Name
pmset
Synopsis
pmset [-a | -b | -c] action(s)
Modifies the system’s power management settings.
pmset
is a command-line alternative to the Energy
Saver System Preferences (Chapter 4). The
settings apply system-wide and across reboots. Therefore,
pmset
requires root privileges to run.
Options
-
-a
Use the settings that follow this flag when only the battery is in use and also when the power adapter is plugged in (the default).
-
-b
Use the settings that follow this flag when only the battery is in use.
-
-c
Use the settings that follow this flag only when the power adapter is plugged in.
Actions
-
dim
n
Dim the display after
n
minutes of idle time.-
sleep
n
Put the computer to sleep after
n
minutes of idle time.-
slower 1
|0
Set the processor performance setting to “reduced” (
1
) or “highest” (0
).-
spindown
n
Spin down the hard drive after
n
minutes of idle time.-
womp 1
|0
Set the wake on magic packet (“wake for network administrator access”) setting to on (
1
) or off (0
).
Examples
Set the system to dim the display after 3 minutes and go to sleep after 10 minutes when using the battery:
$ pmset -b dim 3 sleep 10
Set both the battery-only and power adapter settings at once:
$pmset -b dim 3 sleep 10 slower 1 -c dim 20
sleep 60 slower 0
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