Scripts

Four small, readable files that automate the fiddly parts of this guide. They share the same rules:

• Dry run by default. Nothing changes until you add --apply. (health-check.sh never changes anything.)
• Idempotent. Running a script twice is safe; the second run reports that everything is already set.
• No destructive defaults. Nothing is deleted; replaced LaunchAgent files are backed up.
• --help on every script explains every option.

Read before you run

These are shell scripts that change system settings. Open each one and read it first — they’re commented for exactly that. They’re tested with ShellCheck and an automated test suite, but only you can decide they’re right for your Mac.

Install

Download the scripts into ~/bin and make them executable:

setup-power.shhealth-check.shinstall-launchagent.shLaunchAgent template (.plist)

mkdir -p ~/bin
mv ~/Downloads/setup-power.sh ~/Downloads/health-check.sh ~/Downloads/install-launchagent.sh ~/bin/
chmod +x ~/bin/*.sh
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/bin/*.sh 2>/dev/null || true   # clear the "downloaded from the internet" flag
~/bin/setup-power.sh --help

They use only tools that ship with macOS (bash, pmset, systemsetup, launchctl, plutil), so there’s nothing else to install.

setup-power.sh

Keeps the Mac awake and makes it restart by itself. Covered in Stay awake & auto-recover.

~/bin/setup-power.sh                                  # dry run: current values and planned changes (never uses sudo)
~/bin/setup-power.sh --apply                          # apply (asks for your password)
~/bin/setup-power.sh --apply --daily-poweron 04:30    # also power on daily at 04:30

Setting	Command it runs
Never sleep	pmset -a sleep 0 disksleep 0
Display may sleep (default 10 min, --display-sleep N)	pmset -a displaysleep 10
Wake for network access (skip with --no-wake-on-network)	pmset -a womp 1
Restart after power failure	pmset -a autorestart 1
Keep TCP connections alive	pmset -a tcpkeepalive 1
Restart after freeze (skip with --no-restart-on-freeze)	systemsetup -setrestartfreeze on
Optional daily power-on	pmset repeat wakeorpoweron MTWRFSU HH:MM:00

Example dry run:

Mode: DRY RUN — nothing will be changed. Re-run with --apply to make changes.

Power settings (pmset):
  [change] sleep: 1 -> 0
  [change] disksleep: 10 -> 0
  [ok]     displaysleep = 10
  [change] autorestart: 0 -> 1
  [ok]     tcpkeepalive = 1
  [ok]     womp = 1
  would run: sudo pmset -a sleep 0 disksleep 0 autorestart 1

Restart after freeze (systemsetup):
  [unknown] restart after freeze: reading it needs admin rights, and dry runs never use sudo.
            Check it yourself: sudo systemsetup -getrestartfreeze
  would run (if not already On): sudo systemsetup -setrestartfreeze on

Dry run complete. Re-run with --apply to make these changes.

A dry run never calls sudo, so it can’t read the one value that needs admin rights (restart after freeze) and reports it as unknown, with the command to check it yourself. With --apply, the script uses sudo to read it first and only changes it if it isn’t already on.

To undo, use System Settings → Energy, or sudo pmset restoredefaults.

health-check.sh

Read-only report of what’s running and what isn’t — run it after every restart, or on a schedule. Exit status is 1 if anything failed, so you can use it in other scripts.

~/bin/health-check.sh
~/bin/health-check.sh --app Cursor --app Claude --agent com.example.cursor-worker

Save your expectations in ~/.config/mac-ai-server/health-check.conf so a plain health-check.sh checks them:

# Apps that must be running (exact process names)
app=Cursor
app=Claude
app=Google Drive
# LaunchAgents that must be loaded
agent=com.example.cursor-worker

Example output:

Mac mini AI server — health check

System
  INFO  macOS 26.0
  WARN  Up for 4 min — it rebooted recently. Check everything below came back.

Power (pmset)
  PASS  System sleep disabled (sleep 0)
  PASS  Restart after power failure on (autorestart 1)
  PASS  Wake for network access on (womp 1)

Unattended restart
  INFO  FileVault is On — after a power cut the Mac waits for a password before your apps start.

Remote access
  PASS  Remote Login (SSH) is listening
  PASS  Screen Sharing is listening
  PASS  Tailscale is connected

Apps
  PASS  Cursor is running
  FAIL  Claude is NOT running (required)

LaunchAgents
  PASS  com.example.cursor-worker is running

Summary: 8 pass, 1 warn, 1 fail

install-launchagent.sh

Turns any command into a LaunchAgent that starts at login and is restarted if it exits (or runs every N seconds with --interval). Covered in Login items & LaunchAgents.

# Dry run: prints the plist and the launchctl commands
~/bin/install-launchagent.sh --label com.example.cursor-worker --workdir ~/code/my-project \
  -- ~/.local/bin/agent worker start --name your-mac-mini

# Install and load it
~/bin/install-launchagent.sh --apply --label com.example.cursor-worker --workdir ~/code/my-project \
  -- ~/.local/bin/agent worker start --name your-mac-mini

# Remove it (the plist is moved to a backup folder, not deleted)
~/bin/install-launchagent.sh --apply --label com.example.cursor-worker --uninstall

Option	Meaning
--label	Reverse-DNS job name (required)
--workdir DIR	Working directory, absolute path (default: home)
--interval SECS	Run every SECS seconds instead of keeping it alive
--log-dir DIR	Log folder, absolute path (default ~/Library/Logs/<label>/)
--env KEY=VALUE	Extra environment variables (repeatable)
--uninstall	Unload and back up the plist

LaunchAgent template

com.example.ai-worker.plist is a commented plist you can edit by hand: replace YOUR_USER, adjust the command and folders, and follow the load instructions at the top of the file.

Source and tests

The scripts live in the scripts/ folder of this site’s repository, with a test suite that runs them against stand-in versions of the macOS commands. See the repository README for how to run ShellCheck and the tests yourself.