Draw over anything on your screen. Works during presentations, live demos, and screen sharing without switching windows or apps.
No terminal needed.
Go to the Releases page and download the installer for your platform:
| Platform | File | Size |
|---|---|---|
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | Annotation.Overlay-1.2.1-arm64.dmg | 133 MB |
| Windows | Annotation.Overlay.Setup.1.2.1.exe | 119 MB |
| Linux | Annotation.Overlay-1.2.1.AppImage | 122 MB |
Open the installer and follow the prompts. Launch Annotation Overlay from Applications or your Start Menu.
First Launch: macOS may show a security warning.
To open the app: 1. Right-click the app icon 2. Select “Open” 3. Click “Open” in the dialog
Alternative: System Settings → Privacy & Security → “Open Anyway”
To update, download the latest installer from the Releases page and install it over the existing version.
npm install
npm startThe overlay sits on top of every window on your screen.
When you launch the app, a small Annotate capsule appears at the top-center of your screen. Click it or press Cmd+Shift+D to enter drawing mode.
When drawing mode is on, the toolbar appears and you can draw freely. When drawing mode is off, clicks pass through to whatever is underneath. Your annotations stay visible but stay out of the way.
You can also toggle drawing mode with Cmd+Shift+D on Mac or Ctrl+Shift+D on Windows and Linux.
| Tool | Shortcut | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Pen | P |
Freehand drawing |
| Rectangle | R |
Drag to draw a rectangle |
| Arrow | A |
Drag to draw an arrow |
| Highlighter | G |
Semi-transparent wide stroke |
| Eraser | E |
Click a stroke to delete it |
| Action | Mac | Windows / Linux |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle drawing mode | Cmd+Shift+D |
Ctrl+Shift+D |
| Exit drawing mode | Escape |
Escape |
| Color picker | C |
C |
| Stroke width | W |
W |
| Undo | Cmd+Z |
Ctrl+Z |
| Clear all | X |
X |
| Screenshot | Cmd+S |
Ctrl+S |
| Hide/show toolbar | H |
H |
| Quit | Cmd+Q |
Ctrl+Q |
On macOS, the app needs Screen Recording permission to capture screenshots. If you haven't granted it, the app will prompt you when you try to save a screenshot. You can manage this in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording.
Single-click the icon in the menu bar to toggle drawing mode on or off.
Right-click for quick access to toggle, clear, screenshot, and quit.
Cmd+S captures your full desktop with annotations on top and saves it as a PNG.
Open overlay.html directly in a browser for a basic annotation experience without the system-wide overlay.
Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md to get started.