vigil

A Windows command-line tool that prevents your computer from going to sleep or turning off the display. Perfect for long-running tasks, presentations, or keeping your system active.

What does vigil do?

vigil temporarily overrides Windows power management settings to keep your computer awake. It offers three ways to prevent sleep:

vigil start — Start sleep prevention that runs until you manually stop it
vigil end — Stop a running vigil session
vigil stand — Prevent sleep while running a specific command

Installation

Build from source using Swift Package Manager:

swift build --configuration release

The executable will be available at .build/release/vigil.exe.

Basic Usage

Keep system awake indefinitely

# Prevent computer from sleeping due to inactivity
vigil start --idle

# Also keep the display on
vigil start --idle --display

# Stop when done
vigil end

Keep system awake for a specific duration

# Prevent sleep for 2 hours (7200 seconds)
vigil start --idle --timeout 7200

Prevent sleep while running a command

# Keep system awake while running a backup
vigil stand --idle -- robocopy C:\Important D:\Backup /MIR

# Keep display on during a video conversion
vigil stand --display -- ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.mkv

Command Options

Sleep Prevention Modes

--idle / -i — Prevent the computer from sleeping due to inactivity
--display / -d — Prevent the display from turning off
--system / -s — Prevent sleep only when running on AC power (not battery)

Additional Options

--timeout <seconds> / -t — Automatically stop after specified seconds (only with start)

Common Scenarios

Long download or upload:

vigil start --idle
# Run your download/upload
vigil end

Presentation or demo:

vigil start --display --idle
# Give your presentation
vigil end

Overnight batch job:

vigil stand --idle -- python my_long_script.py

Video call or streaming:

vigil start --display --system  # Only when plugged in

How It Works

vigil uses Windows power management APIs to temporarily change execution state:

Requests that Windows keep the system and/or display active
Automatically restores normal power settings when stopped
Uses named events for communication between start and end commands

Troubleshooting

vigil end doesn't work:

Make sure you're running as the same user who ran vigil start
Only one vigil start session can run at a time

Computer still goes to sleep:

Check if other power policies (group policy, manufacturer tools) are overriding settings
Try combining --idle and --display flags
Verify you're using the correct flags for your scenario

--system flag has no effect:

This flag only prevents sleep when on AC power
Check your power status in Windows settings

compnerd/vigil