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Locks, agents & walking away
Practical guides on keeping your Mac safe while your screen — and your AI agents — stay visible.
November 5, 2026 · 7 min read
Using a Mac as a Baby Monitor or Security Camera Viewer: Keep the Screen On All Night, Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad So Nobody Closes the Feed
Turn an old MacBook or a Mac mini into an overnight camera screen: why the lock screen and 'never sleep' both fall short, how VibeLock keeps the feed visible with every key and click blocked, visible vs accessible, audio, reconnects, privacy, honest limits and a checklist.
November 3, 2026 · 7 min read
Running Headed Playwright, Cypress or Selenium Tests on Your Mac While You Step Away: Keep the Screen On, Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad So a Stray Click Does Not Break the Run
Headed Playwright, Cypress and Selenium runs need the display awake and nobody touching the Mac. What breaks them (display sleep, stray keys, pointer hover, focus stealing), what caffeinate -d fixes and does not, how VibeLock locks every input while the browser stays visible, the allowlist step, a checklist, and when not to bother.
October 28, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Disable the MacBook's Built-In Keyboard When Using an External Keyboard: Karabiner-Elements, Clamshell Mode, Covers, and When You Want VibeLock Instead
macOS has no setting to switch off the internal keyboard. What actually works: Karabiner-Elements' per-device option, closed-display (clamshell) mode, a physical cover, and what Accessibility settings do not do. Plus the honest line on VibeLock, which locks every input, not just the built-in keys.
October 25, 2026 · 7 min read
Turn a Spare Mac Into an Office Wall Dashboard (Grafana, CI Status, Sales Board): Keep the Screen On, Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad
How to run a permanent Grafana, CI or sales dashboard on a spare Mac mini or MacBook: the never-sleep and Focus settings, why a logged-in unattended Mac is a risk, how VibeLock keeps the board visible while blocking all input and hiding every other app, and the honest limits (expiring sessions, reboots, physical access).
October 23, 2026 · 8 min read
Leave a Browser Agent Running on Your Mac While You Step Away: Claude in Chrome, ChatGPT Agent, Screen On, Keyboard and Trackpad Locked
Browser agents like Claude in Chrome work inside your signed-in browser, need the window visible, and stop for approvals. How to leave one running on a Mac with VibeLock: the browser visible, display awake, all input blocked, other apps hidden, plus the honest caveat about which agents a keyboard lock can interfere with and how to test it.
October 22, 2026 · 7 min read
Use Your Mac as a Digital Photo Frame: Slideshow Setup, Keep the Screen On, and Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad So Nobody Stops It
Turn a MacBook into a digital photo frame for an evening or a weekend: which macOS slideshow to use, how to keep the display awake, and how VibeLock locks the keyboard and trackpad with the slideshow still visible. What guests can still do, frame-specific tips, and when the normal lock screen is better.
October 21, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Run a Demo Loop on a MacBook at a Trade Show Booth or Lobby: Keep the Demo on Screen, Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad, Never Let the Display Sleep
A MacBook on a booth table gets paused, poked and put to sleep. How to set up a watch-only demo loop with VibeLock: visible list, empty accessible list, display held awake, Spotlight and ⌘Q blocked, what a visitor can still do (volume keys, the lid, the power button), a night-before checklist, and when the real lock screen is right instead.
October 20, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Step Away From a Video Call on a Mac Without Leaving It Unlocked: Keep the Meeting on Screen, Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad, Unlock With Touch ID
Mute, camera off, lock: how to leave a video call running and visible on a Mac in a shared space while every key, click and trackpad gesture is blocked, what a passer-by can and cannot do, the pair-session variant where a colleague may answer in chat, and when the normal lock screen is the better choice.
October 18, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Lock a Mac Keyboard While Watching a Movie: Five Methods Compared (Lock Screen, Cleaning Utilities, Karabiner, Clamshell, VibeLock)
The macOS lock screen blanks the film, keyboard-cleaning utilities darken the screen or unlock with a trackpad tap, Karabiner ignores the trackpad, and clamshell mode needs extra hardware. What each method locks and leaves open when you want a movie to keep playing with the keys dead, and where VibeLock fits, trade-offs included.
October 17, 2026 · 7 min read
Kitchen and Home-Gym Mode: Keep a Recipe or Workout Video Playing on Your Mac With the Keyboard and Trackpad Locked
Floury hands, sweaty palms and stray elbows keep pausing the video on the kitchen laptop. How to use VibeLock to keep a recipe or follow-along workout visible and playing with every key and the trackpad locked, the honest trade-off (you cannot pause while locked), and the two ways round it.
