AfterLidThe work was still running
A download, a render, a local development server. Different jobs, but the same awkward moment: you want to step away while the computer still has something to do. AfterLid grew around that problem. Not moving the job to a cloud machine, and not becoming the tool that runs it. Just giving the person at the desk clearer control over whether the computer stays awake.
The first lesson was not about a feature
Before AfterLid, I built EazeeSwitch. That experience shaped how I approached this product. Building something useful and getting it into people’s hands are different jobs. This time, the website, setup flow, feedback and distribution needed attention alongside the app itself. That sounds obvious when written down. In practice, it means spending time on the unglamorous things: where a download button leads, what happens after sign in, and whether a new user knows what to do next.
A small control has a large responsibility
Power behaviour is not a place for vague promises. The distinction between normal sleep, staying awake with the lid open, and supported lid closed operation needs to be understandable. So do the limits. A temperature guard is not permission to put a working laptop in a backpack. Preventing sleep cannot rescue a crashed application or a disconnected network. Those boundaries belong in the explanation, not somewhere a user has to hunt for them.
The phone changed the setup problem
A companion app adds a useful perspective: checking a linked computer without sitting in front of it. It also adds another installation, another sign in and another opportunity for the instructions to be wrong. As the project expanded to iPhone, Android and Windows work, “finish setting up your Mac” stopped being a sensible message for everyone. The instructions need to reflect the devices someone actually uses. Clicking an Android download link is not the same thing as connecting an Android phone.
Where we are now
On October 8, I shared that the iOS app had been updated. The next step is the launch work around it: showing the real product, explaining what the phone companion does, and making the first useful session easier to reach. An app update is a milestone, not evidence that every setup works perfectly. There is still a difference between preparing a Product Hunt launch and being ready to invite a lot of people through the same installation flow.
What I want to document here
This journal will cover those decisions as well as releases: the limits behind a power mode, the connection between phone and computer, the mistakes in onboarding, and what we learn from people using the app. No invented growth numbers and no claim that every problem is solved. If you try AfterLid, the useful question is simple: did it help with the work you actually wanted to leave running?
Explore AfterLid or read our Caffeinate comparison.