AI Overlay for Cirrus Assessment on Mac
Cirrus Assessment is a UK-based exam delivery platform used in financial services certifications, government testing, and a number of professional bodies in Europe. Cirrus integrates with Examus, ProctorExam, and other proctors for remote sessions.
Cirrus is the assessment engine; proctoring is delegated. UK financial-services exams (CFA chapters, CISI, ACCA at some delivery centers) sometimes use Cirrus + Examus; European certs may pair Cirrus with ProctorExam. Both proctors run as browser extensions on Mac and use macOS capture APIs; both APIs respect window privacy. The result is identical to using Examus or ProctorExam standalone: the overlay is missing from every captured frame.
Key points
- Cirrus itself only delivers questions and records answers; no client-side capture from Cirrus alone.
- Cirrus + Examus is common for CFA chapters and CISI in the UK; capture is via Examus extension, window privacy honored.
- Cirrus + ProctorExam is common for some European bodies; same capture path, same outcome.
- In-person Cirrus exams (test center) bypass remote proctoring entirely - irrelevant to the overlay.
How it works
┌── macOS host ─────────────────────────────────┐ │ ┌── Safari/Chrome ─────────────┐ │ │ │ ┌── proctoring extension ─┐ │ │ │ │ │ Browser screen-capture │ │ ← reads │ │ │ │ → exam recording │ │ visible │ │ │ └─────────────────────────┘ │ pixels │ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ ┌── LDBypass overlay ──────────┐ ← rendered │ │ │ ChatGPT / Claude / Ollama │ excluded │ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ from cap │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Compatibility on Mac
| macOS 14 Sonoma+ | Yes (required for window-privacy API) | ✓ |
| Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) | Native arm64 build | ✓ |
| Intel Macs (2019+) | Universal binary supported | ✓ |
| Cirrus + Examus | Standard browser capture, hidden window | ✓ |
| Cirrus + ProctorExam | Same capture path, same outcome | ✓ |
| Cirrus alone (rare) | No proctor surface | ~ |
Common questions
My exam says "delivered on Cirrus" but does not name a proctor. Is one needed?
Some Cirrus exams are unproctored open-book. If yours is, no overlay is needed; you can use any browser plus AI directly.
Does the overlay support the CFA at-home exam?
CFA chapters use ProctorU as the primary proctor with Cirrus as the engine. The overlay is invisible to ProctorU's capture on Mac.
Cirrus uses my webcam during the exam. Does the overlay block that?
No. The overlay does not interact with the webcam. Cirrus records your face normally; only the screen has window privacy.