[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":462},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-\u002Fguides\u002Fstay-green-vs-slack-green":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":451,"extension":452,"lang":453,"meta":454,"navigation":455,"order":456,"path":457,"seo":458,"stem":459,"updated":460,"__hash__":461},"guides\u002Fguides\u002Fstay-green-vs-slack-green.md","Stay Green vs Slack Green: an honest comparison",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":433},"minimark",[9,13,17,20,25,42,46,63,76,86,90,104,107,110,114,250,263,267,272,283,288,299,303,313,325,337,340,348,352,357,368,372,375,379,385,389,392,396],[10,11,5],"h1",{"id":12},"stay-green-vs-slack-green-an-honest-comparison",[14,15,16],"p",{},"If you are looking for a Slack Green alternative, or a way to keep Slack active without a browser extension, it helps to know that these two products solve the problem in very different ways. Neither is right for everyone.",[14,18,19],{},"Full disclosure: Stay Green is our app. We have tried to describe Slack Green using only what its own website says, with links, so you can check every claim yourself.",[21,22,24],"h2",{"id":23},"the-short-version","The short version",[26,27,28,36],"ul",{},[29,30,31,35],"li",{},[32,33,34],"strong",{},"Slack Green"," keeps your Slack session active from its servers, so your Slack dot can stay green while your laptop is closed or switched off. It covers Slack only.",[29,37,38,41],{},[32,39,40],{},"Stay Green"," is a small Mac menu-bar app that resets your Mac's idle timer once you have gone idle, so every chat app on that Mac (Teams, Slack, Zoom, Discord) stays green together. It only works while your Mac is on and awake, and it never touches your Slack login.",[21,43,45],{"id":44},"how-slack-green-works","How Slack Green works",[14,47,48,49,56,57,62],{},"According to its homepage, \"Slack Green runs on our servers, so your computer can be off\", and \"Slack Green keeps your Slack session active\" (",[50,51,55],"a",{"href":52,"rel":53},"https:\u002F\u002Fslack.green\u002Fen",[54],"nofollow","slack.green","). Setup uses a Chrome extension: their docs say \"the Chrome extension grabs your tokens automatically, no DevTools needed\", and there is also a manual method that extracts the tokens from Chrome DevTools (",[50,58,61],{"href":59,"rel":60},"https:\u002F\u002Fslack.green\u002Fen\u002Fdocs",[54],"Slack Green docs","). The homepage says the extension is only needed for setup.",[14,64,65,66,71,72,75],{},"Their own article on what admins can see explains that the service \"uses your own session tokens, the same pair your browser uses, and only for presence calls\", and that the session \"runs on our server, so a company laptop shows no Slack Green app, process or extension\" (",[50,67,70],{"href":68,"rel":69},"https:\u002F\u002Fslack.green\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fwill-i-get-caught-using-slack-green",[54],"Slack Green blog","). They also say they \"do not read or store your messages or DMs\" (",[50,73,55],{"href":52,"rel":74},[54],").",[14,77,78,79,82,83,75],{},"There is also a self-hosted CLI. Slack Green says it runs on your own laptop or a VPS, connects to Slack directly, keeps the tokens on your machine, and that \"our server only checks your license\" (",[50,80,55],{"href":52,"rel":81},[54],", ",[50,84,61],{"href":59,"rel":85},[54],[21,87,89],{"id":88},"how-stay-green-works","How Stay Green works",[14,91,92,93,98,99,75],{},"Stay Green does not talk to Slack at all. Slack, like Teams, decides you are Away from your computer's inactivity: Slack sets you to away \"after 10 minutes of desktop inactivity\" (",[50,94,97],{"href":95,"rel":96},"https:\u002F\u002Fslack.com\u002Fhelp\u002Farticles\u002F201864558-Set-your-Slack-status-and-availability",[54],"Slack Help Center","), and Teams after a few minutes of inactivity or when the computer is locked (",[50,100,103],{"href":101,"rel":102},"https:\u002F\u002Flearn.