Keep your Mac awake. One click from the menu bar.
Barista is a tiny, native macOS menu bar app that prevents your Mac from sleeping — a free, modern replacement for Caffeine, Amphetamine and KeepingYouAwake. One click to caffeinate, pick a duration (15m, 30m, 1h, 4h, 8h, 12h, or indefinite), and your Mac stays awake until you say otherwise. Built with stx + Craft so it stays out of the way: 1.4MB binary, under 100ms startup, no Electron.
As a bonus, Barista also tidies up your menu bar.
| Barista | Caffeine.app | Amphetamine | KeepingYouAwake | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, MIT | Paid | Free (Mac App Store) | Free, MIT |
| Binary size | ~1.4 MB | ~3 MB | ~15 MB | ~5 MB |
| Cold start | <100 ms | ~150 ms | ~300 ms | ~150 ms |
| Runtime | Native (Zig) | Native | Native | Native |
| Bonus: menu bar tidying | Yes | No | No | No |
| Source | Open | Closed | Closed | Open |
- Caffeinate, primarily — Prevent system sleep, display sleep and idle sleep with customizable durations (15m, 30m, 1h, 4h, 8h, 12h, indefinite). One click from the menu bar to toggle, with a live countdown in the tray.
- Caffeinate on startup — Optional: start the app already caffeinated, so your Mac is awake the moment you log in.
- Global hotkey — Toggle caffeinate (or the menu bar) without reaching for the mouse.
- Menu bar management (bonus) — Collapse and organize menu bar items, with optional auto-collapse and an always-hidden section.
- Launch at login — Start Barista when you log in.
- Native performance — Built with Craft's native webview (1.4MB binary, <100ms startup, no Electron).
- Beautiful UI — Dark-themed popup window with intuitive controls.
bun install
bun run dev# Run the app in development mode
bun run dev
# Lint
bun run lint
bun run lint:fix
# Build for production
bun run buildBarista is built as a native macOS menubar app using:
- stx — Template engine for the UI (
.stxfiles) - Craft — Native webview framework (Zig-powered, Electron alternative)
- @stacksjs/desktop — Desktop APIs (power management, preferences, system tray)
app.ts Entry point: starts server + Craft window
src/barista.stx UI template (popup window)
src/server.ts Local HTTP server (API + template rendering)
src/caffeinate.ts Caffeinate process management
src/menu.ts System tray menu builder
src/preferences.ts App preferences (JSON storage)
We welcome contributions! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
- Hidden Bar for being the initial code inspiration
- Bartender
- Chris Breuer
- All Contributors
We would like to extend our thanks to the following sponsors for funding Stacks development. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please reach out to us.
The MIT License (MIT). Please see LICENSE for more information.
Made with 💙