franzenzenhofer/big-arrow-on-the-screen

What is it?

Key features

• 01Draws arrows, rings and boxes with signs over every window and Space.
• 02Clicks pass through the overlay and keyboard focus is never taken.
• 03Targets by coordinates, window or app name, or Accessibility element label.
• 04Arrows end automatically by time limit, owner process exit, or stop command.
• 05Optional copy button for values in the sign and text-to-speech via --say.
• 06Supports JSON output and defined exit codes for scripting.

Use cases

• Telling a user which button to click when an agent needs a permission grant.
• Pointing a person to a 2FA, CAPTCHA or payment step that the agent should not complete.
• Walking someone through an app's UI step by step, or helping a relative over screen share.
• Highlighting UI elements while recording demos or rendering annotated screenshots.

Quick start

1. 1

   Install via Homebrew

   brew install franzenzenhofer/tap/bigarrow
2. 2

   Teach Claude Code and Codex the skill

   bigarrow install-skill
3. 3

   Point an arrow at a UI element

   bigarrow point --element "Allow" --app "System Settings" --text "Franz, click Allow"

Things to know

• !macOS only, requires macOS 14 or later to build from source.
• !Building from source needs Xcode 16 or later.
• !Only points at things; it never clicks, types or captures the screen.

Topics

FAQ

What is big-arrow-on-the-screen?

A macOS CLI and AI agent skill that draws big arrows, boxes and signs on screen to point users at UI elements, without clicking or capturing anything. bigarrow is a Swift command-line tool for macOS that draws an arrow with a sign on top of all windows, across every display and Space. Clicks pass through the overlay, keyboard focus stays where it was, and the arrow removes itself after a time limit, when its owning agent process exits, or when the user stops it.

Is big-arrow-on-the-screen free to use? What license does it have?

big-arrow-on-the-screen is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is big-arrow-on-the-screen still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to big-arrow-on-the-screen was on Oct 18, 2026.

What can I use big-arrow-on-the-screen for?

Telling a user which button to click when an agent needs a permission grant. Pointing a person to a 2FA, CAPTCHA or payment step that the agent should not complete. Walking someone through an app's UI step by step, or helping a relative over screen share. Highlighting UI elements while recording demos or rendering annotated screenshots.

How do I install big-arrow-on-the-screen?

Install via Homebrew: brew install franzenzenhofer/tap/bigarrow Teach Claude Code and Codex the skill: bigarrow install-skill Point an arrow at a UI element: bigarrow point --element "Allow" --app "System Settings" --text "Franz, click Allow"

Where can I get big-arrow-on-the-screen?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/franzenzenhofer/big-arrow-on-the-screen