Clamshell
Keeps background work running with a MacBook's lid closed — no admin rights, no monitor.
Clamshell lets a MacBook keep running — agents, builds, SSH sessions — with the lid closed and the screen fully dark, without an external display or admin rights. It works through a lid angle sensor, so it only runs on MacBook Air M2 (2022) or later, or 14/16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) or later, on macOS 14+. It auto-disarms if macOS reports serious thermal pressure, and an optional low-battery cutoff can let the Mac sleep instead of running the battery flat. It's a one-time $9.99 per Mac, with a free 7-day trial.
What holds up
- +No admin rights, kernel extension or sudo needed — it's a plain menu bar app.
- +Auto-disarms under serious thermal pressure, so it won't let the Mac overheat unattended.
- +One-time $9.99 per Mac — no subscription, with a free 7-day trial first.
- +Needs no external display or dock, unlike macOS's own clamshell mode.
Mind the limits
- −Only works on Macs with a lid-angle sensor — MacBook Air M2 2022+ or MacBook Pro 2021+.
- −Requires macOS 14 or later, so older Macs are locked out entirely.
- −Disarms itself under serious thermal pressure, so heavy work could lose lid-closed coverage.
Picked here? Add the badge
Put it on your site. It links back to this page. Free for every listed product.
<a href="https://stillworks.dev/products/p/clamshell/"><img src="https://stillworks.dev/badge/clamshell.svg" alt="Picked by StillWorks" width="230" height="54"></a>