Picture this: you’re in the middle of a presentation, teaching a class, or walking a colleague through a design, and you need to point out something on your screen—fast. Enter Annotate, a free, open-source macOS tool that transforms your screen into a canvas for instant markups.
With a tap of a hotkey, you can draw arrows, highlight text, or drop numbered steps, all without breaking your flow. Built for speed and simplicity, this lightweight app is keyboard-driven, fully customizable, and packed with just the right tools to make your ideas pop.
Whether you’re a teacher circling key points, a designer sketching feedback, or a remote worker guiding a team, Annotate slips seamlessly into your workflow. It’s not bloated software—it’s a nimble, native Mac app that stays out of your way until you need it, then delivers with precision.
Why You’ll Love It
- Draw Anything, Anywhere: Grab tools like pens, arrows, or highlighters to mark up your screen in seconds.
- Keyboard Magic: Switch tools with shortcuts (e.g., ‘p’ for pen, ‘h’ for highlight) for a smooth, mouse-free experience.
- Fade or Stay: Pick fade mode to let annotations vanish after a moment, or persist mode to keep them until you’re done.
- Your Style, Your Way: Customize shortcuts and colors to match how you work—red arrows today, blue circles tomorrow.
- Always Ready: Launch it from the menu bar or a global hotkey, no matter what app you’re in.
What It Offers
- Toolbox Variety: Freehand pens, arrows, rectangles, circles, text, numbered counters—everything you need to explain visually.
- Smart Modes: Fade mode for temporary notes (great for live demos) or persist mode for detailed breakdowns.
- Light & Fast: Built natively for macOS, it runs smoothly without hogging resources.
- Open-Source Perks: Free under the MIT License, with a community keeping it fresh and bug-free.
Perfect For
- Presentations: Point out key details during Zoom calls or live demos.
- Tutorials: Add clear, step-by-step visuals to screencasts or lessons.
- Feedback: Sketch notes on designs or UI mockups for your team.
- Support: Guide users by highlighting exactly what to click.
- Pen (p): Scribble freehand with precision.
- Arrow (a): Direct attention with clean, bold arrows.
- Highlighter (h): Emphasize text or areas with a subtle glow.
- Rectangle (r) & Circle (o): Frame or spotlight key sections.
- Text (t): Drop editable notes anywhere.
- Counter (n): Add numbered steps for guides.
Get Started
- Download: Grab it from GitHub.
- Install: Unzip and drag Annotate.app to your Applications folder.
- Set Up: Open it, pick your global hotkey, and tweak shortcuts if you like.
- Go: Hit your hotkey and start annotating!
System Requirements
- macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or higher
- 4GB RAM minimum
- Works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs