Show HN: Glitchrupt: Glitch your desktop when your AI agent needs your attention

An independent developer released Glitchrupt, an MIT-licensed macOS app that plays a 600-millisecond glitch animation across the desktop when an AI agent needs attention, repeating every 15 minutes until the agent's approval wait is resolved. Glitchrupt ships five sound variants (Classic, Fracture, Brownout, Arc, Stutter), a CLI, and a local MCP server that lets agents check status, list sounds, play a cue, and register or resolve approval waits, with a documented Codex integration. The app requires macOS 14+, Xcode Command Line Tools with Swift, Python 3.11+ and uv, keeps desktop images in memory without saving or transmitting them, and is signed only for local testing pending public-release signing and notarization.

Your agent needs you. Give the screen a little attitude. Twelve windows deep? Agent waiting on a question? Glitchrupt gives your desktop a 600-millisecond jolt : fractured pixels, a crack of digital static, then back to your business. The whole animation runs faster; every beat stays in. It works over your other apps, even with Codex in the background. Everything runs on your Mac. Desktop images stay in memory and disappear after the effect; nothing is saved or sent away. Entirely synthetic demo. No real desktop, chats, files, or screen recordings. It uses the app’s renderer at real speed: 600 ms → 200 ms gap → 600 ms . Watch with original sound https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/assets/demo/demo.mp4 , or see a still https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/assets/demo/poster.png . Reminders repeat every 15 minutes while registered and stop when the agent clears the wait after your reply or unblock. Five original crackles: Classic, Fracture, Brownout, Arc, Stutter . Open the desktop tester and hit Compare all five . Windowed previews work without screen capture. You stay in charge: switch sound off, pause agent cues from the menu bar, or quit. Agent requests share a five-second cooldown. Reduce Motion suppresses desktop effects. You need macOS 14+, Xcode Command Line Tools with Swift, Python 3.11+, and uv https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ . ./scripts/build.sh open build/Glitchrupt.app uv sync --locked uv run --locked glitchrupt preview --variant classic For the whole desktop, enable Glitchrupt in macOS Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording , then relaunch if asked. The app briefly covers each display with a distorted snapshot and removes the overlays when it finishes. uv run --locked glitchrupt signal --variant fracture Glitchrupt ships a CLI and a local MCP server . Agents can check status, list sounds, play a cue, register an approval wait, inspect pending waits, and resolve them. uv run --locked glitchrupt status uv run --locked glitchrupt mcp Connect it to Codex https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/codex-integration.md , or use the other-agent setup and tool reference https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/agent-usage.md . MCP registration is a separate setup step. For an approval wait, Glitchrupt plays 600 ms → 200 ms gap → 600 ms , then repeats every 15 minutes until the agent resolves it. Duplicate registrations do not replay the cue. The optional Codex hook handles the initial double cue. Automatic repeats require an explicit wait/resolve workflow because the available desktop hook events cannot reliably confirm when an approval was answered. Approval setup and limits https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/approval-alerts.md . MIT licensed https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/LICENSE . Editable artwork, sound generators, Swift app, and Python tools live together. The visuals and sounds are original; this independent project has no affiliation with Marvel or Sony. uv run --locked python -m pytest -q ./scripts/package.sh Packaging creates local source/app ZIPs and checksums. The current app is signed for local testing; public releases need signing and notarization https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/releasing.md . See architecture https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/architecture.md , brand sources https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/brand.md , and verification https://github.com/elbee19/glitchrupt/blob/main/docs/validation.md for the nuts and bolts. Poke the human. Carry on.