The best tools to keep Slack active

Slack sets desktop users to away after about ten minutes of inactivity. Three kinds of tool keep the green dot: cloud services that keep a session active from a server, apps that keep the computer awake or send input, and USB jigglers. Cloud services that hold the session on a server work with the laptop closed and cost money; local tools are often free but need the computer on. Presence Scheduler’s pages conflict on device-off support: its FAQ requires an awake computer and an open Slack client, while its extension listing mentions server fallback.

Disclosure: Idle Pilot publishes this guide and operates a cloud presence service for Slack and Teams. Vendor facts come from each vendor's own site, checked October 2026.

At a glance

7 tools, checked October 2026 on each vendor's own site. Prices and features can change.
Tool	Type	Laptop closed	Starting price	Best for
Idle Pilot	Cloud presence tool	Yes: it runs in the cloud, so the laptop can be closed, asleep, or off	$9 per month or $60 per year	People who want Slack or Teams to stay Available during set hours with the laptop closed or off.
slack.green	Cloud presence tool	Hosted plan: yes, per the vendor. sg-cli runs where you install it, so on a laptop it stops when the laptop shuts down.	$3.99 per month or $23.99 per year	Slack-only users who want a low-priced hosted plan, several workspaces, or a self-hosted tool that keeps tokens on their own machine.
Presence Scheduler	Cloud presence tool	Vendor pages conflict; closed/off operation is not verified. Its FAQ requires an open Slack client and an awake computer; the extension listing mentions server fallback.	$3 per month (one-year minimum) or $250 once	Slack users whose computer stays on with Slack open and who want a low price, many workspaces, or presence history charts.
Green Dotter	Software mouse jiggler	Lid-closed operation is not documented; the computer must stay on and awake. It cannot work while asleep or off.	Free; optional Pro from $12.99 once	Mac or Windows users whose computer stays on and signed in and who want a free tool for Teams, Slack, and other chat apps.
Move Mouse	Software mouse jiggler	Lid-closed operation is not documented; the computer must stay on and awake. It cannot work while asleep or off.	Free	Windows users whose PC stays on and who want a free, configurable activity simulator with its own working-hours schedule.
Jiggler for Mac	Software mouse jiggler	Lid-closed operation is not documented; the computer must stay on and awake. It cannot work while asleep or off.	Free	Mac users who want a free, open-source way to keep an awake Mac from idling, sleeping, or starting the screen saver.
Caffeine for Windows	Keep-awake app	Lid-closed operation is not documented; the computer must stay on and awake. It cannot work while asleep or off.	Free	Windows users whose PC stays on and who want a tiny free tool that sends simulated key presses, with switches for active hours and locking.

How to choose

Will the laptop be closed or off? Then you need a service that holds the session on a server, such as Idle Pilot or slack.green's hosted plan.
Do you also use Microsoft Teams? Idle Pilot covers Slack or Teams, one account at a time. Most other cloud tools cover one platform.
Do you need several workspaces at once? slack.green's hosted plan covers more than one Slack workspace; Idle Pilot keeps one account active at a time.
Is the computer always on during work hours? Then a free keep-awake app that sends input, or a jiggler, may be enough.

Slack presence services

Compare computer-off support carefully: a service can use a local extension as well as a server.

Idle Pilot

Idle Pilot maintains Slack or Microsoft Teams availability from the cloud during saved Work Hours.

Best for: People who want Slack or Teams to stay Available during set hours with the laptop closed or off.
Pricing: $9 per month or $60 per year
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Yes: Slack or Microsoft Teams, one account at a time
Does well: Works with the laptop closed, asleep, or off; Slack or Microsoft Teams, with per-day Work Hours, a Lunch Break, and Vacation Mode; Nothing runs on your work computer after setup
Falls short: Costs more than free keep-awake apps; One Slack workspace or one Teams account at a time; Setup needs desktop Chrome and the extension once
Checked: October 2026

Idle Pilot pricing

slack.green

Slack presence service that keeps your Slack session active from its servers on your schedule, plus a self-hosted command-line version, sg-cli.

