# Bigarrow gives Mac-based AI agents a visual pointer
A new open-source macOS utility called bigarrow is designed to help coding agents point users toward buttons, settings and other on-screen elements that still require human action. The command-line tool places an arrow and label above application windows, then removes the overlay automatically after a specified interval.
The project addresses a practical gap in agent workflows. Software agents can modify files and run commands, but operating-system permission dialogs and other guarded interactions may still require a person to click. A message printed in a terminal can be easy to miss when the relevant control is elsewhere. Bigarrow instead gives the agent a way to draw attention directly on the display.
According to the project's repository, the overlay appears above other windows across displays and macOS Spaces. It is click-through, so the annotation does not intercept pointer actions, and it does not take keyboard focus away from the active application. The tool can draw large arrows, boxes and text signs. A placeholder in a sign can also expose a value for copying, allowing an agent to highlight where a code or other non-secret value should be pasted.
Bigarrow is distributed as a single Swift binary. The maintainers say it has no daemon, menu-bar component, account requirement or telemetry, and that drawing the overlay does not require additional macOS permission. Those descriptions come from the project itself; the supplied evidence does not include an independent security review.
The utility also offers application targeting. Its documented app option can raise a matching window and select a tab before drawing the annotation. That feature may be useful when several windows obscure the requested control, although automation still needs to identify the intended application and screen coordinates correctly.
Skills are provided for Claude Code and Codex so an agent can learn the available commands and invoke the utility during a session. The repository positions the tool as a narrow interface between automated work and moments when a human decision or protected action is needed. It deliberately does not attempt to click on the user's behalf.
The project is licensed under the MIT License and publishes its source code on GitHub. Its documentation includes examples involving real applications and scripts for staged demonstrations. The source packet does not provide adoption numbers, formal compatibility testing across macOS releases or performance comparisons with other annotation tools.
Bigarrow's significance is therefore less about a novel graphics technique than about packaging a familiar visual cue for agent-driven workflows. As desktop agents take on longer tasks, small handoff mechanisms can help users find the exact point where automation stops and human control resumes.
