Keep your presence active - effortlessly.
KeepMeAlive is a lightweight, privacy-respecting Windows utility that prevents Microsoft Teams and similar collaboration platforms from switching your status to Away during short breaks or hands-off periods.
Remote work means presence matters. A 5-minute coffee break or a quick call should not leave your status stuck on Away - costing you missed messages, awkward follow-ups, or the appearance of being offline.
KeepMeAlive solves this with a single, silent process that keeps your session alive exactly when you need it, without interfering with your workflow or typing.
- No admin rights required
- No background services or drivers
- No data collection - fully offline
- Runs in your system tray, completely out of the way
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Two precision input strategies keep your session active:
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Screenshot assets are being refreshed to match the current KeepMeAlive branding and layout.
| Requirement | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 (1903) or Windows 11 |
| Runtime | .NET 8 Desktop Runtime |
| Privileges | Standard user - no admin required |
Portable release
- Download
KeepMeAlive-Portable.zipfrom Releases - Extract it to any folder, for example
C:\Tools\KeepMeAlive - Ensure the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime is installed
- Run
KeepMeAlive.exe
Portable releases are framework-dependent, win-x64, and multi-file by design. By default they store settings in a local Data folder beside the executable. You can switch the storage mode to %APPDATA%\KeepMeAlive from the app preferences.
flowchart LR
dashboard["Dashboard"] --> dashboardVm["DashboardViewModel"]
dashboardVm --> keepAlive["IKeepAliveStrategy"]
dashboardVm --> idle["IIdleMonitor"]
keepAlive --> keyboard["KeyboardStrategy"]
keepAlive --> mouse["MouseStrategy"]
keyboard --> sendInput["Win32 SendInput()"]
mouse --> sendInput
- You configure the method and interval on the Dashboard
- On Start, a
DispatcherTimerfires at your chosen interval (with random jitter) - The selected strategy calls
SendInput()- a Windows API that injects a minimal, invisible input event - Your system (and Teams) registers activity -> your status stays Available
- The Idle Monitor reads
GetLastInputInfo()every second and shows your real idle time, confirming it is working
Does not work on a locked PC. Windows and Teams will still show Away when the session is locked - KeepMeAlive requires an active, unlocked session.
Enterprise security policies may block synthetic input on managed devices. Use the live idle-time display to verify your environment supports it before relying on it.
KeepMeAlive is built on Clean Architecture with strict MVVM separation and Dependency Injection throughout.
KeepMeAlive/
|-- Models/ # Domain - AppSettings, LicenseInfo, SubscriptionTier
|-- Services/
| |-- Interfaces/ # Abstractions - IKeepAwakeService, IIdleMonitorService...
| |-- Keyboard/ # KeyboardStrategy_ScanCodeShift, KeyboardStrategy_VirtualKey
| |-- Mouse/ # MouseStrategy
| |-- KeepAwakeService # SetThreadExecutionState wrapper
| |-- IdleMonitorService # GetLastInputInfo wrapper
| |-- AppRuntimeModeService # Portable marker + bootstrap-based storage selection
| |-- SettingsService # JSON persistence in local or profile storage
| |-- SecretStore # Credential Manager or DPAPI-protected portable secrets
| |-- ThemeService # System theme detection + live switching
| |-- StartupService # HKCU Run registry key management
| |-- StartupSyncService # Future startup sync hook, currently local no-op
| `-- UpdateService # Optional GitHub Releases API version check
|-- ViewModels/ # MainViewModel, DashboardViewModel, SettingsViewModel
|-- Views/ # DashboardView.xaml, SettingsView.xaml (zero code-behind)
|-- Messages/ # WeakReferenceMessenger message types
|-- Helpers/ # Interop.cs - P/Invoke declarations
`-- Resources/
|-- Icons/ # tray_active.ico, tray_inactive.ico
`-- Themes/ # DarkTheme.xaml, LightTheme.xaml
Key patterns:
- Strategy Pattern - swap keep-alive methods without changing the timer logic
- Messenger (WeakReference) - decoupled ViewModel-to-ViewModel communication
- Single-Instance Enforcement - Mutex + Named Pipe IPC; secondary launches bring the window to focus
Stack:
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| UI Framework | WPF (.NET 8) |
| MVVM | CommunityToolkit.Mvvm 8.4 |
| DI Container | Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection 9 |
| System Tray | Hardcodet.NotifyIcon.Wpf 1.1 |
| Settings | System.Text.Json |
| IPC | System.IO.Pipes (Named Pipes) |
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/GorangN/KeepMeAlive.git
cd KeepMeAlive
# Restore dependencies and build
dotnet restore
dotnet build -c Release
# Publish the portable release layout
dotnet publish KeepMeAlive/KeepMeAlive.csproj -c Release -p:PublishProfile=Portable
# Run
dotnet run --project KeepMeAlive/KeepMeAlive.csprojRequires the .NET 8 SDK and Windows.
- Keyboard & mouse keep-alive strategies
- Configurable intervals with random jitter
- System tray with dynamic status icon
- Dark / Light / System theme support
- Windows startup integration
- Live idle-time display
- Single-instance enforcement with IPC
- GitHub auto-update check
- License & subscription activation
- Scheduled keep-alive profiles (work hours only)
- Per-application trigger (activate only when Teams is running)
- Notification suppression mode
KeepMeAlive is local-first and privacy-first by default. It does not:
- Transmit any usage data, telemetry, or analytics
- Read, capture, or log your keystrokes
- Attempt to hide from antivirus, EDR, enterprise monitoring, or endpoint controls
Network behavior is explicit:
- Automatic GitHub update checks are off by default
- Startup account/license sync is off by default and currently a local no-op stub
- The only shipped network call is an optional unauthenticated
GETto the GitHub Releases API for version comparison
Storage behavior is explicit:
- Portable releases default to
<AppFolder>\Data\settings.json - Profile storage uses
%APPDATA%\KeepMeAlive\settings.json - License keys are stored securely outside
settings.jsonProfileAppData: Windows Credential ManagerPortableLocal: DPAPI-protected local file
- Windows startup writes
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonly when you enable it
See PRIVACY_DATA_FLOW.md for the exact data flow and storage map.
Contributions are welcome. Please follow the established code style defined in CLAUDE.md - zero warnings, XML documentation on all public members, strict MVVM with no logic in code-behind.
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b feature/your-feature - Commit with a descriptive message linked to the relevant issue
- Open a Pull Request against
main
Distributed under the MIT License.
Made for remote workers who just need a quick coffee break.