Best for: Slack-only users who want a low-priced hosted plan, several workspaces, or a self-hosted tool that keeps tokens on their own machine.
Pricing: $3.99 per month or $23.99 per year . 14-day free trial, no credit card, and a 7-day money-back guarantee. Pro Monthly $3.99 or Pro Yearly $23.99 ($1.99 per month), up to 3 workspaces. Self-hosted CLI: $78.99 once, with no workspace limit listed. USD.
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Slack only, per the vendor. It does not support Microsoft Teams.
Does well: Low price: $3.99 per month or $23.99 per year; 14-day free trial without a credit card; Up to 3 Slack workspaces on the hosted plan; Self-hosted CLI keeps your tokens on your own machine ($78.99 once)
Falls short: Slack only; no Microsoft Teams; On paid Slack plans, admins can see its server session in access logs, per its site; Its pages differ on setup: copying tokens or using an extension; Does not use official Slack APIs, per its own community FAQ
Checked: October 2026

slack.green website Idle Pilot vs slack.green slack.green alternatives

Presence Scheduler

Slack presence service, formerly Slack Presence, that sets your presence to auto through a Slack app, with an optional Chrome extension.

Best for: Slack users whose computer stays on with Slack open and who want a low price, many workspaces, or presence history charts.
Pricing: $3 per month (one-year minimum) or $250 once . 7-day free trial for one workspace, without schedules or time zone choice. Subscription: $3 per month with a one-year minimum term, up to 20 workspaces, 12 months of presence history. Lifetime: $250 once. A separate Status History plan costs $3 per month or $300 once. USD. Full refund within 7 days of the first payment.
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Slack only. It says the Slack API calls stop Away while Slack is open, but you will likely still show offline without its Chrome extension. No Microsoft Teams.
Does well: Low price: $3 per month with a one-year minimum, or $250 once; Up to 20 Slack workspaces on paid plans; Charts of your Slack presence history for the last 12 months; Several schedule windows per workspace, each with its own time zone
Falls short: Slack only; no Microsoft Teams; Its FAQ says the computer must stay awake with Slack open; Adds its Slack app to your workspace, which anyone who checks can see, per its FAQ; The free trial cannot create schedules or choose a time zone
Checked: October 2026

Presence Scheduler website Idle Pilot vs Presence Scheduler Presence Scheduler alternatives

Local tools for an awake computer

These need the computer on. Input simulators and sleep blockers have different effects; each entry states what its source claims.

Green Dotter

Free Mac and Windows auto clicker and mouse jiggler that wiggles the mouse or clicks an area you choose, with a weekly scheduler in beta.

Best for: Mac or Windows users whose computer stays on and signed in and who want a free tool for Teams, Slack, and other chat apps.
Pricing: Free; optional Pro from $12.99 once . Every feature is free with no account. Optional Pro costs from $12.99 USD once (a limited-time price until November 24), for up to 3 computers, plus tax; its site says Pro unlocks nothing extra today.
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Its FAQ says yes for Slack and Teams while a session runs, depending on your Teams setup, and that mouse movement alone is often not enough for Slack.
Does well: Free, with no account; Runs on Mac and Windows; Its FAQ says it works with Slack, Teams, Webex, Zoom, and Discord; Weekly scheduler (beta) with a lunch break and start and stop times that can vary
Falls short: The computer must stay on, awake, and signed in; it pauses when the screen locks; Sends simulated clicks or mouse movement, which monitoring software can log; Click mode needs a safe area so clicks do not open or send anything; Sends anonymous usage stats, per its site
Checked: October 2026

Green Dotter website Idle Pilot vs Green Dotter Green Dotter alternatives

Move Mouse

A free, open-source Windows app that simulates user activity with mouse moves, clicks and scrolls, with schedules and blackout windows.

Best for: Windows users whose PC stays on and who want a free, configurable activity simulator with its own working-hours schedule.
Pricing: Free . Free on GitHub and in the Microsoft Store. Open source under GPL-3.0; donations accepted.
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Its README and wiki do not say whether it keeps Teams or Slack Available. In a 2022 GitHub issue, Teams showed Away while it ran, and the developer attributed that to Teams.
Does well: Free and open source (GPL-3.0); Weekday and cron schedules plus blackout windows; Many actions: move, click, scroll, activate an app, run scripts; Microsoft Store install with automatic updates, or a portable zip
Falls short: No claim that it keeps Teams or Slack Available; The developer says it cannot reach software in a locked session; The Store version has no command-line options, and the Store is often unavailable on work PCs, per its wiki; Needs the PC on and awake; Windows only
Checked: October 2026

Move Mouse website Idle Pilot vs Move Mouse Move Mouse alternatives

Jiggler for Mac

Free, open-source Mac menu bar app that moves or clicks the mouse, or resets the idle timer, to keep a Mac awake.