October 16, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Unlock a Mac Locked With VibeLock: Touch ID, the Password Fallback, Stuck Prompts and the Emergency SSH Escape
Touch ID first, your Mac login password as the fallback (checked locally, rate-limited), a 45-second watchdog for stuck prompts, Esc back to watch-only, ssh plus killall as the documented emergency escape, and the two exits macOS always keeps.
October 13, 2026 · 7 min read
Lock a Mac During a Presentation or Class: Keep Slides or a Video on the Projector, Block the Keyboard
The macOS lock screen blanks the projector; leaving the Mac unlocked hands the room your Slack. How to keep slides or a video on screen with every key and click blocked, let one person drive a single app if needed, and unlock with Touch ID.
October 10, 2026 · 6 min read
Turn a Mac Into a Party Jukebox: Keep the Music Playing, Screen On, Keyboard Locked
Lock screen kills the display, leaving it unlocked invites chaos. How to keep Spotify or Apple Music playing on a Mac with the screen on and the keyboard locked, and a variation that lets guests queue songs and nothing else.
October 9, 2026 · 7 min read
Leave a Long Export, Render or Upload Running on Your Mac With the Screen On and the Keyboard Locked
Final Cut export, Xcode upload, big Finder copy: how to leave a long job running on a Mac without the screen sleeping or anyone cancelling it. What macOS offers, where it falls short, and a watch-only lock setup.
October 8, 2026 · 7 min read
Stepping Away From Your MacBook in a Café or Coworking Space: What a Lock Actually Protects (and What It Doesn't)
Theft, screen snooping and someone typing into your session are three different risks. What the macOS lock screen covers, what closing the lid breaks, where a visible-but-locked setup fits, a decision rule for the café, and the honest limit: no software stops a thief.
October 6, 2026 · 7 min read
Let a Colleague Approve a Claude Code Prompt Without Unlocking Your Mac: VibeLock's Visible vs Accessible Trust Levels
How to leave an agent running, lock your Mac, and still let one trusted person approve a permission prompt in one terminal: VibeLock's watch-only and accessible trust levels, what accessible really gives away, the pair-session variant, and the two-minute setup.
October 5, 2026 · 7 min read
Cat on the Keyboard? How to Lock a Mac's Keyboard and Trackpad From Pets While the Screen Stays On
Why the lock screen, the lid and keyboard-cleaning tools do not quite solve a cat on the keyboard, what a pet-proof lock needs (keys, trackpad and mouse blocked, screen on, Touch ID unlock), and how to set it up on a Mac in two minutes.
October 4, 2026 · 8 min read
Toddler-Proof Your Mac: Lock the Keyboard and Trackpad So Kids Can Watch Without Wrecking Things
How to let a child watch a video on your Mac, or sit next to your running agent, without closing, quitting or typing into anything: Guided Access on iPad, full-screen plus hope, and a watch-only lock, with the honest gaps.
October 3, 2026 · 8 min read
Run Claude Code Overnight on a MacBook: Sleep, Lid, caffeinate and Lock Checklist
An overnight Claude Code run usually fails because the Mac slept, not because of the agent. Power, caffeinate flags, the lid, tmux, notifications, and locking inputs with the screen on, in order.
October 2, 2026 · 7 min read
Guided Access for Mac: How to Lock a Mac to One App (Kiosk Mode Options, 2026)
macOS has no Guided Access. Compare the real options for locking a Mac to one app — MDM single-app mode, browser kiosk flags, Screen Time and VibeLock's visible-apps lock — and when each fits.
September 22, 2026 · 5 min read
How to Keep a Video Playing on Your Mac While It's Locked
The macOS lock screen kills your display. Here's how to leave a video, live demo or dashboard visible on screen while keyboard, mouse and every other app stay locked.
September 22, 2026 · 7 min read
The Unlocked Laptop Problem: Vibe Coding's Biggest Security Hole
Agents run for 20+ minutes while you get coffee — and anyone at your desk owns your shell, your repos and your prompts. A practical threat model for the agentic era, and how to close it.
September 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Keyboard Cleaning Mode on Mac: KeyboardCleanTool vs CleanMode vs VibeLock
Three ways to disable your Mac's keyboard and trackpad for cleaning — what each tool locks, what it costs, and which one doubles as a real walk-away lock.
September 22, 2026 · 8 min read
Can You Leave Claude Code Running While Away From Your Mac?
Long agent runs shouldn't force a choice between watching progress and locking your machine. How to keep Claude Code visible and working while every input stays locked.
September 22, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Lock Your Mac Keyboard but Keep the Screen On (2026)
macOS has no built-in way to block input while the display stays awake. Here are every workaround — and the one-click way to lock keyboard, mouse and apps with the screen still visible.