BloomGauge Guardian: keeps your Mac earning

Updated October 1, 2026

Short answer: Guardian is the part of BloomGauge that keeps a Darkbloom Mac earning, whoever picks the model. When Darkbloom stops serving your model, it loads it again or restarts Darkbloom, within set limits, and it tells you why a Mac isn’t earning when the fix is yours. It is free and comes with BloomGauge 1.36.64. We make BloomGauge, so weigh this accordingly.

Why it matters

Darkbloom pays the base reward only while a model is loaded. By default Darkbloom unloads the model after an idle hour.
About 30% of online Darkbloom Macs have no model loaded (public stats, Sep 27–29, 2026).
A Mac can also look online while it gets no paid work: a restart that got stuck, a failed relaunch, or a session Darkbloom doesn’t route to.

Keep this Mac earning

On by default, in Optimizer → Overview. When Darkbloom stops serving the model you chose, BloomGauge loads it again or restarts Darkbloom: after an idle unload (unless you set your own idle time in Darkbloom), a restart that got stuck, a relaunch that failed, or a session that gets no paid work. If you pick the model yourself, your choice doesn’t change. With the Manager on, the Manager does this job.

Keep my model loaded

A switch in Optimizer → Overview. Turned on, Darkbloom keeps the model in memory instead of unloading it after an idle hour, so the base reward doesn’t pause. On by default on new installs from BloomGauge 1.36.64; Macs that already had BloomGauge keep their setting. BloomGauge applies it with one restart, the next time the model sits unloaded, and suggests it when your Mac keeps getting unloaded.

Why not earning?

More → Why not earning? checks each thing Darkbloom needs before it pays, in the order Darkbloom checks them: Powered and awake, Connected to Darkbloom, Taking new work, Verified, Model loaded, Measured recently, Winning requests, Jobs paid. It names the first one that isn’t OK, shows what BloomGauge measured and did, and, when the fix is yours, offers one step. When no model is loaded, it says why (too big, other apps holding memory, file cache, an idle unload) and can suggest a downloaded model that fits this Mac, which you switch to after a confirmation. A Reliability card on Overview shows how much of the last 24 hours and 7 days this Mac was ready to earn and what caused the rest.

After updates, and on battery

When Darkbloom or macOS updates itself, BloomGauge checks that the Mac comes back verified, serving and paid within 30 awake minutes (an hour after a macOS update). If it doesn’t, you get one Problems alert that says which step failed.
It warns when Darkbloom is older than the network accepts, and once before an automatic macOS update restarts a Mac that has FileVault on (after that restart the Mac waits for your login and earns nothing until then).
Power alerts: when an earning Mac has been on battery for 2 minutes, and again at 30% and 15%. It also tells you when the charger can’t keep up with the load.

Offline notice (opt-in)

Tell me if this Mac goes offline, in Optimizer → Overview → Notifications, turned on from the Mac. It needs a phone that already gets BloomGauge notifications. BloomGauge checks in with the website every 5 minutes; if the check-ins stop for 15 minutes (you can choose 10–60) while the Mac should be running, your phone gets one ordinary notification. Shut Down, Log Out, quitting BloomGauge and a pause or stop you made don’t count. Each check-in carries a random ID, the app version, one status word and when to expect the next one, never earnings, account details, model names or hardware details. Turning it off deletes the website’s copy. Details are on the privacy page.

When it acts, and its limits

It restarts Darkbloom on its own at most 3 times an hour and 6 times a day, and waits longer after each try. A Mac that is down may get one more repair in an hour.
If restarts don’t bring paid work back, it stops and tells you.
It waits while Darkbloom’s network shows a wide problem, while Darkbloom finishes accepted work, for the first minutes while Darkbloom verifies a new session, and while Darkbloom updates itself.
Planned model switches start just after Darkbloom’s 5-minute base-reward check, so a switch costs less.

What it never does

It never changes your model choice when you pick the model yourself (Manager off). It only reloads or restarts the model you picked.
It never restarts Darkbloom after a stop you made (Darkbloom’s Pause, darkbloom stop, or Stop in BloomGauge), and it leaves Darkbloom’s availability schedule and Darkbloom Autopilot alone.
Why not earning? never changes a setting by itself. A model switch it suggests happens only after you confirm.
It doesn’t promise higher earnings. It keeps the Mac ready to earn; what it earns still depends on demand, hardware and uptime.
Turn off Keep this Mac earning in Optimizer → Overview to go back to the old Manual behavior.

How BloomGauge helps

Guardian is built into BloomGauge 1.36.64 and later, free, with no account. It works in every mode, whether you pick the model yourself or let the Manager pick the best-paying one.

Download BloomGauge, free for Mac

Questions

What is BloomGauge Guardian?

The part of BloomGauge that keeps a Darkbloom Mac earning: it reloads your model after an idle unload, restarts a stuck provider within set limits, checks the Mac after updates, alerts you on battery, and explains why a Mac isn’t earning.

Does Guardian change my model?

Not if you pick the model yourself. It only reloads or restarts the model you chose. With the Manager on, the Manager picks the model and does the recovery.

How often does Guardian restart Darkbloom?

At most 3 times an hour and 6 times a day, waiting longer after each try. It waits out Darkbloom-wide problems, accepted work and Darkbloom’s own updates, and stops and tells you if restarts don’t help.

Why does a loaded model matter?

Darkbloom pays the base reward only while a model is loaded. About 30% of online Darkbloom Macs have no model loaded (public stats, Sep 27–29, 2026).

Is Guardian free?

Yes. It is part of BloomGauge, which is free with no account.

Updated 2026-10-01. Still stuck? Ask in #bloomgauge on the Darkbloom Slack or contact us. BloomGauge is independent and not affiliated with Darkbloom.