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fmicrosoftteams\u002Fpresence-admins",[54],"Microsoft Learn",[14,105,106],{},"Stay Green watches the macOS idle timer. Once you have actually gone idle, it sends one harmless keypress (F20 by default, configurable) plus a zero-distance mouse move, so your cursor never moves. That resets the idle timer, and because Teams, Slack, Zoom and Discord all read the same timer, one nudge keeps all of them green. While you are typing, it does nothing.",[14,108,109],{},"It pauses itself outside work hours by default (9 to 5 on weekdays, adjustable) and can pause over lunch. There is an optional keep-screen-awake setting. Nothing about your activity leaves your Mac: the only network traffic is an update check and a license check. There is no account, and it never touches or stores any Slack or Teams login or session.",[21,111,113],{"id":112},"side-by-side","Side by side",[115,116,117,130],"table",{},[118,119,120],"thead",{},[121,122,123,126,128],"tr",{},[124,125],"th",{},[124,127,34],{},[124,129,40],{},[131,132,133,147,160,173,186,199,212,225,238],"tbody",{},[121,134,135,141,144],{},[136,137,138],"td",{},[32,139,140],{},"Apps covered",[136,142,143],{},"Slack only",[136,145,146],{},"Teams, Slack, Zoom, Discord (anything that reads the Mac idle timer)",[121,148,149,154,157],{},[136,150,151],{},[32,152,153],{},"Where it runs",[136,155,156],{},"Their servers (or your own machine with the self-hosted CLI)",[136,158,159],{},"Your Mac, as a menu-bar app",[121,161,162,167,170],{},[136,163,164],{},[32,165,166],{},"What it needs from you",[136,168,169],{},"Your Slack session tokens, captured by a Chrome extension or DevTools",[136,171,172],{},"Nothing beyond installing the app; no account, no login",[121,174,175,180,183],{},[136,176,177],{},[32,178,179],{},"Works when laptop is closed",[136,181,182],{},"Yes (cloud version)",[136,184,185],{},"No. Your Mac must be on and awake",[121,187,188,193,196],{},[136,189,190],{},[32,191,192],{},"Platforms",[136,194,195],{},"Any, since it runs in the cloud; CLI on your laptop or a VPS",[136,197,198],{},"macOS 13 or later (universal, notarized) and Windows 10\u002F11 (x64)",[121,200,201,206,209],{},[136,202,203],{},[32,204,205],{},"Admin visibility",[136,207,208],{},"On paid Slack plans, admins can see a \"Slack Web App\" session from the server's IP in access logs",[136,210,211],{},"Nothing new in Slack's access logs, since it uses your normal Slack app. The app itself is visible on your Mac, like any app",[121,213,214,219,222],{},[136,215,216],{},[32,217,218],{},"Work hours",[136,220,221],{},"Work hours, custom schedule or 24\u002F7",[136,223,224],{},"Pauses outside 9 to 5 weekdays by default, adjustable, plus optional lunch pause",[121,226,227,232,235],{},[136,228,229],{},[32,230,231],{},"Price",[136,233,234],{},"$3.99\u002Fmonth, $23.99\u002Fyear, $78.99 one-time for the self-hosted CLI",[136,236,237],{},"EUR 1.99\u002Fmonth, EUR 12.99\u002Fyear, EUR 29 lifetime (1 Mac)",[121,239,240,245,248],{},[136,241,242],{},[32,243,244],{},"Free trial",[136,246,247],{},"14 days, no card",[136,249,247],{},[14,251,252,253,257,258,262],{},"Slack Green prices are from ",[50,254,256],{"href":52,"rel":255},[54],"their homepage"," at the time of writing; the monthly plan covers up to 3 workspaces. Stay Green prices are on ",[50,259,261],{"href":260},"\u002F#pricing","our pricing section",".",[21,264,266],{"id":265},"who-should-pick-which","Who should pick which",[14,268,269],{},[32,270,271],{},"Pick Slack Green if:",[26,273,274,277,280],{},[29,275,276],{},"You want your Slack status to stay green while your laptop is closed or switched off. That is its core feature, and Stay Green cannot do it: if your Mac sleeps, Stay Green stops.",[29,278,279],{},"You only use Slack and are not on a Mac, or you want to run the CLI on a server.",[29,281,282],{},"Your employer allows a third-party service to hold a copy of your Slack session.",[14,284,285],{},[32,286,287],{},"Pick Stay Green if:",[26,289,290,293,296],{},[29,291,292],{},"You use Teams, Zoom or Discord as well as Slack, and want all of them handled by one small app.",[29,294,295],{},"You would rather not hand your Slack session to anyone. Stay Green has no access to it.",[29,297,298],{},"You only want to cover time when you are at or near your Mac: reading, thinking, or on a call on your phone, with the app pausing itself after work.",[21,300,302],{"id":301},"privacy-and-security-notes","Privacy and security notes",[14,304,305,306,309,310,75],{},"A Slack session token works like a signed-in browser: whoever holds it can act as you in that workspace, within what the session allows. Slack Green says it uses the tokens only for presence calls (",[50,307,70],{"href":68,"rel":308},[54],"), and that is a reasonable promise to weigh. The question for you is whether your company allows sharing a session with a third party at all. Slack Green itself notes that \"your workplace may restrict automated presence