You don't need a mouse jiggler.
You need your Mac to stay awake.
A mouse jiggler wiggles the cursor so the computer thinks you're there. That's the right tool for exactly one job: keeping a chat status green. If what you want is for your Mac to stay awake through a download, a render, a build, or an overnight agent run, a jiggler is the wrong tool, and a keep-awake app is the right one.
The short version
Jigglers fake input. Midnight Oil asks macOS for a power assertion, the same thing Xcode does: no moving cursor, no Accessibility permission, nothing on a compliance report, and it works with the lid closed, which no jiggler can.
Two different problems
“Mouse jiggler” is one of the most-searched Mac utilities there is, and most of the people searching don't actually want a jiggler. They have one of two problems that look alike from the outside.
Problem one: your status goes yellow
Slack and Teams mark you away after a few minutes without input. A jiggler fixes that by pretending you're typing. If this is your problem, a keep-awake app won't help; it doesn't send input. You'll want to think about whether faking presence is worth the risk (see below), but that's a different page.
Problem two: your Mac goes to sleep
The download stalls, the SSH session drops, the render stops, the agent freezes mid-task. A jiggler sort of fixes this, by resetting the idle timer every thirty seconds with a fake mouse event. A keep-awake app fixes it properly, by telling macOS not to sleep. That's what Midnight Oil does.
Why a jiggler is the wrong fix for sleep
It can't survive a closed lid
Close the MacBook and it sleeps, “jiggler or not, unless it's plugged into power and an external display.” Some Mac jiggler apps say so in their own descriptions. Midnight Oil's closed-lid mode keeps the laptop working in a bag.
It's detectable, and it looks like what it is
A USB jiggler works by telling the computer it's a mouse, and that's also how it's found. A software jiggler needs Accessibility access, which management tools can list. The movement arrives every 30 or 60 seconds on the dot. Endpoint tools flag all of this, and in 2024 Wells Fargo dismissed more than a dozen employees over “simulation of keyboard activity.” A keep-awake app holds an ordinary power assertion. There's nothing to detect because there's nothing being faked.
It interferes with the work
A cursor that moves on its own can steal focus or misclick during exactly the unattended run you set it up for.
Corporate Macs block it anyway
Management profiles can lock energy settings, block apps from outside the App Store, and pre-empty the Accessibility list. A jiggler needs one of those; Midnight Oil's basic sessions need none.
Midnight Oil vs a mouse jiggler
| Midnight Oil | Mouse jiggler | |
|---|---|---|
| Keeps the Mac awake | Yes, via a power assertion | Indirectly, by faking input |
| Keeps Slack or Teams green | No, by design | Yes |
| Works with the lid closed | Yes | No |
| Moves your cursor | Never | Every 30–60 seconds |
| Needs Accessibility permission | No | Software jigglers: yes |
| Visible to device management | A normal power assertion | Extra mouse device or Accessibility grant |
| Timed and until-a-time sessions | Yes | Rarely |
| Ends when an app quits | Yes | No |
| Weekly schedules, like work hours | Yes | Rarely |
| Battery safety | Yes | No |
| Price | Free, source on GitHub | Free to $25 |
When a jiggler is the right tool
When the only thing you need is a green status dot and you've made peace with the risk. Stick Software's Jiggler is free, open source, and has been around for years.
When Midnight Oil is
When the Mac itself needs to stay up: downloads, builds, renders, presentations, and especially AI agents working while you're away.
If sleep was your real problem
- Install Midnight Oil.
brew install --cask coreyhaines31/tap/midnightoil, or the DMG from GitHub. - Click the flame and pick how long. Indefinitely, 8 hours, until 7 AM, or while Terminal is running.
- Closing the laptop? Check “Stay awake with lid closed.”
- Unplug the jiggler. Or quit it. Your cursor will stay where you left it.
Other ways people keep a Mac awake
Keep it awake, honestly.
Free. No account, no subscription.
macOS 14 or later · Apple Silicon and Intel · brew install --cask coreyhaines31/tap/midnightoil