← Back to AwakeFlow DOCUMENTATION · VERSION 1.5.0

Paste the command. Walk away.

Connect Cursor, Claude Code or Codex to AwakeFlow on this Mac. Turn a sentence or a render command into a flow, wait until the work is really done, and keep the room quiet while it runs.

Version 1.5.0

GitHub Actions show on the Mac. Open Pipelines to connect a read-only token and pick repositories. A render AwakeFlow starts uses at most 90% of the CPU by default. AwakeFlow Pro is $4.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. This guide still covers Quiet Mode, schedules, and render progress from 1.4.2. Update to the current release if a step does not match what you see.

From a render command to a finished night

This is the path most people want: you already have the command. You want the Mac to stay with it, stay reasonably quiet, and sleep when the last frame is in.

Use a Render step, not Run Command. A Render step can count frames, estimate remaining time, pause and resume, and honor Quiet Mode. Run Command will execute a shell line, but it will not show render progress or pause fans for you.

SITUATION

You have a Blender command. You want to leave.

You would normally paste this into Terminal and babysit it:

blender -b ~/Films/hero.blend -o /Volumes/Renders/hero/frame_#### -F PNG -a

Instead, with AwakeFlow connected, paste this into Cursor, Claude Code or Codex:

Turn this into an AwakeFlow. Watch the Blender render until it finishes, keep the fans from getting too loud, then put the Mac to sleep. I will pick the .blend file and the output folder in AwakeFlow. Extra flags: -F PNG

The agent should save a Blender Render flow, optionally start it, and tell you to attach the project in the app. That last part matters: AwakeFlow still needs the .blend and the folder where frames land.

Finish the flow in AwakeFlow

  1. Open the new flow.
  2. Choose Blender as the render app.
  3. App Store: the first time, open Settings → Rendering and choose Set Up Render Start. If the starter is from another version, choose Update Render Starter. Then choose Start a render and pick hero.blend, or leave it on watch-only and start Blender yourself. Without that starter, AwakeFlow can only watch a render you start. Point Render folder at where frames are written.
  4. Direct: choose Start a render, pick hero.blend, set the render folder to /Volumes/Renders/hero, and paste leftover flags such as -F PNG into Arguments.
  5. Under When finished, turn on Sleep Mac, Notify me, or both. With both off, the Mac goes back to its usual sleep settings. Lock and Shut Down are Direct.
  6. Open the Silent mode tab and turn on Pause if fans get too loud.
  7. Start the flow. Close the lid if you want. Walk away.

When the last frame is written, the flow ends and AwakeFlow requests sleep. If Quiet Mode paused the job because the fans got loud, it resumes when they settle. The night takes longer. The room stays quieter.

WHAT THE AGENT CALLS

create_flow, in one step

You never have to write this yourself. It is what Cursor or Claude sends after you describe the night:

{
  "prompt": "Watch my Blender render until it finishes, then sleep.",
  "start": false
}

Use "start": true only after the project file and output folder are already set. Otherwise save first, attach the files, then ask the agent to start the flow by name.

SITUATION

The render is already going in Blender’s UI

You hit Render in Blender, After Effects or Cinema 4D, then remember you wanted to leave.

Watch the Blender render in ~/Films/output until the frames stop, then notify me and sleep.

Choose Watch a render, or point the render folder at where frames are written. AwakeFlow counts new frames and finishes when the sequence is done, or when no new frame appears for your stall time. Quiet Mode will not pause a render the other app launched itself. For a quiet overnight job, let AwakeFlow start the render.

SITUATION

After Effects, Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D, Compressor

Same idea. Name the app so AwakeFlow picks the right Render step:

Start my Cinema 4D render, wait until it finishes, then sleep.
Watch After Effects until the export is done, then notify me.
Keep the Mac awake for a Houdini render, then lock when the frames are in.

Direct can launch every supported app from a project file. The App Store edition starts Blender, Cinema 4D and Compressor, and watches the rest. Compressor also needs an export preset. Extra CLI flags belong in Arguments. Lock and Shut Down are Direct.

Do not ask the agent to “run blender -b …” unless you really want a shell command.

A prompt that starts with “run” becomes Run Command in Direct. That executes the line, then finishes. You lose the frame counter, pause, resume, and Quiet Mode. Prefer “watch my Blender render” or “start my Blender render.”

Silent rendering

Quiet Mode does not slow the fans down. It pauses a render AwakeFlow started when the fans reach your threshold, then resumes when they drop. You set the level in Settings → Rendering, or on the flow’s Silent mode tab. Since version 1.4.2 this is in the App Store edition.

  • It uses a fan reading when macOS allows one. Otherwise it estimates the level from the chip temperature. If neither is available, Quiet Mode cannot act.
  • It only pauses renders AwakeFlow launched. A render you started in the DCC stays at that app’s mercy.
  • Pausing makes the job take longer. That is the trade.
  • It does not override macOS thermal policy. For critical deadlines, leave the lid open.

Pair it with closed-lid keep-awake when you want the machine in a bag or on a shelf. Closed-lid is still a request to macOS, not a guarantee.

Schedules

Choose Schedule on the Home toolbar, pick a saved flow and a time, then choose Once, Daily, Weekdays or specific days. Since version 1.4.2 you can turn on Start now and keep the Mac awake until then. The Mac stays awake from that moment until the flow starts. On Home, Turn off the display until it starts leaves the screen dark while you wait. The disk stays on, and Home counts down to the start.

Closing the window is fine. Quitting AwakeFlow cancels upcoming runs until you open it again. On Macs where macOS allows it, Wake Mac to run is under Advanced options. A shut-down Mac cannot start a schedule. If the Mac was asleep at the scheduled time and wake was not available, the run is skipped, or starts after the next wake if you allowed a grace period.