Live wallpaper on a Mac, without a paid app

The live files in this gallery are short, muted, looping MP4 and WebM videos, typically eight seconds at 1920×1080. They are not a special system format. Apple does not currently offer a supported control that says “use this video as my desktop wallpaper” for an arbitrary file. The methods below are workarounds. None of them is an official MacWallSpace app, and we do not vouch for a third-party utility’s security or battery use.

1. Use the loop as a screen saver

A screen saver can play a video or a sequence of frames when the Mac is idle. If you only want motion on an idle desk, convert or add the MP4 in System Settings → Screen Saver, or use a small open-source screen-saver that can play a video file. This does not animate the desktop while you work.

2. Dynamic Desktop is not a video

macOS Dynamic Desktop files (.heic) can change a still through the day. That is not the same as a looping video. You can still download our stills and use them as ordinary pictures; they will not automatically become a Dynamic Desktop.

3. A third-party utility you choose yourself

Several independent utilities can pin a video behind desktop icons. Some are paid, some have a free tier, and some are open source. If you use one, download it from the developer’s site or a trusted package manager, read its permissions, and test battery use on your own hardware. We do not bundle, affiliate, or certify any of them, and we will not invent performance numbers for them.

4. When a still is the better choice

A video behind your windows uses the GPU. On a commute, or on a warm laptop, a still from the same scene is usually the calmer option. Every live wallpaper on this site also has 4K–6K stills.

Download a loop

Open the live gallery, pick a scene, and download the MP4 or WebM. Then choose a method above.