AutoStandByPro is a lightweight, intuitive, rule-based application that stops your computer sleeping, waking, or shutting down at the wrong moment — and puts it into a lower power state automatically when it actually isn't needed, saving electricity in the process.

With AutoStandByPro you can automate Shutdown, Restart, Sleep, Hibernate or Lock a computer, Log Off the current user or all users, Prevent Sleep/Hibernation, Prevent Display Sleep, or run a Custom Command of your own.

AutoStandByPro executes Actions based on user-defined Rules. Each Rule's action (Shutdown, Restart, Sleep, etc.) runs based on the outcome of its associated Trigger — a condition such as User Activity, Computer Display, or a User/System Process.

You can combine two or more rules; AutoStandByPro processes all enabled rules together using two conditions:

• If any active rule's action is "Prevent Sleep/Hibernation," no other action runs.
• Otherwise, among the active remaining rules, AutoStandByPro picks the one with the least remaining time and runs its action when that time reaches zero.

Windows 10 or Windows 11, 32-bit or 64-bit.

It needs the .NET Framework 4.6.1 or later, which current versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11 already include, so there is normally nothing extra to install.

Each Action only works if your computer supports it — for example, Hibernate has to be available on that machine. AutoStandByPro checks this before you pick an action and offers to enable it if it's supported but switched off. Wake Up needs wake timers to be supported and enabled; AutoStandByPro tries to enable them for you.

Triggers are grouped into four categories, the same way they appear in the app. The ones marked PLUS need AutoStandByPro Plus; everything else is free.

User

• User Activity — no user activity for a given period.
• Mouse and Keyboard Activity — no mouse and keyboard activity for a given period.
• Mouse Movement PLUS — no mouse activity for a given period.
• Keyboard Pressed PLUS — no keyboard activity for a given period.
• User Process — a process running or stopped under your own account.

Computer

• Computer Activity — CPU, disk, network, download or upload above or below a threshold for a given period.
• Computer Display — display on or off for a given period.
• System Process — a process running or stopped under any account.
• Windows Service — a service started or stopped.
• Network Connections — an active connection on a given IP/hostname and port (for example a media server stream).
• Reachable Machines — another device answering (or not) on the network.

Time-Based

• By Date — a specific date and time, once or on a repeating schedule.
• After Specific Time — after a set amount of time has passed.

Advanced

• HTTP (Get) and HTTP (Post) PLUS — the result of a web request matching, or not matching, what you expect.
• Power Requests PLUS — another application asking Windows to keep the system or display awake.

• Sleep — put the computer to sleep. On a Modern Standby computer, AutoStandByPro turns the display off, which is how Windows enters Modern Standby.
• Hibernate
• Log Off (All Users)
• Log Off (Current User)
• Lock Computer
• Restart
• Shutdown
• Prevent Display Sleep
• Prevent Sleep/Hibernation
• Custom Command — run a command of your choice with any parameters.

AutoStandByPro is free to download and use, with no trial period, no license key, and no time limit on the core features.

AutoStandByPro Plus is an optional one-time upgrade (€12.99). It adds a background service that detects activity in every Windows session on the computer, the separate Mouse Movement and Keyboard Pressed triggers, the HTTP and Power Requests triggers, day/time profile scheduling, and priority support — see the Plus page for the full comparison. Online purchasing isn't open yet; the Purchase page has the current status.

AutoStandByPro can wake your computer from a sleep state on a schedule you define — once, every few hours, every few days, or weekly on the days you choose. It can also detect which sleep states your computer supports and let you enable or configure them.

It also includes a Simple Profile Wizard that can put together your first set of rules in a few steps.

Yes — that's what Profiles are for. Each Profile is its own set of Rules, and you can switch between them from the tray icon or the main window. With Plus, AutoStandByPro can also switch profiles automatically by day and time — for example a "Work Hours" profile on weekdays and a different one for evenings and weekends.

Yes. Backup/Restore exports all your Profiles and Rules to a file, which you can keep as a backup or import on another computer to copy your setup over instead of rebuilding it by hand.

No — that's the reason it exists. Rules can watch for network/disk activity, specific processes, or the computer's display state, so you set it up to leave the computer alone while something is actually happening, instead of relying on a single "sleep after N idle minutes" timer that doesn't know the difference.

It runs from the system tray and keeps working with the window closed. Application Settings has a "Start with Windows" option so it's running automatically after every boot, and a "Sent to System Tray" option so closing the window doesn't exit the program.

The rules you create and the activity they watch for stay on your own computer. AutoStandByPro only goes online to check for updates, to verify a Plus license key, and for any network checks your own rules ask for (such as a Reachable Machines ping or an HTTP trigger).

Download it and run the installer — no license key or account needed to get started. To remove it, uninstall it the normal Windows way, from Settings > Apps (or Control Panel > Programs) like any other application.

Yes. AutoStandByPro is new software from a small publisher and its installer is not digitally signed yet, so Windows (SmartScreen) may say “Windows protected your PC”: click More info, then Run anyway. A few antivirus programs may also warn, usually with a generic or “machine learning” name, because the program (and the Plus background service) watches keyboard and mouse activity to know when you are away, which some programs treat as suspicious. We have the files checked by many antivirus engines and report every false alarm to the vendor.

To make sure your file is genuine, compare its SHA-256 with the one on the download page (in PowerShell: Get-FileHash .\AutoStandByProSetup.msi). Please do not turn your antivirus off. If it warns, write to [email protected] with the exact text of the warning, the name of your antivirus and the file it names, and we will ask the vendor to correct it. See also the help page what to do if your security software shows a warning.

Yes. Run the new installer; it replaces the old version and keeps your rules, profiles and settings. If you used AutoStandByPro 2.x, your rules and Plus license carry over automatically — no backup is needed, and in most cases you do not have to enter the key again (the first start needs an internet connection to move the license). If the title bar still says “Free” afterwards, open Help > Activate Plus License and enter your key (without internet, use the offline activation). Your computer may count as a new one after the upgrade; if AutoStandByPro says the key has already been used on too many computers, write to [email protected] with your key and we will free a place. One exception: if 2.x was installed for your user account only ("Just me"), the installer will ask you to uninstall it first from Settings > Apps, and then run it again. Your rules and license are kept in that case too. Settings such as colors and display options go back to their defaults.

Use the Contact form for questions, Suggest a Feature for anything missing, or Report a Bug if something isn't working. The full Help Center covers every window in the app.