How to make your own live wallpaper on a Mac: photos, a folder or a video clip

On macOS 26 and 27, Wallpaper settings take your photos, image files and folders but no video file, so a live wallpaper from your own clip needs an app. Export a short MP4 or MOV, then open it in Aerial, Backdrop, MacWall, Wallper or Mac+, which we make.

Photos and folders go into Apple’s wallpaper settings and only change; a clip of your own needs an app. This guide sorts the routes by what you own and puts Mac+ last: we make it, so read its mention as an interested one. Facts checked 16 October 2026.

Updated 2026-10-16 · 7 min read

Can macOS turn my own video into a wallpaper without an app?

No. Apple’s wallpaper guide lists Dynamic Wallpapers, aerials, your own photos, image files, folders and albums, and none of those is a video file. The guides for macOS 27 Golden Gate, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 15 Sequoia document no video import (read 16 October 2026), so a clip you filmed or made needs an app.

The path is System Settings, then Wallpaper in the sidebar. Older how-tos use menu names that Apple’s current guides no longer use; the macOS 26 and 27 guides give the path above and nothing else.

Apple’s macOS 15 guide calls the aerials “still images”; the movement at lock and unlock appears in the macOS 26 and 27 guides. Some pages also suggest a Terminal command that runs the screen saver behind the desktop. Apple’s wallpaper guides mention no such command, so this guide leaves it out.

Which route fits what I own: photos, a folder or a video clip?

Pick by what you have. Photos and folders work in Apple’s wallpaper settings but only change; they never play. Only a video clip gives continuous motion, and that takes an app.

The next three sections follow this table, from the lightest route to the clip.

How do I make a wallpaper that changes through the day from my own photos?

Build a Dynamic Wallpaper file on a creator site, then add it like any image file. Apple describes its own Dynamic Wallpapers as images that brighten and darken with the time of day at your location; the free Dynamic Wallpaper Club creator exists for making your own.

This is a set of stills that changes, not motion. The site offers a Time Mode, which changes the wallpaper at the times you set, and a Sun Mode, which follows the sun’s position and needs GPS data in your photos’ Exif data. It states that it is free and shows ads (read 16 October 2026).

1. Build the file on the creator site and download it.
2. Open System Settings and click Wallpaper in the sidebar.
3. Scroll down to Your Photos, click Add Photo, then Choose File, select the file and click Open.

What we could not confirm: Apple’s guide says “image file” and does not name dynamic files, and we did not build or add one for this page, so we cannot say it switches on macOS 26 or 27. The creator’s own how-to page still describes an older System Preferences layout rather than Wallpaper, and its alternative method copies the file into a system folder with an administrator password. Apple’s guide asks for neither, so this guide does not use that method.

How do I turn a folder of my own pictures into a slideshow wallpaper?

On macOS 26 and 27, open System Settings, click Wallpaper, scroll to Your Photos, click Add Photo, then Choose Folder. On macOS 15 the button is Add Folder or Album. The result is still images that can be shuffled, not video.

Apple’s tip under the steps reads: “You can choose the size and position of your wallpaper image, shuffle images, and more.” It points to its Wallpaper settings page for the options.

How do I prepare a video clip so it loops without a visible jump?

Choose a clip whose last frame matches its first in framing and light, keep it short, and export it as MP4 or MOV, the two file types Aerial and Mac+ state. We measured no length, resolution or size limit for this page, so test a 10-second version before you trust a long file.

1. Pick motion that repeats by nature: waves, rain, drifting smoke, a slow spin. A camera move that never returns makes the seam obvious.
2. Cut where the first and last frames match in position and light, or end the clip by easing back to its first frame.
3. Keep it short. A short clip is quick to re-export when the seam shows.
4. Strip or mute the audio unless you want sound.
5. Export as MP4 or MOV, then read the file types on the app’s own page: Aerial names .mov and .mp4, Mac+ names MP4 and MOV, and Backdrop, MacWall and Wallper describe video files without naming types on the pages read.
6. Import the 10-second version, watch the seam over a few loops, then use the full clip.

Which apps play my own video as a wallpaper, and what do they cost?

Five Mac apps say on their own pages that they play your video files: Aerial, Backdrop, MacWall, Wallper and Mac+, which we make. Their minimum macOS runs from 13 to 26 and their prices from free (Aerial) to €29.99 for Backdrop’s lifetime licence, each in the vendor’s own currency.

Backdrop, MacWall and Wallper also state libraries of ready-made loops (thousands, 1,000+ and 2900+ wallpapers), which matters if you want a catalogue rather than your own clip. Lock Screen playback is a separate question: see can a live wallpaper animate on the Mac Lock Screen. Prices move, so read the vendor’s page before you pay.

Will my own live wallpaper slow the Mac down?

It can: playback costs GPU time that rises with the clip’s resolution and frame rate. We measured no app for this page, so no figure is claimed here. The apps above state controls rather than numbers, and the battery guide covers the general case.

Backdrop says playback pauses automatically when apps are in fullscreen mode. Mac+ lists 30, 60 or 120 frames per second and pauses when the screen sleeps or an app goes fullscreen, per its site. Start with the lowest frame rate that still looks right.

What was checked for this page, and what was not

Not done: we did not import a clip, build a dynamic wallpaper or time any app on macOS 26 or 27 for this page. Every statement about what an app does is the vendor’s own, and what Mac+ does is taken from the Mac+ site.

Where Mac+ fits, and where it does not

We make Mac+, so read this section as an interested one. It comes last because every route above works without it.

Mac+ is a native macOS app. Its pages say you can loop your own video or set an image as your background, and that it imports MP4 and MOV files. The free tier has 6 animated scenes and an image background; a video background is part of the paid tier. With no clip of your own, it also draws 15 generated scenes on the GPU. Pro costs €1.99 a month after a 7-day trial, or €9.99 once, which the site presents as a launch offer, previously €12.99 (checked 16 October 2026).

• No Lock Screen: “Mac+ does not animate the Lock Screen”, per its own guide.
• No gallery of ready-made loops: its pages say it draws 15 generated, abstract scenes, not a video library.
• Direct download from macplus.pro, not the Mac App Store, according to its safety guide.
• macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.

Next step: pick your row in the second table and test it with a 10-second clip before you trust a long file.

macOS 13 or later. Apple Silicon and Intel. Free tier, no account required; a video background is part of the paid tier.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

Sources

• Apple — macOS 27 Golden Gate (read 16 October 2026)
• Apple Support — Customize the wallpaper on your Mac (macOS 27, read 16 October 2026)
• Apple Support — Customize the wallpaper on your Mac (macOS 26)
• Apple Support — Customize the wallpaper on your Mac (macOS 15)
• Apple Support — Wallpaper settings on Mac
• Dynamic Wallpaper Club — creator and how-to (read 16 October 2026)
• Aerial — home page and downloads (read 16 October 2026)
• Backdrop by Cindori — home page and store (read 16 October 2026)
• MacWall — home page and pricing (read 16 October 2026)
• Wallper — pricing (read 16 October 2026)
• Mac+ — pricing and requirements (own site, read 16 October 2026)

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