If you are using Amphetamine 5.0 or higher, you may need to install an additional app named Amphetamine Enhancer. Amphetamine Enhancer will allow Amphetamine to see all running processes on your Mac.


In versions of Amphetamine prior to 5.0, some apps and processes are not available for selection due to security features in macOS. Read more about those features here.



Double-Check That Amphetamine Can't See the App/Process

  • First, make sure that the app or process is running. Amphetamine can only see apps and processes that are running. Use Activity Monitor to check if you are unsure.
  • Ensure that the app or process is not being hidden by Amphetamine by unchecking the "Don't show helper apps or processes in list" box.


While App is Running popover:



Trigger Configuration window:




Triggering Amphetamine Externally

If you are using a version of Amphetamine prior to 5.0 and/or cannot install Amphetamine Enhancer, your only other option is to use an external script or action to activate an Amphetamine session.


Amphetamine can be triggered to start a session via AppleScript. Use Amphetamine's scriptability to achieve your goal.


Example idea:

Create a launch agent that executes a shell script on a regular interval to check for a running app or process. If the check evaluates true, use osascript to trigger Amphetamine.


See this guide on controlling Amphetamine with AppleScript.





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