Getting started
Pungo is a Mac app for custom cursors and tools you can use while presenting over your screen. System-wide cursor customization requires Apple Silicon and macOS 26.6.2, 27.0, or 27.0.1. Intel Macs and other macOS versions are not supported for cursor replacement.
- Open Pungo and complete the welcome steps.
- Activate your license in Settings.
- Choose a cursor pack from Collection and try its states.
- Adjust Cursor size, then choose Apply to Mac.
- Open Presentation when you want to point, draw, or zoom.
When you have the release download, open its disk image, drag Pungo to Applications, and launch it there. Follow macOS permission prompts; do not disable system security protections.
Pungo is delivered with your purchase rather than as a public download. Your Polar purchase details hold both the app and your license key, and keep them available for reinstalls.
See the current release status or try the browser demo. The web demo only changes cursors inside its own preview.
Activation and your license
One license activates up to 2 Macs. Online activation is required; after successful validation, Pungo works offline for up to 7 days. Deactivate a Mac to free its slot.
- Find your license key in your Polar purchase details.
- Open Pungo Settings, enter the key, and select Activate.
- To move to another Mac, deactivate the old device in Settings or Polar’s customer portal before activating the new one.
The key and activation receipt stay in macOS Keychain. Pungo and its helper check your license online periodically. A rejected or revoked license stops paid features; a temporary connection failure preserves access within the seven-day offline window. You can always restore your previous cursor.
The one-time license has no scheduled expiry. Future macOS compatibility and major-version upgrades are not a promise of perpetual support.
Cursor packs
Apply only the states you want
Open a pack to see its included cursor states. Enable the ones you want to use, and turn others off to use the corresponding macOS default. Changes apply when that cursor state is used, such as hovering over a link or grabbing an item.
Size and favorites
Adjust Cursor size in the pack view. Use Reset to return to 100%. Add a pack to Favorites to find it again quickly. The light and dark canvas options affect the preview.
Import your own pack
Select Import pack and choose a compatible .cursor or .cape file. Pungo checks its image data and cursor states before saving it to your local collection. The current app applies static system cursors; animated previews are not animated system replacements.
Restore your previous cursor
Select Stop using cursor in the sidebar or Settings. This restores the cursor state saved before Pungo applied your pack and keeps the pack in your collection. Some apps draw their own cursors and may keep those designs.
Presentation
- Open Presentation from the sidebar.
- Choose Pointer, Draw, or Zoom. Each tab activates the tools for that mode.
- Try your settings in the preview, then select Start presentation.
- Drag the floating toolbar by its handle to put it where you want it.
Pointer
Choose a highlight style, adjust its size and strength, and select a click effect. These effects help your audience follow the pointer while you interact with other apps.
Draw
Use the pen, highlighter, arrows, shapes, or numbered callouts. Adjust stroke width, opacity, and line style. Keep drawings until you clear them, or let them fade after 3 or 8 seconds.
Hold Shift for a straight highlight or a perfect circle or square. Use Undo for the latest mark or Clear for all marks. Select Pointer when you want to click through to the app beneath your drawing.
Zoom
Enable the magnifier, set its zoom level, and choose a lens shape and position. The first use requires macOS screen-capture permission. The magnifier shows a live view; it does not save a recording.
Pause, return to settings, or finish
Pause suspends the effects. Opening Presentation settings hides the toolbar and stops capture while you adjust it; Start presentation brings it back. End presentation removes the overlay and drawings. Sleep and user-session changes end the session rather than resuming it automatically.
Keep Awake
New in 0.5.0. Open Keep Awake from the sidebar or Pungo’s menu-bar icon. Choose a session, set your power preferences, then select Start Keep Awake.
Choose when to stop
- For a duration: use a preset or enter 1 minute to 7 days.
- Until a time: stop at the next occurrence of your chosen local time.
- Until stopped or Mac sleeps: keep going without a timer.
- While an app is open: follow the selected running app until that process exits.
- During Presentation: start Presentation first. Keep Awake ends with the presentation.
You can stop a session, replace it, or extend a timed session by 15 minutes.
Display and battery
Keep display awake is optional. Enable Stop when unplugged if you only want to stay awake on power. Choose a battery level from 10% to 50% at which to end Keep Awake while on battery; the default is 20%. This ends Pungo’s session and lets normal macOS sleep settings take over. It does not force immediate sleep or control charging or charge limits.
