Skip to content
AwakeTabOpen timer
Device guide

Keep the screen on in Linux

Chrome and Edge 84 and later, and Firefox 126 and later, can keep a Linux screen on while the AwakeTab tab is visible. The browser asks your desktop not to blank the screen. Whether that holds depends on the desktop, which has to honour the GNOME SessionManager or freedesktop ScreenSaver inhibit. We have not yet recorded real-device results on Linux.

Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 20263 min readBy Soubhik Biswas
Open AwakeTab

Set it up on Linux

Two steps start a session. The next two tell you whether your desktop is listening, and what to try if it is not.

  1. Step 1: Open AwakeTab in Chrome, Edge or Firefox and press Start

    Browser › awaketab.com

    Pick a length, or leave it running until you stop it, then press Start. The pill says "Screen awake" once the browser has granted the lock.

  2. Step 2: Keep the window visible

    No minimising while it runs

    Minimise the window or switch tabs and the browser releases the lock. The pill changes to "Paused — tab hidden", and AwakeTab asks again when you come back.

  3. Step 3: Wait past your blank time once

    Leave the machine alone for longer than the blank delay

    The pill reports what the browser answered, not what the desktop did. So the first time, stay away for longer than your screen-blank delay. If the screen stays on, your desktop honours the request.

  4. Step 4: If it still blanks, try the other engine

    Chrome or Edge, then Firefox

    On Linux, Chrome and Edge ask over D-Bus, through GNOME SessionManager or the freedesktop PowerManagement and ScreenSaver services. Firefox is a separate engine with its own code, so it is worth one try.

Which Linux setups keep the screen on

These results come from Chromium's and Firefox's source and browser documentation, checked 26 September 2026. They depend on your desktop, and no Linux device run is recorded yet.

Chrome or Edge 84 or later, desktop honours the inhibitResult: SupportedWhat to know: Chromium asks the desktop over D-Bus not to go idle.
Firefox 126 or later, window visibleResult: SupportedWhat to know: Refuses at 5 % battery or less while not charging.
A desktop without GNOME SessionManager or freedesktop inhibitResult: Not yet testedWhat to know: The browser may grant the lock while the desktop still blanks the screen.
Window minimised or another tab in frontResult: PausesWhat to know: The lock is released until the tab is back in front.
Firefox before 126Result: Video fallbackWhat to know: Tap once to start it. It needs this tab visible and uses a little more battery.

What turns the screen off anyway

If the screen still blanks, one of these is usually the reason.

  • A desktop that ignores the requestThe pill can say "Screen awake" while the desktop blanks anyway, because the browser cannot make it listen.
  • A hidden tabA minimised window or another tab in front lets the display go. Bring it back and AwakeTab asks again.
  • A low battery in FirefoxAt 5 % or less and not charging, Firefox refuses the lock.Keep the screen on in Firefox
  • A screen lock with its own scheduleA managed machine can lock the screen on its own timer, separate from display sleep.Lock screen versus display sleep
Try it hereTry itStart a session, switch tabs, then come back and watch the pill. No end time: it keeps the screen on until you stop it.Start this session

Questions

Those are display protocols, not desktops, so they are not what decides it. What matters is whether your desktop implements GNOME SessionManager or freedesktop ScreenSaver inhibit, because that is what the browser asks.

Soubhik Biswas · Builds AwakeTab. Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 2026. About AwakeTab