How can I fix Hyper.is (a third-party terminal program) when it freezes on idle too quickly for my needs?

Question

The terminal in question is: https://hyper.is MacOS 11.7.1 Big Sur is the operating system on a Macbook (2015). To troubleshoot this, I tried and reproduced the hang with Apple's native Terminal.app as well.

A remote connection with ssh stops responding after a short while (couple to 4 minutes) of inactivity on my computer. This doesn't happen while the power adapter is connected.

The .ssh/confing ServerAliveInterval doesn't help.

I tried to run in under screen and it still freezes.

One peculiar detail is that it keeps sending characters to remote host but doesn't show anything happening locally.

Here are screenshot from the Power options.

I can't find "Low power mode" anywhere.

It seems it's different for macbook laptops.

We've got some great discussions on ssh keep alive - might they be of assistance if you can't edit more details in the post? The ssh escape sequence might be of assistance as well in troubleshooting what's the cause here — bmike, Apr 25 '23 at 20:24
Does it exhibit the sane problem with the native Terminal application? — Allan, Apr 30 '23 at 15:37
I've reopened this, but it would be very good to know what exactly a short while is. Half a second? 4 minutes? and if it's reproducible - does it reliably freeze each and every time, basically can you make it happen. Whatever the data you've collected - sharing what is happening in specifics will help us help you and if the native terminal app works perfectly (or not) - then that's also very relevant details. Basically, you've documented not a lot of troubleshooting so far. — bmike, May 01 '23 at 12:50
4 minutes might be close and it happens every time with the native terminal app too.
It never happens when the power adapter is connected. — Johnny Smith, May 01 '23 at 17:53
Are you actively using the Mac when it disconnects or is there a period of inactivity? If it’s also happening with Terminal, it’s not related to the App — Allan, May 01 '23 at 17:57
Check your power saving settings. It’s likely you Mac is going into low power mode and disconnecting network connections. — Allan, May 01 '23 at 19:44
Power saving settings have nothing on "low power mode", this is macOS 11.7.1 — Johnny Smith, May 02 '23 at 12:23

Allan · Answer 1 · 2023-05-01T21:39:36.133

2

You didn’t indicate any error message like a “broken pipe” where the server is closing the connection due to inactivity and it always happens when disconnected from mains power and while idle (no activity) on your part. This is indicative of you Mac going into a power saving mode disconnecting the network connections.

Check your Battery settings

Check Low Power Mode; set it to “Never” to ensure your Mac doesn’t go into power saving mode when there’s no activity. You’ll also want to have your computer wake for network activity “Always” rather than the default if “on Power Adapter” (Battery → Options Button)

Modify your ssh config

Edit the ~/.ssh/config file (create if necessary) to set a low value interval:

Host foo.bar
ServerAliveInterval 120

This will send a “proof of life” signal every two minutes (120 seconds) to the server. You may want to tweak this if it still disconnects.

Keep the session alive on the server (preferred)

My preferred method is to use tmux or screen to keep whatever session you’re running on the server alive in the event of a disconnect. screen is usually included with macOS or Linux, but my preference is tmux. Either of these would be installed on the server and not the client.

I (personally) don’t recommend caffeinate or similar methods to override power saving algorithms. Instead, I will use tmux because it gives me a higher degree of safety in the event of a disconnect I have no control over like the Internet going down. tmux will keep my session alive on the server which is what matters most

edited May 01 '23 at 21:39

answered May 01 '23 at 20:21

Allan

101,432

The battery setting doesn't exist here and the ssh confing doesn't help, I tried. But I'll try screen or tmux, thanks! – Johnny Smith May 02 '23 at 12:26
screen makes no difference, tried – Johnny Smith May 02 '23 at 13:02
Did you install screen on the server? – Allan May 02 '23 at 13:29
The question is, why does it never happen when the power adapter is connected? – Johnny Smith May 02 '23 at 17:55
Because your Mac doesn’t go into power save mode while connected to the mains – Allan May 02 '23 at 17:58
Isn't low power mode macOS 12 Monterey and upwards only? Big Sur power options dont' have anything like that. – Johnny Smith May 07 '23 at 15:28
I added screenshots of Battery options in Big Sur. I can't see anything that would fit the description? – Johnny Smith May 10 '23 at 17:01
Notice the differences between Power Adapter (plugged in) and Battery (not plugged in). Also, look at your sleep settings. – Allan May 10 '23 at 18:54
I checked those. It seems laptops have different macOS. This is Macbook 2015 – Johnny Smith May 11 '23 at 12:48

How can I fix Hyper.is (a third-party terminal program) when it freezes on idle too quickly for my needs?

1 Answers1

Check your Battery settings

Modify your ssh config

Keep the session alive on the server (preferred)