or shared sessions\" (",[50,311,55],{"href":52,"rel":312},[54],[14,314,315,316,319,320,75],{},"Slack Green is also upfront about admin visibility. It says it is \"not guaranteed to be hidden\", and that on paid Slack plans admins can see its server session in access logs (",[50,317,55],{"href":52,"rel":318},[54],"). Slack confirms that on Pro, Business+ and Enterprise plans, owners and admins can view access logs showing sign-in times, IP addresses and devices for each account (",[50,321,324],{"href":322,"rel":323},"https:\u002F\u002Fslack.com\u002Fhelp\u002Farticles\u002F360002084807-View-access-logs-for-your-workspace",[54],"Slack Help Center: View access logs",[14,326,327,328,332,333,262],{},"Stay Green has different trade-offs. It shares nothing with a server beyond an update check and a license check, but it is an app installed on your Mac, and on a managed work laptop IT can usually see which apps are installed. We cover that in ",[50,329,331],{"href":330},"\u002Fguides\u002Fis-stay-green-safe-to-use-at-work","Is Stay Green safe to use at work?"," and ",[50,334,336],{"href":335},"\u002Fguides\u002Fare-mouse-jigglers-detectable","Are mouse jigglers detectable?",[14,338,339],{},"Whichever you choose, check your IT policy first, and use it to cover genuine work time.",[14,341,342,343,347],{},"If Stay Green fits, you can ",[50,344,346],{"href":345},"\u002Fdownload","download the 14-day free trial",", no card or account needed.",[21,349,351],{"id":350},"faq","FAQ",[353,354,356],"h3",{"id":355},"can-i-keep-slack-active-without-a-browser-extension","Can I keep Slack active without a browser extension?",[14,358,359,360,363,364,262],{},"Yes. Slack decides you are Away from desktop inactivity (",[50,361,97],{"href":95,"rel":362},[54],"), so anything that resets your computer's idle timer keeps Slack active. Stay Green does that without an extension. For free options too, see ",[50,365,367],{"href":366},"\u002Fguides\u002Fslack-inactive-after-10-minutes","Slack shows you inactive after 10 minutes",[353,369,371],{"id":370},"does-stay-green-work-when-my-laptop-is-closed","Does Stay Green work when my laptop is closed?",[14,373,374],{},"No. It runs on your Mac, so your Mac needs to be on and awake. If you need Slack green while your computer is off, a cloud service like Slack Green is the kind of tool that does that.",[353,376,378],{"id":377},"does-slack-green-work-with-microsoft-teams","Does Slack Green work with Microsoft Teams?",[14,380,381,382,75],{},"Its homepage describes it as working \"with any Slack workspace\" and lists no other apps (",[50,383,55],{"href":52,"rel":384},[54],[353,386,388],{"id":387},"does-stay-green-need-my-slack-login","Does Stay Green need my Slack login?",[14,390,391],{},"No. It never touches or stores any Slack or Teams login or session, and there is no account.",[21,393,395],{"id":394},"sources","Sources",[26,397,398,404,409,415,421,427],{},[29,399,400],{},[50,401,403],{"href":52,"rel":402},[54],"Slack Green homepage",[29,405,406],{},[50,407,61],{"href":59,"rel":408},[54],[29,410,411],{},[50,412,414],{"href":68,"rel":413},[54],"Slack Green: Will I get caught using Slack Green? What admins can see",[29,416,417],{},[50,418,420],{"href":95,"rel":419},[54],"Slack Help Center: Set your Slack status and availability",[29,422,423],{},[50,424,426],{"href":322,"rel":425},[54],"Slack Help Center: View access logs for your workspace",[29,428,429],{},[50,430,432],{"href":101,"rel":431},[54],"Microsoft Learn: User presence in Teams",{"title":434,"searchDepth":435,"depth":435,"links":436},"",2,[437,438,439,440,441,442,443,450],{"id":23,"depth":435,"text":24},{"id":44,"depth":435,"text":45},{"id":88,"depth":435,"text":89},{"id":112,"depth":435,"text":113},{"id":265,"depth":435,"text":266},{"id":301,"depth":435,"text":302},{"id":350,"depth":435,"text":351,"children":444},[445,447,448,449],{"id":355,"depth":446,"text":356},3,{"id":370,"depth":446,"text":371},{"id":377,"depth":446,"text":378},{"id":387,"depth":446,"text":388},{"id":394,"depth":435,"text":395},"Slack Green keeps Slack active from its own servers using your Slack session. Stay Green resets your Mac's idle timer locally and covers Teams, Slack, Zoom and Discord. Here is how each works, what each costs, and who should pick which.","md",null,{},true,11,"\u002Fguides\u002Fstay-green-vs-slack-green",{"title":5,"description":451},"guides\u002Fstay-green-vs-slack-green","2026-10-18","0mQ-VX-o9HybDd-Sea9fiZqbJoIBJd9qoPwRh2-NTc8",1792953342869]