Show HN: I made a free Mac app to annotate screen for AI agents

A developer released Lasso, a free macOS app for macOS 14 Sonoma or later on Apple silicon and Intel that overlays a transparent drawing canvas on any app or display so users can circle, highlight, point at or number on-screen elements and then press S to capture the annotated screenshot for pasting into Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT. The app starts drawing with the ⌥⇧A shortcut and clears the annotation with the esc key, and its maker positions it as a way to show AI agents exactly which part of a web page, design or document a prompt refers to.

Free · macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon and Intel InsightsFileEditViewWindowHelp Mon Oct 19 9:41 Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Interactive — click to draw Try drawing on this screen The problem Explaining your screen shouldn’t be this hard. Whether you’re presenting, teaching or helping a teammate, pointing with a cursor only gets you so far. Shared screen Which one? People lose your cursor. A small arrow is easy to miss on a shared screen, so “this one, here” lands on no one. Screenshot Markup Ready to send. Finally. Capture. Edit. Export. Paste. Screenshot tools work backwards. Capture first, then open an editor, find the pen, export, paste. By the time it’s sent, the conversation has moved on. Your presentation The big idea. Save your changes?One more thing before you go. CancelSave There goes your flow. Most tools get in the way. Extra windows, stolen focus, and ink that stays behind after you’re done. How it works Press a shortcut. Draw. Press esc. Lasso puts a transparent canvas over everything on your Mac — only while you need it. ⌥⇧A Start drawing Over any app, on any display. Launch review Sign-ups48,210+38% this week Make your point Circle, highlight, point or number what matters. Launch review Sign-ups48,210+38% this week esc Done Your drawing disappears and your screen is back to normal. Try it on this page Great for Showing people exactly what you mean. Agents, too. A circle on the screen says more than a paragraph of directions — whoever, or whatever, is on the other end. Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Make this card match the other two — same padding, same number size. Agent With AI agents Paste what you mean into the prompt. Circle the part of a web page, design or doc you’re talking about, press S, and drag the screenshot into Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT. The agent sees exactly what you see. You’re sharing your screen Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite JLMRAKSO In meetings, online or in the room Keep everyone with you. Circle, highlight and point while you talk — on a call, in a demo, in front of a class. No one has to hunt for your cursor. A Ana 9:41 this one — can it go out Thursday? Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite J Jo 9:42 On it. With a colleague or friend Send the shot, not the essay. Mark the exact spot, press S, and drop it in Slack or Messages. “The second one in the list, the one that says…” becomes a circle. Screenshots Draw first. Then screenshot. Mark up your live screen and press S. The shot waits in the corner with every circle, arrow and highlight: drag it into a chat, copy it, or save it where you want. Other tools 5 steps Screenshot Open an editor Find the pen Export Paste Lasso 3 steps Draw on your screen Press S Drag it anywhere No editor. No export. InsightsFileEditViewWindowHelp Mon Oct 19 9:41 Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Want to trim it? Click the shot to crop it or add more. The toolbar never shows up in the shot — just your screen and your drawing. Drawing tools Point at exactly what you mean. Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Circle it Draw freehand around anything — your strokes come out smooth. Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Highlight it Mark a line without covering it up. Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Point to it Arrows and lines that land exactly where you aim. Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Walk through it Numbered steps that count up as you click. Also included: text, rectangles and ellipses, a laser pointer, an eraser, and eight colors. Pages & whiteboards Need a clean slate? Swipe. Start a fresh page — or a whiteboard — without losing what you drew. Swipe back and it’s all still there. InsightsFileEditViewWindowHelp Mon Oct 19 9:41 Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite InsightsFileEditViewWindowHelp Mon Oct 19 9:41 Launch Review WeekMonthQuarter Week of Oct 12 – 18 · All platforms Sign-ups 48,210 ▲ 38% vs last week Activation 64.2% ▲ 4.1 pts Churn 1.8% ▼ 0.3 pts Daily sign-ups Peak 12,480 · Thursday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Next steps Fix onboarding email Ship dark mode Update pricing page Record demo video Plan Q1 offsite Drag the page or click a tab. Thoughtful details Stays out of your way. Works over any app Slides, code, video calls and full-screen apps. Lives in your menu bar No Dock icon and no windows to manage. Nothing to clean up Press esc and your screen is exactly as it was. Screenshot when you’re done Press S after drawing. It waits in the corner to copy, save or edit. Pin your notes Leave a drawing up while you keep working. Made for Mac A native app that feels at home on macOS. Get Lasso for Mac. Free. Opens from your menu bar and stays out of the way until you need it. Version 1.2.1 · macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon and Intel · 4 MB Notarized by Apple No account, no in-app tracking Drag to Applications and go Is it really free? Yes. Download it, drag it to Applications, done. No account, no trial, no card. Will it run on my Mac? Any Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel. The Liquid Glass toolbar needs macOS 26; everything else is the same on macOS 14 and 15. Is it safe to install? Lasso is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other Mac app — no warnings, no workarounds. Does it need any permissions? Drawing needs none. Screenshots read the pixels on your screen, so the first one asks for Screen Recording. You can skip it and keep drawing. Where do my screenshots go? Nowhere until you say so. Each one waits in a small stack in the corner: copy it, drag it into another app, or save it to the folder you pick. How do I uninstall it? Quit Lasso from the menu bar, then drag it from Applications to the Trash. That’s all of it.