporary command
| Approach | Best for | How it ends | Power consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy setting | Repeated or unattended playback when you want the Mac to stay awake with the display off | Turn off Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off in System Settings > Energy | Apple warns that delaying or preventing sleep may increase power consumption |
caffeinate |
One listening or viewing session | Press Control-C in the Terminal process, or otherwise exit that process | It prevents idle sleep only while it is running; power consumption may increase while sleep is prevented |
What these settings can—and cannot—keep running
The settings above prevent or delay the Mac’s idle sleep. They do not ensure that YouTube continues playing indefinitely or that a YouTube live stream remains connected. Playback can still be interrupted by the browser, YouTube, network, router, or another service. Apple’s preventsDisplaySleepDuringVideoPlayback documentation concerns apps using AVPlayer; it does not establish that YouTube in a browser will prevent sleep or play without interruption. Apple’s AVPlayer property documentation is specific to that framework.
If you are monitoring a sleep stream, test the setup with the display off and check that the browser and network behave as you expect. Avoid treating a Mac sleep setting as a stream-uptime guarantee.
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Troubleshoot unexpected sleep or interruptions
- The Mac sleeps after the screen goes dark: Confirm the Energy switch is on. Check the separate display timeout under System Settings > Lock Screen.
- The Mac still sleeps or wakes unexpectedly: Follow Apple’s checks for sleep settings, Sharing services, Activity Monitor background activity, macOS updates, and connected storage or devices. See Apple’s unexpected sleep and wake troubleshooting guide.
- You enabled Wake for network access: This is not a keep-awake switch. Apple describes it as waking a sleeping Mac to provide shared resources.
- The Mac remains awake but playback stops: The sleep setting is doing its job; investigate the browser, YouTube playback or live-stream status, and the network connection separately.
Or let it run in the cloud
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