How to Check Power and Battery Information Using pmset on a Mac

Quick Answer

To view your Mac’s current power and battery settings, open Terminal and run:

pmset -g

For battery-specific details, run:

pmset -g batt

For a broader report that includes power settings, battery status, and sleep-related information, use:

pmset -g custom

These commands only display information. They do not change your Mac’s settings or delete data.

What pmset Does

pmset is a macOS Terminal command for viewing and changing power-management settings. It can show information such as:

• Whether the Mac is using battery power, a power adapter, or another power source
• Current battery charge and charging status
• Sleep, display-sleep, and disk-sleep timers
• Automatic restart or wake settings
• Power settings for different power sources
• Battery-related event history

You can use pmset when investigating short battery life, unexpected sleep, wake behavior, or power-related problems. The commands below are read-only unless specifically described as changing a setting.

Open Terminal

1. Open Finder.
2. Select Applications in the sidebar.
3. Open the Utilities folder.
4. Double-click Terminal.
5. Type a command at the prompt and press Return.

You can also open Terminal with Spotlight by pressing Command-Space, typing Terminal, and pressing Return.

View Your Mac’s Current Power Settings

The simplest way to see power-management settings is to run:

pmset -g

This displays the settings currently used by macOS. Depending on the Mac and its power source, the output can include values for:

• sleep: when the Mac enters sleep
• displaysleep: when the display turns off
• disksleep: when supported disks become idle
• hibernatemode: how macOS handles memory during sleep
• powernap: whether certain background tasks can run during sleep
• tcpkeepalive: whether some network activity can continue during sleep
• autorestart: whether the Mac can restart automatically after a power interruption

The exact output varies by Mac, power source, and macOS configuration. A value of 0 commonly means a timer or feature is disabled, but the meaning of some settings depends on the setting itself. Do not change a value simply because it looks unfamiliar.

The following command produces a read-only overview of the active power settings:

pmset -g

Check Battery Charge and Power Source

To see the Mac’s current battery status, run:

pmset -g batt

This command reports the active power source and may show information such as:

• Current charge percentage
• Whether the battery is charging
• Whether the battery is fully charged
• Whether the Mac is running from a power adapter
• Battery-related status information

A typical result identifies the power source and includes a percentage. The exact wording and formatting can differ between Macs, so focus on the information rather than expecting a specific layout.

This command is useful when you want a quick Terminal-based answer to questions such as:

• Is the Mac currently using the battery?
• Is the battery charging?
• What percentage is available?
• Is the power adapter connected?

Run this command without sudo:

pmset -g batt

sudo is not needed because the command only reads power information.

Show Settings for Different Power Sources

macOS can use different power-management settings depending on whether the Mac is connected to a power adapter, using a battery, or connected to another supported power source. To view those settings, run:

pmset -g custom

This command displays power settings grouped by power source. It can help you compare settings that apply while the Mac is:

• Running on battery
• Connected to a power adapter
• Using another listed power source

Look for separate sections in the output. Settings such as sleep timers may differ between sections. For example, a Mac may be configured to sleep sooner on battery power than when connected to a power adapter.

The output can be lengthy. If you only need to inspect a particular setting, you can filter the result with grep. For example:

pmset -g custom | grep -E 'sleep|displaysleep|disksleep'

This displays lines containing common sleep-related setting names. The command does not change anything.

Check Sleep and Wake Activity

The pmset command can also display recent power-management events. Run:

pmset -g log

The result can contain sleep, wake, shutdown, restart, and other power-related events. It may be long, so Terminal can appear to pause while the output is displayed. Press Control-C if you need to stop a command that is still producing output.

To focus on likely sleep or wake entries, pipe the output through grep:

pmset -g log | grep -iE 'sleep|wake|darkwake|shutdown|restart'

This filters the event log for common power-related terms. It does not guarantee that every relevant event will appear, because event names and available history can vary.

Use this information when:

• The Mac wakes unexpectedly
• The Mac appears to sleep at the wrong time
• You are investigating a recent restart or shutdown
• You want to compare power events with a problem you observed

For a separate investigation into unexpected sleep, you can also follow how to find what is preventing your Mac from sleeping using Terminal.

Inspect Scheduled Sleep, Wake, and Power Events

To check whether macOS has scheduled power events, run:

pmset -g sched

This may show scheduled events such as a future wake, sleep, restart, or shutdown. If no scheduled events are configured, the output may say so or contain no useful entries.

Scheduled events are different from ordinary sleep timers. A sleep timer controls how long the Mac waits before sleeping after inactivity. A scheduled event tells macOS to perform a power-related action at a particular time.

If you find an unexpected scheduled event, do not remove it until you know what created it. Calendar tools, maintenance software, administrators, or previous troubleshooting steps may create scheduled actions.

