Big Arrow skill: the agent points, you click
Big Arrow is a macOS command-line tool and agent skill by Franz Enzenhofer. When an agent hits a step only a human may do, like an Allow button or a 2FA code, it draws a big arrow with a sign over every window, pointing at the spot.
An agent working on your Mac reaches a point it shouldn't pass on its own: a permission dialog, a two-factor code, a payment button. Usually it writes "please click Allow in System Settings" into a terminal you're not looking at. Big Arrow draws a large arrow with a text sign on top of every window instead, pointing at the exact spot. Clicks pass through it, it never takes keyboard focus, and it disappears by itself. The README puts the rule plainly: it never clicks, types or captures, it only points. It reached the front page of Hacker News on October 9 with 400 points, two days after the repo was created. For the basics, see Claude Code skills.
What the agent can do with it
| Command | Does |
|---|---|
bigarrow point --element "Allow" --app "System Settings" --text "Click Allow" | Points at a named button in an app (needs Accessibility) |
bigarrow point --at 760,500 --text "..." | Points at screen coordinates |
bigarrow start --window "Safari:Inbox" --text "This window" | Marks a whole window until bigarrow stop |
{{value}} in the text | Shows the value with a copy button, handy for a code you need to paste |
--say | Reads the sign aloud |
--dry-run --json | Shows where it would point without drawing |
A pointer lasts 8 seconds by default and a window marker 5 minutes. It also goes away when the agent process exits or when you reply. The skill fires when you ask things like "show me where" or "which button do I click", and whenever you have to approve, sign or pay something.
How to install it
brew install franzenzenhofer/tap/bigarrow
bigarrow install-skillThe second command writes the skill to ~/.claude/skills for Claude Code and ~/.agents/skills for Codex. You need macOS 14 or later, and Homebrew builds it from source, so Xcode 16 must be installed. There's an optional hook that clears the arrow as soon as you type your next prompt; the README shows the lines to add to your Claude Code settings.
Permissions, and what to watch
- Drawing needs no permission. Pointing at a named button needs Accessibility; marking a window by title needs Screen Recording. Both are granted to your terminal app, not to Big Arrow, which widens what everything in that terminal can do. The README says so itself.
- Inside Chrome, pointing by button name only works if Chrome runs with accessibility turned on; otherwise the agent passes page coordinates.
- No network, no telemetry, per the README. It can bring an app or tab to the front, which
--no-raiseturns off. - It's new. The project was days old when we checked, with several releases a day. Expect flags to change.
When to use it
- Agents that set things up on your Mac: installs that stop at a system dialog, sign-ins with a 2FA code, browser flows that end at a confirm button.
- Walking someone less technical through an app: "show me where to turn this on".
- Any workflow where you've told the agent to stop before submitting: it can stop and point, so you see exactly what you're approving. Our story on Anthropic's agent report has a prompt for those ground rules.
It does nothing on Windows or Linux, and nothing for an agent with no access to your desktop.
Sources
- franzenzenhofer/big-arrow-on-the-screen README and SKILL.md — GitHub, accessed October 2026
- Show HN: Let your AI agents paint big arrows, boxes and text on your screen, October 9, 2026