pmset — Manage Your Mac's Power Settings

pmset controls your Mac's power settings from the command line – from system sleep and display sleep through scheduled wake events to different behavior on battery versus the charger. Use pmset -g to check the current state at any time, and pmset -a to set values for all power sources at once. This guide walks you through the commands you reach for most: querying status, setting sleep times, scheduling wake events and configuring hibernate mode.

Status & Info

pmset -g — Show current power management settings.

pmset -g

pmset -g batt — Show battery status and percentage.

pmset -g batt

pmset -g assertions — Show active power assertions (what's preventing sleep).

pmset -g assertions

pmset -g log | tail -20 — Show recent power management events.

pmset -g log | tail -20

pmset -g sched — Show scheduled wake/sleep events.

pmset -g sched

pmset -g caps — Show power management capabilities.

pmset -g caps

Sleep Settings

pmset -a sleep <minutes> — Set system sleep time (0 to disable). -a = all power sources.

sudo pmset -a sleep 30

pmset -a displaysleep <minutes> — Set display sleep time.

sudo pmset -a displaysleep 10

pmset -a disksleep <minutes> — Set disk sleep time.

sudo pmset -a disksleep 15

pmset -b sleep <minutes> — Set sleep time on battery only.

sudo pmset -b sleep 5

pmset -c sleep <minutes> — Set sleep time on charger only.

sudo pmset -c sleep 0

pmset sleepnow — Put the system to sleep immediately.

pmset sleepnow

Wake & Schedule

pmset -a womp 1 — Enable Wake on LAN (Magic Packet).

sudo pmset -a womp 1

pmset -a powernap 1 — Enable Power Nap (background tasks during sleep).

sudo pmset -a powernap 1

pmset schedule wake '<date>' — Schedule a wake event.

sudo pmset schedule wake '03/20/2026 08:00:00'

pmset schedule sleep '<date>' — Schedule a sleep event.

sudo pmset schedule sleep '03/20/2026 23:00:00'

pmset repeat wake MTWRF <time> — Set a repeating wake schedule (weekdays).

sudo pmset repeat wake MTWRF 08:00:00

pmset repeat cancel — Cancel all repeating scheduled events.

sudo pmset repeat cancel

Hibernate & Standby

pmset -g | grep hibernatemode — Show current hibernate mode.

pmset -g | grep hibernatemode

pmset -a hibernatemode 0 — Disable hibernate (RAM only, faster wake).

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0

pmset -a hibernatemode 3 — Default mode: copy RAM to disk + keep RAM powered.

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3

pmset -a hibernatemode 25 — Full hibernate: save RAM to disk, power off RAM (like a PC).

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 25

pmset -a standbydelay <seconds> — Set delay before entering standby mode from sleep.

sudo pmset -a standbydelay 86400

Common Patterns

pmset -a lidwake 1 — Enable wake when opening the lid.

sudo pmset -a lidwake 1

pmset -a acwake 0 — Disable wake when plugging in the charger.

sudo pmset -a acwake 0

pmset -a proximitywake 0 — Disable wake when iPhone/Apple Watch is nearby.

sudo pmset -a proximitywake 0

pmset restoredefaults — Reset all power management settings to defaults.

sudo pmset restoredefaults

Conclusion

pmset is the central tool for tuning your Mac's power behavior to match how you work – whether you keep the display on longer, run more frugally on battery or wake the machine at fixed times. Querying with pmset -g needs no privileges, but every change requires sudo. Values such as disablesleep, hibernatemode and standby reach deep into system-wide behavior and can affect battery life and stability – so back up the current values with pmset -g before you change anything.