View Battery-Related System Events

For lower-level battery and power-source events, run:

pmset -g pslog

This displays power-source changes over time, such as transitions between battery and power adapter operation. It can be useful when the Mac repeatedly switches between charging and battery power or does not appear to recognize an adapter consistently.

The command may continue displaying new events while Terminal remains open. Press Control-C to stop it.

Because this is a live event view, it is most useful while reproducing a problem. For example, you can start the command, connect or disconnect the power adapter, and observe whether macOS reports the change.

Check Battery Health in System Settings

pmset is useful for current power status and configuration, but it is not a complete battery-health report. To inspect battery health through the macOS interface:

1. Open the Apple menu.
2. Select System Settings.
3. Select Battery.
4. Look for Battery Health or related battery information.

The available labels and details can vary by Mac. This area may provide information that pmset -g batt does not show, such as a general battery-health condition or charging-related options.

You can use both tools together:

• Use System Settings for the user-facing battery-health view.
• Use pmset for power-source status, timers, scheduled events, and Terminal-based diagnostics.

Change a Power Setting Only When Necessary

The commands above only read information. pmset can also change power settings, but changing them requires care because the result can affect sleep behavior, battery use, and unsaved work.

For example, this command changes the display-sleep timer for the current power source:

sudo pmset -a displaysleep 10

Before running it, understand the effect: -a applies the setting to available power sources, and displaysleep 10 requests that the display turn off after 10 minutes of inactivity.

This changes system behavior. Save open work first, and do not use a value you have not chosen intentionally. Terminal will request an administrator password. Password characters do not appear while you type; press Return when finished.

To restore a different value, run the same command with the preferred number of minutes. For example:

sudo pmset -a displaysleep 20

If you only want to inspect the result, run:

pmset -g custom

Avoid changing settings such as hibernation, standby, or power-source behavior unless you understand the consequences and have a specific reason. If a change causes unwanted behavior, restore the previous value if you recorded it. Otherwise, use System Settings to review available battery and lock-screen options or contact Apple Support.

Troubleshooting pmset

Terminal says the command is not found

On a standard macOS installation, pmset is normally available as a system command. If Terminal reports that it cannot find the command, check that you typed it exactly:

pmset -g

Do not add quotation marks or extra punctuation.

The output does not match an example

pmset output depends on the Mac, its power source, connected hardware, and macOS configuration. Different output is not necessarily an error. Concentrate on the headings and values relevant to your question.

Battery information is missing or limited

A desktop Mac may not have an internal battery. A portable Mac may also display limited information if the battery, power adapter, or power-management service is experiencing a problem.

Check the charging status in System Settings > Battery and verify that the power adapter is connected correctly. If the Mac does not recognize its battery or adapter, hardware service may be necessary.

A command produces too much output

Use a filter for the information you need. For example:

pmset -g custom | grep -E 'sleep|displaysleep|disksleep'

For event logs, use:

pmset -g log | grep -iE 'sleep|wake|shutdown|restart'

Remember that filtering only changes what Terminal displays; it does not modify the underlying settings or logs.

You are investigating an unexpected restart or shutdown

Start with:

pmset -g log | grep -iE 'sleep|wake|shutdown|restart'

This may provide useful timing and event context, but it may not explain the cause by itself. For a broader investigation, see how to check why a Mac restarted or shut down using Terminal.

You accidentally changed a setting

Do not guess at a replacement value. First inspect the current configuration:

pmset -g custom

If you recorded the previous value, restore it with the corresponding sudo pmset command. If you did not record it, review the relevant controls in System Settings, restart the Mac if appropriate, and seek support before making additional changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pmset safe to use?

Read-only commands such as pmset -g, pmset -g batt, and pmset -g custom are generally safe because they display information. Commands using sudo pmset can change system behavior and should be used carefully.

Does pmset -g batt show battery health?

It shows current battery and power-source status, such as charge and charging state. For the macOS battery-health view, open System Settings and select Battery.

Do I need administrator access?

You normally do not need administrator access to view information. Changing power settings generally requires sudo and an administrator password.

Can pmset tell me why my battery drains quickly?

It can show sleep settings, wake events, and power-source changes that may help identify a problem. It does not provide a complete application-by-application battery diagnosis. Check System Settings > Battery for app energy information and review sleep or wake events with pmset.

How do I stop a live pmset command?

Press Control-C in the Terminal window. This stops the command currently running without changing your power settings.

Final Thoughts

Use pmset -g batt for a quick battery and power-source check, pmset -g for current power settings, and pmset -g custom to compare settings across power sources. When investigating unexpected sleep, wake, or shutdown behavior, pmset -g log and pmset -g sched can provide useful event details without changing your Mac.