Prevent Screen Saver is a lightweight Windows system tray application designed for moments when you are still working — reading a long document, monitoring a dashboard, reviewing footage, or following a presentation — but are not actively typing or moving the mouse. In those situations, Windows can wrongly treat you as idle and trigger the screen saver or display timeout. This app prevents that from happening cleanly and explicitly, with a single click.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/proteo5/Prevent-Screen-Saver/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
How It Works
Rather than tricking Windows with fake keystrokes or simulated mouse movements, Prevent Screen Saver calls the native Windows API functionSetThreadExecutionState to signal that the system should remain in an active execution state. This approach is deliberate: it is fully reversible, leaves no side-effects in other applications, and is the correct mechanism Windows provides for exactly this use case. The moment you deactivate protection, normal Windows idle behavior resumes immediately.
Who It Is For
Prevent Screen Saver is built for anyone who needs to stay visually engaged with their screen without constant interaction:- Readers working through long documents, articles, or ebooks
- Operators and monitors watching logs, dashboards, or live feeds
- Reviewers following slide decks, videos, or recorded sessions
- Anyone whose workflow involves extended passive viewing periods
Key Features
Active / Idle Toggle
Switch between Active (screen saver blocked) and Idle (normal Windows behavior) with a single left-click on the tray icon or via the tray menu.
Tray Icon States
The tray icon visually reflects the current state at a glance — distinct icons and tooltips for Active and Idle so you always know whether protection is on.
Global Hotkey with Presets
Toggle protection from anywhere using a configurable keyboard shortcut. The default preset is Ctrl+Alt+P, with additional presets selectable from the tray menu.
Start with Windows
Optionally register the app to launch automatically at Windows startup, so protection is always available without manual intervention.
Single-Instance Enforcement
A named mutex ensures only one instance runs at a time. Launching a second instance exits silently without error dialogs or duplicate tray icons.
Persistent JSON Settings
Your preferences — hotkey preset, last protection state, and startup behavior — are saved automatically to a JSON file in
%LocalAppData%\PreventScreenSaver\.Diagnostics Log
Basic diagnostics logging helps you trace app behavior and troubleshoot issues if anything unexpected occurs.
Help and About Dialogs
Built-in Help and About dialogs are accessible directly from the tray menu — no external documentation required for everyday use.
Distribution Packages
Prevent Screen Saver is available in two forms to suit different preferences:- Installer (
PreventScreenSaver-Setup-x64.exe) — Recommended for most users. Installs via a standard Windows setup wizard, creates Start Menu entries, and supports clean uninstallation through Windows Add/Remove Programs. - Portable ZIP (
PreventScreenSaver-win-x64.zip) — Extract and run anywhere, no installation or administrator rights required. Ideal for restricted environments or users who prefer not to modify the system.
Prevent Screen Saver is a Windows-only application. It relies on the
SetThreadExecutionState Windows API, which has no equivalent on macOS or Linux.Current Version
The current release is version 0.2.0, available from the GitHub Releases page.Next Steps
Installation
Download the installer or portable ZIP and get the app running on your system in minutes.
Quickstart
Activate protection, configure a hotkey, and enable Start with Windows — all in under five minutes.