Manual sleep, closing the lid, signing out, and critical thermal conditions can end the session. Pungo does not change your system sleep preferences or keep a closed MacBook awake. Sessions never restart automatically.
Until AI finishes
New in 0.5.0. Pungo can follow supported session hooks from Codex desktop and CLI, Cursor, and Claude Code.
- Open Keep Awake → AI connections.
- Connect your coding tool. Review the hooks in Codex if you use Codex; tool policies may prevent hooks from running.
- Return to Session and choose Until AI finishes.
- Choose a safety limit of 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours, then start Keep Awake.
- Submit your next prompt in the connected tool.
Pungo releases Keep Awake after all reported active sessions finish. A supported permission-request event also ends that task’s awake hold while it waits for your input. The safety limit stops the session if a tool never reports completion. Start a new session when you want to continue.
Connections run locally. Pungo reads session events and does not store or forward prompt text, transcripts, code, or tool output. Connect and Disconnect manage Pungo’s entries in the tool’s hook configuration; other hooks are preserved and a backup is created before changes.
Keyboard shortcuts
While presenting, hold Control + Option + Command and press a number from 1 to 8 to switch tools. If a combination is already reserved by macOS or another app, use the toolbar instead.
Press Control + Option + Command + K, or select Keyboard control on the toolbar, to enable single-key shortcuts. Press Escape to release keyboard control.
| Tool | With ⌃⌥⌘ | Keyboard control |
|---|---|---|
| Pointer | 1 | V |
| Pen | 2 | P |
| Highlighter | 3 | H |
| Arrow | 4 | A |
| Rectangle | 5 | R |
| Ellipse | 6 | O |
| Number | 7 | N |
| Zoom | 8 | Z |
In keyboard control, use U to undo, D to clear drawings, X to pause or resume, and K to open Shortcuts. The Shortcuts page lists additional controls and lets you customize single-key bindings.
Keyboard control selects tools. It does not show or record everything you type in other apps.
Permissions & background helper
Screen Recording permission
Zoom uses macOS screen-capture permission. Manage Pungo’s access in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, also called Screen & System Audio Recording on some versions. If macOS asks you to quit and reopen Pungo, do so before trying Zoom again.
Captured frames remain in memory. Pungo does not record audio or save a video. Opening Presentation settings or ending the session stops capture.
Login helper
The optional helper keeps your cursor active after Pungo quits and reapplies it when you log in. Enable it through Pungo and approve the macOS login-item prompt. You can manage its permission under Login Items in System Settings.
To remove it, open Pungo Settings and choose Remove helper. Pungo restores your previous cursors first. The helper does not keep Presentation running after you quit.
Troubleshooting
My cursor hasn’t changed
Check that your Mac runs macOS 26.6.2, 27.0, or 27.0.1 on Apple Silicon, your license is active, the pack is applied, and the state you are testing is enabled. Try the pointer in another app. Apps that draw their own cursors may keep them. If the helper needs approval, follow the message in Pungo Settings.
My imported pack was rejected
Check that it is a compatible .cursor or .cape file with static states. Try a fresh export from the pack’s source. Pungo rejects malformed images, unsupported identifiers, and files that exceed its limits. Keep the exact error message for your support request.
The magnifier is blank or won’t start
Check Screen Recording permission for Pungo, follow any macOS relaunch prompt, then select Zoom again. If capture stops after a display change, return to Presentation settings and start a new session.
I can’t click the app under my drawings
Select Pointer on the toolbar, or use Control + Option + Command + 1. Drawing tools intercept clicks so you can annotate the screen.
Single-key shortcuts do nothing
Enable Keyboard control on the toolbar first. Escape turns it off. Single-key controls are paused while you type in an input, and customized shortcuts may differ from the defaults above.
My presentation disappeared after sleep
Pungo ends Presentation on sleep and user-session changes. Open Presentation and select Start presentation when you are ready again.
Where do I enter a purchased license?
Enter your key in Pungo Settings and select Activate. Use the key from your Polar purchase details. If both device slots are occupied, deactivate an old Mac first. See Pricing on the website for current purchase availability.