// GUIDE · UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
How to draw on your screen in OBS on a Mac
OBS doesn't have a drawing tool. Run a screen annotation app like Overlaid, then capture your Display (not a Window) in OBS's macOS Screen Capture source, and everything you draw shows up in the stream.
On Windows people often use a plugin or a separate pen app. On a Mac the approach is the same: OBS captures your screen, and a separate app does the drawing.
There's one setting that decides whether it works, and it catches almost everyone out.
METHOD 01
Set the capture to Display
Free, OBS setting
OBS's macOS Screen Capture source can capture a whole display, a single window or an application. Only a display capture includes overlays.
- 1Add (or edit) a macOS Screen Capture source.
- 2Set the capture method to Display and pick your screen.
- 3Anything drawn on that screen is now part of the stream.
GOOD
- +Works with any annotation app
NOT SO GOOD
- −Captures everything on that display, so hide what you don't want seen
METHOD 02THAT'S US
Draw with Overlaid
$11.99 once, 7-day free trial
Circle, point and show shortcuts on stream, with a cursor effect viewers can actually follow.
- 1Press ⌃⌥C for a cursor halo or trail.
- 2Press ⌃⌥K for keystrokes (key combos only by default, so plain typing stays off stream).
- 3Press ⌃⌥D to draw. Every Overlaid action is a plain shortcut, so a Stream Deck hotkey works too.
GOOD
- +Secure input never shown
- +Fading ink for long streams
- +Stream Deck works with no plugin
NOT SO GOOD
- −Paid after the trial
- −Window captures won't show it
// WORTH KNOWING
THREE TIPS.
Display, not Window
If drawings don't show on stream, this is almost always why.
A second display helps
Capture one display for the audience and keep OBS and chat on the other.
Combos only
Showing every key on a stream means showing everything you type. Keep it to shortcuts.
// FAQ
QUICK QUESTIONS.
No. Use a screen annotation app and capture the display in OBS.
Your source is capturing a window or application instead of the whole display. Switch the macOS Screen Capture source to Display.
// COMPARE
// GUIDES
// YOUR NEXT CALL
Draw on your screen in the next five minutes.
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