StayAwake Display

One click stops your screen from turning off while you read. A lightweight Windows utility that stays out of your way.

Free · Windows 10 / 11

Overview

StayAwake Display stops your screen from turning off while you read — with a single click. Click again to release it. Close the app and your power settings return on their own.

The loop it breaks

Read a document → the monitor goes dark → touch the mouse or keyboard → it comes back → read on…

Left: the repeating loop of reading, the monitor going dark, touching the mouse, and the screen coming back. Right: reading without interruption while StayAwake Display is ON.

Left: without StayAwake　/　Right: while StayAwake is ON

The harder you concentrate, the less you touch anything. Windows reads that stillness as you being away, so the screen goes dark at the exact moment you are most absorbed. While StayAwake Display is ON, that loop never starts.

Screenshot

Green ON means display sleep prevention is active; red OFF releases it. The lit button and the status line below show the current state at a glance.

Features

Official API — no fake input; the state is declared through SetThreadExecutionState
Two round buttons — switch ON / OFF in one click
High-DPI ready — text stays crisp at 125% and 150% scaling
Restores on exit — closing the window returns your power settings
Light on dependencies — runs on the .NET Framework 4.x that ships with Windows

Requirements

Windows 10 / 11
.NET Framework 4.x (included with Windows)

How to use

Install StayAwake Display from the Microsoft Store
Launch the app
Click the green ON button to start preventing display sleep
Click the red OFF button to release it; closing the window restores your power settings

Notes and limits

What this app prevents is the display turning off under your power plan.

If the screen still goes dark after you turn it ON, the cause is likely the screensaver or an automatic lock (a security feature). SetThreadExecutionState cannot stop those.

An automatic security lock may be governed by your organization's policy. Check the rules before working around it.