Automate Dotwatt
Dotwatt can be run without opening its panel: from the Shortcuts app, on a schedule, from a script or with a key.
Actions for the Shortcuts app
Open Shortcuts, start a new shortcut and search for Dotwatt. Three actions return what Dotwatt measures, five switch something.
| Get Time Left on Battery | Minutes until the battery is empty, measured from the real draw. No value on wall power. |
|---|---|
| Get Power Draw | What the Mac is using right now, in watts. |
| Get Battery Level | The charge, in percent. |
| Keep Mac Awake | Until stopped, for a number of minutes, or while coding agents work. |
| Let Mac Sleep Again | Ends the stay-awake session. |
| Set Charge Limit | 80 to 100% in steps of five; 100 switches the limit off. Needs macOS 26.4 or later. |
| Charge to Full Once | Charges to 100% this one time; the limit is back afterwards. |
| Set Low Power Mode | On or off. Needs Dotwatt's helper. |
The actions need a copy of Dotwatt that is in its free trial or has a key.
On a schedule
A full battery by the time you leave
This one is built in. In Dotwatt's settings, under Full by a set time, choose Once or Every day and a time. With a charge limit set, Dotwatt lifts the limit early enough for the battery to reach 100% by then, and the limit is back afterwards. If the Mac goes to sleep on the charger within twelve hours of that time, the charge starts at that moment.
Anything else at a time of day
The Shortcuts app on the Mac can run a shortcut by itself. Apple's guide names events such as a time of day or the opening of an app, and says that macOS asks before it runs the automation. Put Dotwatt's actions in such a shortcut:
- Low Power every evening. A shortcut with Set Low Power Mode, On, run at 22:00. A second one switches it off in the morning.
- The limit back on Monday. Set Charge Limit to 80, run at the start of the working week.
- Awake for a long job. Keep Mac Awake for 120 minutes, run when your render or build app opens. For a single app Dotwatt's own App mode does the same without a shortcut.
Shortcuts decides which events it offers, and they can differ between macOS versions: see Apple's guide to automations in Shortcuts on Mac.
Shortcuts that use what Dotwatt measures
- How long do I have? Get Time Left on Battery, then show or speak the result. Add it to the menu bar or call it by voice.
- Only when it matters. Get Battery Level, then an If: under 30%, Set Low Power Mode, On.
- Watch the draw. Get Power Draw, then an If: above the watts you choose, show a notification.
Links for Raycast and scripts
Every link works from a browser, Raycast, a shell script (open "dotwatt://awake?minutes=60") or the Open URLs action.
dotwatt://awake | Keep the Mac awake until stopped |
|---|---|
dotwatt://awake?minutes=60 | Awake for an hour (1 to 1440 minutes) |
dotwatt://awake?mode=agents | Awake while coding agents work |
dotwatt://awake/off | Let the Mac sleep again |
dotwatt://low-power/on | Low Power Mode on; /off switches it off |
dotwatt://limit/80 | Charge limit, 80 to 100 in steps of five |
dotwatt://charge-full | Charge to 100% once |
dotwatt://open | Open the panel; /stats opens the Stats tab |
Keyboard shortcuts
Two keys work from any app: one switches Stay awake on or off, one opens Dotwatt. Record them in the settings, under Keyboard shortcuts, with a key together with ⌃, ⌥ or ⌘.
Coding agents
Staying awake for agents needs no automation at all: Dotwatt notices the agents by itself. How it works. Everything else Dotwatt does.