overlays 1.6.1

A lightweight Windows overlay manager and client library for creating click through overlay windows.

overlays

A lightweight Windows overlay manager and client library for creating click through overlay windows: highlights, countdowns, elapsed timers, and QR codes, all communicated over a named pipe. This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See the LICENSE file for details.

Features

• Highlight Windows: Draw colored rectangles around screen regions for attention-grabbing highlights.
• Countdown Timers: Display a countdown clock with a custom message.
• Elapsed Time Windows: Track and display elapsed time since creation.
• QR Code Overlays: Render QR codes with captions.
• Named-Pipe IPC: Send commands from your application to the overlay manager via a simple pipe.
• Graceful Shutdown: Press Ctrl+C or send SIGTERM to clean up windows and threads.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or later (older Versions might work but aren't supported)
• Python 3.10+
• Dependencies: pywin32, qrcode

Getting Started

1a. Run the Overlay Manager

The overlay manager hosts a named-pipe server and listens for overlay commands.
To run the manager, simply use the following uv command:

uvx overlays

You should see the following output:

🔧 OverlayManager - Windows Overlay Application
================================================
✅ Signal handlers configured
🚀 Starting OverlayManager...
✅ OverlayManager initialized successfully
📡 Named pipe server: \\.\pipe\overlay_manager
🎯 Application ready - overlay windows can now be created
💡 Press Ctrl+C to shutdown gracefully

1b. Run the Overlay Manager with env vars

Specify your environment variables in your .env file or in your terminal, i.e. OVERLAY_PIPE_NAME="overlay_manager_env"

Afterwards run the overlay manager:

uvx overlays

You should see the following allowed arguments:

🔧 OverlayManager - Windows Overlay Application
================================================
✅ Signal handlers configured
🚀 Starting OverlayManager...
✅ OverlayManager initialized successfully
📡 Named pipe server: \\.\pipe\overlay_manager_env
🎯 Application ready - overlay windows can now be created
💡 Press Ctrl+C to shutdown gracefully

Supported env vars:

Variable	Description
OVERLAY_PIPE_NAME	Defines the name of the win32 pipe

2. Embed the OverlayClient in Your Code

Import and instantiate the OverlayClient to send overlay commands:

from overlays.client import OverlayClient

# Create one client to connect to the manager's pipe
overlay = OverlayClient()

# Create a highlight window
overlay.create_highlight_window(rect=(100, 100, 400, 300), timeout_seconds=5)

# Create a 10-second countdown
overlay.create_countdown_window(message_text="Get ready!", countdown_seconds=10)

# Create an elapsed-time window
overlay.create_elapsed_time_window(message_text="Session Length")

# Show a QR code for some data
overlay.create_qrcode_window(data={"url": "https://example.com"}, duration=15, caption="Scan me")

# Update a window's message
overlay.update_window_message(window_id=2, new_message="Halfway there...")

# Close a specific window
overlay.close_window(window_id=1)

# Take and cancel breaks
overlay.take_break(duration_seconds=60)
overlay.cancel_break()

IPC Commands Reference

Command	Args	Description
create_highlight_window	rect: (l, t, r, b), timeout_seconds: int	Shows a colored rectangle for a duration.
create_countdown_window	message_text: str, countdown_seconds: int	Starts a countdown timer.
create_elapsed_time_window	message_text: str	Displays elapsed time since creation.
create_qrcode_window	data: str | dict, duration: int, caption: str	Renders a QR code overlay.
update_window_message	window_id: int, new_message: str	Changes the text of a countdown/elapsed window.
close_window	window_id: int	Closes any overlay window (countdown, elapsed, highlight, or QR code).
take_break	duration_seconds: int	Holds incoming commands for a break period.
cancel_break	(none)	Cancels any active break and discards pending commands.

Graceful Shutdown

Press Ctrl+C in the console running main.py, or send a SIGTERM signal. The manager will clean up all open windows and exit.

Contributing

Contributions are always welcome!
The following steps should be used:

1. Fork the repo.
2. Create a feature branch.
3. Submit a pull request—happy to review improvements!