Best for: Mac users who want a free, open-source way to keep an awake Mac from idling, sleeping, or starting the screen saver.
Pricing: Free . Freeware with no charge and no paid plan. Open source under the GNU General Public License v3.
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Its site does not say whether it keeps Teams or Slack Available. It sends mouse input or resets the idle timer while the Mac is awake; Teams and Slack apply their own away rules.
Does well: Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3; Three jiggle styles, including Zen jiggle, which does not move the cursor; Conditions: jiggle only after idle time, while an app runs, or while the CPU is busy; Updated in December 2025 for macOS 26 (Tahoe)
Falls short: Mac only; Stops when the Mac sleeps or turns off; No weekday schedule, and its site does not mention Teams or Slack; Its README says it is not under active development
Checked: October 2026

Jiggler for Mac website Idle Pilot vs Jiggler for Mac Jiggler for Mac alternatives

Caffeine for Windows

A free Windows tray app that simulates an F15 key press every 59 seconds so the PC does not lock, sleep or start the screen saver.

Best for: Windows users whose PC stays on and who want a tiny free tool that sends simulated key presses, with switches for active hours and locking.
Pricing: Free . Freeware, also free for commercial use. Donations through PayPal.
Keeps Teams or Slack Available: Its product page does not mention Teams or Slack. On its forum in 2022 the admin said it had worked for him but that some machines are different.
Does well: Free, also for commercial use; Simulated key press resets Windows idle detection, which keep-awake-only tools do not do; Active-hours switch (-activeperiods) and plugged-in-only switch (-onac); Small download: a 306 KB zip
Falls short: No product-page claim that it keeps Teams or Slack Available; The vendor says F15 can cause issues in PuTTY, PowerPoint, Google Docs or Smartsheet; Last release was November 2024; Needs the PC on and awake; Windows only
Checked: October 2026

Caffeine for Windows website Idle Pilot vs Caffeine for Windows Caffeine for Windows alternatives

Feature comparison

Features come from the cited vendor sources. “Not stated” means we found no claim for that feature. Read the laptop-closed descriptions above for any conditions, such as supported Mac settings or an external display.

Tool	Works with the laptop closed	Slack	Microsoft Teams	Runs on a schedule	Free option	No app during use
Idle Pilot	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not stated	Yes
slack.green	Yes	Yes	Not stated	Yes	Not stated	Yes
Presence Scheduler	Not stated	Yes	Not stated	Yes	Not stated	Not stated
Green Dotter	Not stated	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not stated
Move Mouse	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes	Yes	Not stated
Jiggler for Mac	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes	Not stated
Caffeine for Windows	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes	Not stated

How this list is made

We listed the tools people search for when they want Slack to stay active (DataForSEO, United States, October 2026), read each vendor's own site, store listing, or GitHub page, and recorded price, where it runs, laptop-closed support, and platform support. A check is marked Yes only when the vendor states it. Idle Pilot makes one of these tools and fails some checks, such as the free option.

FAQ

How do I keep Slack active all the time?

Slack sets you away after about ten minutes without activity on desktop. A tool that sends input keeps you active while the computer runs, and a cloud scheduler keeps the session active during set hours with the computer off. Selecting Set yourself as active only fixes the current dot.

Which Slack presence tools work with the laptop closed?

Services that hold the session on a server: Idle Pilot and slack.green's hosted plan. Presence Scheduler’s FAQ requires an awake computer and open Slack, while its extension listing mentions server fallback; device-off behavior is not verified. Keep-awake apps and jigglers need the computer on and awake.

Is there a free way to keep Slack active?

Yes, while the computer stays on: free apps such as Caffeine for Windows or a software jiggler send input that resets the idle timer. Cloud schedulers cost money after their trials.

Can Slack admins see these tools?

Admins on some plans can see access logs with devices and IP addresses, and device management can list installed apps. No tool can promise that it is invisible. Check your workplace rules first.

How often is this list updated?

Each entry shows the month its facts were checked on the vendor's own site.

Last updated: October 28, 2026

Keep Slack or Teams Available with your laptop closed.

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