Schedule Automatic Wake or Sleep with pmset repeat
Make your Mac wake, sleep, or shut down on a fixed daily schedule from the terminal with pmset repeat.
Run sudo pmset repeat wake MTWRFSU 07:00:00 to wake the Mac at 7 AM Monday through Saturday, and sudo pmset repeat cancel to remove the schedule.
01Command
Command
$ sudo pmset repeat wake MTWRFSU 07:00:0002What it does
pmset repeat writes a repeating power event into the Mac's power management scheduler — the same mechanism as the schedule checkbox in Energy Saver settings. The weekday letters stand for Monday through Sunday (M T W R F S U), so MTWRFSU covers every day. On Apple silicon Macs and modern laptops the Mac must be plugged into power (or sleeping, not shut down) for wake events to fire reliably.
03Risk
!Warning: Only one pair of repeating events is allowed, so setting a new repeat schedule replaces the old one; cancel it with sudo pmset repeat cancel before your backup window changes.
04Undo
Undo
$ sudo pmset repeat cancel05Sources
- pmset(1) macOS man pageEvidence: The man page states that 'repeat' is for setting up daily/weekly power on and power off events, with examples like 'pmset repeat shutdown TWRFS 11:00:00'.
- pmset - Power management settingsEvidence: Shows the syntax 'pmset repeat {sleep | wake | poweron | shutdown | wakeorpoweron} weekdays "HH:mm:ss"' and the example 'sudo pmset repeat restart MTWRFSU 00:00:00' plus 'pmset repeat cancel'.
Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: System & Settings