Display Awake for VS Code

Keep your display awake during presentations, monitoring, or long-running work. Turn Awake on from the status bar, or choose a time limit so it stops automatically.

Features

• Start and stop Awake from the status bar or Command Palette.
• Choose a preset time limit, enter a custom duration, or use Unlimited.
• See the remaining time beside the Awake indicator.
• Share the Awake state and time limit across your VS Code windows.
• Continue the remaining countdown after reloading VS Code.
• Move the mouse slightly about every two minutes on macOS and Windows while Awake is on.

Install

Requires desktop Visual Studio Code 1.90 or later on Windows, macOS, or Linux.

1. Open the Command Palette and run Extensions: Install from VSIX....
2. Select display-manager-tigerdev1991-1.0.11.vsix.
3. Reload VS Code if prompted.
4. Look for Awake or Idle and the clock in the status bar.

You can install the VSIX locally if your organization's proxy blocks Marketplace downloads. Use your organization's approved process to transfer the file.

Turn Awake On or Off

Click Idle to turn Awake on. The indicator changes to Awake. Click Awake to stop it at any time.

Awake initially defaults to Unlimited. After you choose a duration, the next start uses that duration again. Changes apply across your open VS Code windows.

On macOS and Windows, turning Awake on also starts small mouse movements about every two minutes. Turning it off or reaching the time limit stops both mouse movement and display protection.

Choose a Time Limit

Click the clock beside Awake, or run Display Manager: Set Awake Duration from the Command Palette. Choose 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, Unlimited, or Custom duration.

Choosing a duration starts Awake immediately. Choosing another duration restarts the countdown from that moment. Cancelling the picker leaves the current session as it is. Unlimited runs until you turn Awake off.

For a custom duration, enter hours and minutes as H.MM:

Always use two digits for minutes, from 00 to 59. You can choose from 0.01 (1 minute) to 24.00 (24 hours). The input starts with 0.30.

The clock shows minutes remaining. When the time runs out, Awake turns off across your VS Code windows. Reloading VS Code preserves the remaining time. If you reopen VS Code after the saved time limit has passed, Awake stays off. If the operating system suspends VS Code, the time limit is checked when it resumes.

To set the duration used for future starts, open VS Code Settings and search for Display Manager: Duration Minutes. 0 means Unlimited. Use the clock control to change a session that is already running.

Command Palette

• Display Manager: Toggle Keep Awake — turn Awake on or off.
• Display Manager: Enable Keep Awake — start Awake with your saved duration.
• Display Manager: Disable Keep Awake — stop Awake.
• Display Manager: Set Awake Duration — choose a duration and start Awake.

Status Bar

• Idle — Awake is off; click to start.
• Awake — Awake is on; click to stop.
• Clock — shows Unlimited, your saved duration, or minutes remaining; click to choose a time limit.
• Display Awake Unsupported — the current platform is unsupported.

If Awake or Mouse Movement Does Not Work

Open View → Output and choose Display Awake to see error details.

• On macOS, mouse movement requires Swift and Accessibility permission.
• On Windows, PowerShell must be available and allowed to run the extension's scripts.
• On Linux, systemd-inhibit must be available.

Operating system policies, battery saver, or device management settings can affect display protection and mouse movement. If your organization blocks them, share the Output details with your IT administrator.