PMSET(1)

NAME
pmset - modify power management settings

SYNOPSIS
pmset [-a | -b | -c | -u] [dim minutes] [spindown minutes] [sleep minutes] [womp 1/0] [ring 1/0] [autorestart 1/0] [dps 1/0] [reduce 1/0] [powerbutton 1/0] [lidwake 1/0] [acwake 1/0] [ams 1/0] [boot]
pmset -u [haltlevel percent] [haltafter minutes] [haltremain minutes]
pmset -g [disk | live | cap | sched | ups]

DESCRIPTION
pmset changes and reads power management settings such as idle sleep timing, wake on administrative access, automatic restart on power loss, etc.

SETTING
The -a, -b, -c, -u flags determine whether the settings apply to battery (-b), charger (wall power) (-c), UPS (-u) or all (-a).

Use a minutes argument of 0 to set the idle time to never.

pmset must be run as root.

The boot argument tells power management that system bootup is complete. Loginwindow handles this on a normal Mac OS X system.

GETTING
The -g flag outputs the settings currently in use (same as -g live ). -g disk will tell you the settings on disk. -g cap will tell you which power management features the machine supports. -g sched will show scheduled startup/wake and shutdown/sleep events. -g ups will show you all UPS-specific settings.

ARGUMENTS
dim - display dim timer (value in minutes)
spindown - disk spindown timer (value in minutes)
sleep - system sleep timer (value in minutes)
womp - wake on ethernet magic packet (value = 0/1)
ring - wake on modem ring (value = 0/1)
autorestart - automatic restart on power loss (value = 0/1)
dps - dynamically change processor speed based on load (value = 0/1)
reduce - reduce processor speed (value = 0/1)
powerbutton - sleep the machine when power button is pressed (value = 0/1)
lidwake - wake the machine when the laptop lid(or clamshell) is opened (value = 0/1)
acwake - wake the machine when power source (AC/battery) is changed (value = 0/1)
ams - use AppleMotionSensor to park disk heads on sudden changes in G force (value = 0/1)

UPS SPECIFIC ARGUMENTS
UPS-specific arguments are only valid following the -u option. UPS settings also have an on/off value. Use a -1 argument instead of percent or minutes to turn any of these settings off. If multiple halt conditions are specified, the system will halt on the first condition that occurs in a low power situation.

haltlevel - when draining UPS battery, battery level at which to trigger an emergency shutdown (value in %)
haltafter - when draining UPS battery, trigger emergency shutdown after this long running on UPS power (value in minutes)
haltremain - when draining UPS battery, trigger emergency shutdown when this much time remaining on UPS power is estimated (value in minutes)

OTHER ARGUMENTS
These arguments don't directly affect power management settings:
boot - tell the kernel that system boot is complete

EXAMPLES
pmset -b dim 5

pmset -a dim 10 spindown 10 sleep 30 womp 1

pmset -u haltlevel 40

pmset -g live

FILES
All changes made through pmset are saved in a persistent preferences file (per-system, not per-user) at /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist

Scheduled power on/off events are stored separately in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.AutoWake.plist

pmset modifies the same file that System Preferences Energy Saver modifies.