How to Stop Your Mac from Going to Sleep Without Changing Settings

If you are downloading a large file or rendering a video, your Mac going to sleep will interrupt the process. While you could change your system settings, there is a built-in terminal command that prevents sleep temporarily.

Using the Caffeinate Command

1. Open the Terminal app on your Mac.
2. Type the word caffeinate and press Enter.
3. Your Mac will now stay awake indefinitely as long as the terminal window remains open.
4. To stop it and allow your Mac to sleep normally, press Ctrl + C in the terminal window.