Display Manager

Keep your computer display awake from Visual Studio Code.

Display Manager adds a simple status bar control that lets you turn keep-awake mode on or off without leaving the editor. When enabled, the extension uses operating system level commands to prevent the display from going idle.

Features

• toggle keep-awake mode from the VS Code status bar
• enable or disable it from the Command Palette
• restore the previous enabled state when VS Code starts
• support desktop VS Code on macOS, Windows, and Linux

How To Use

1. Install the extension.
2. Look for the On or Off indicator in the VS Code status bar.
3. Click the indicator to toggle Display Manager.

You can also run these commands from the Command Palette:

• Display Manager: Toggle Keep Awake
• Display Manager: Enable Keep Awake
• Display Manager: Disable Keep Awake

Status Indicator

• On: keep-awake mode is available to enable
• Off: keep-awake mode is currently active
• Display Unsupported: your current platform is not supported by the extension

Platform Behavior

• macOS: uses caffeinate and a small mouse-jiggle helper
• Windows: uses SetThreadExecutionState and a PowerShell mouse-jiggle helper
• Linux: uses systemd-inhibit

Limitations

• works in desktop Visual Studio Code only
• behavior can still be affected by operating system policies, battery saver modes, or device management settings
• Linux support depends on systemd-inhibit being available on the system

Windows With Zscaler

Display Awake does not make network requests while it is running. If Zscaler or an enterprise proxy prevents installation from the Visual Studio Marketplace, install the packaged .vsix directly:

1. Obtain the .vsix through your organization's approved file-transfer process.
2. In desktop VS Code, run Extensions: Install from VSIX... from the Command Palette.
3. Select the .vsix, then reload VS Code when prompted.

Do not disable certificate validation to install the extension. If the keep-awake process is blocked after installation, ask your administrator to allow the built-in Windows PowerShell executable and review the Display Awake output channel for the blocked command or policy error.

Notes

This extension is designed for legitimate keep-awake use cases such as presentations, dashboards, monitoring, and long-running local work sessions.