# Phosphene for Mac: the free open-source video wallpaper app, and where it stops

> Source: https://macplus.pro/phosphene-macos-video-wallpaper.html  
> Language: en  
> Updated: 2026-10-07

Phosphene is a free menu bar app, released under the MIT licence, that puts your own videos into **System Settings** → **Wallpaper** on macOS 26 or later, for the desktop and the Lock Screen. It ships no videos, says in its README that it relies on a private Apple framework, and dates from May 2026.

Phosphene is a free menu bar app under the MIT licence, for macOS 26 or later, that puts your own videos into **System Settings** → **Wallpaper**, as a collection beside Apple’s aerials, for the desktop and the Lock Screen. It is young (first release 21 May 2026), by its own README built on a private Apple framework, and has no videos of its own. We installed and measured nothing; the facts are the project’s and Apple’s, checked 7 October 2026.

By [Adrien Pennetier](https://macplus.pro/about.html)

macOS developer, creator of Mac+

Updated 2026-10-07 · 8 min read

![Soft grey-green satin folds on a Mac desktop, with a calendar widget and a year-progress card at the top left and two icons](https://macplus.pro/img/scene-soie.jpg)

A Mac+ scene (Silk), shown for comparison only: Phosphene ships no scenes of its own, so this image is not Phosphene. Mac+ is covered last, in the final section.

## What is Phosphene, and why does it show up in System Settings?

Phosphene is a menu bar app plus a wallpaper extension. According to its [README](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene), any video you import appears in the **Wallpaper** pane of **System Settings** as a collection of its own that you can pick for the desktop and the Lock Screen, like a built-in one.

The README says there is no floating window pretending to be a wallpaper. The app plugs into what it calls Apple’s private `WallpaperExtensionKit` framework, “the same wallpaper pipeline Apple’s own Aerials use”, so playback runs outside the app and reaches the real Lock Screen. The [homepage](https://kagerou.glass/phosphene/) adds the author’s claim that most wallpaper apps fake it with a full-screen window behind your icons, one developer’s view of other apps.

Apple’s [wallpaper guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/choose-your-desktop-picture-mchlp3013/mac) explains the gap. Its “Your Photos” entry accepts one photo, one image file or a set of photos, and its four aerial categories animate at lock and unlock. On that page nothing takes your own video; that is our reading, not an Apple statement. Our guide to [setting a video as your Mac wallpaper](https://macplus.pro/how-to-set-a-video-as-wallpaper-mac.html) covers the native tricks. The project began as a commercial product; the README says it went open source because the market was “more crowded than it looked”.

*Phosphene at a glance, checked 7 October 2026*

| Item | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Licence and price | MIT, free | README, homepage |
| Minimum macOS | 26.0 (tested on macOS 26 and 27, says the README) | README, Homebrew cask |
| Architectures | Universal: Apple silicon and Intel | README |
| Latest version | 1.8, released 30 September 2026 | GitHub releases |
| Maintainer | One person: 102 of 110 contributions | GitHub contributors |
| GitHub stars | 871 (traction, not a rating) | GitHub API |

## How do you install Phosphene? The documented steps

Download the notarized disk image, drag Phosphene to Applications, open it, add videos from the menu bar icon, then pick one in **System Settings** → **Wallpaper**; or run `brew install --cask phosphene`. These are the steps as documented in the README, not tested by us. The numbered version closes this page.

The README’s download button redirects (HTTP 302) to the DMG on the project’s GitHub releases; we read only the redirect. The official Homebrew [cask](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/phosphene) shows version 1.8 and a macOS 26 minimum.

One pitfall is on record. If the Phosphene collection is missing from the **Wallpaper** pane, the maintainer traced one case ([issue 27](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/27), 24 August 2026) to a cache added in macOS 26.6; version 1.4.1 fixed it the same day. If the pane misbehaves after quick switching, the README points to a menu bar item, **Restart Wallpaper Agent**.

## What does Phosphene do well?

It plays any video your Mac can decode through Apple’s own wallpaper path, loops without a gap, keeps running when the app quits, and backs off on battery, heat, Game Mode and covered desktops, according to the project. The homepage lists MP4, MOV, HEVC, H.264 and ProRes.

The README adds per-display and per-Space picks, which macOS remembers, and an ease in and out as you lock and unlock when “Only on Lock Screen” is enabled. Release notes show multi-display bugs fixed in 1.1 and 1.2.2; see [several displays](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-multiple-monitors-mac.html).

*What makes Phosphene pause or slow down, as the project words it (checked 7 October 2026)*

| Trigger | The project’s wording | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Power and heat | A graduated policy reduces work or pauses on thermal state, battery level, battery versus AC, Game Mode and presentation mode | README |
| Covered desktop | Pauses when every display is fully covered by windows | README |
| Full-screen apps and games | Pause the display they occupy; other displays keep playing | Release notes 1.5 |
| Peeking at the desktop | Clicking the desktop no longer pauses it | Release notes 1.5 |
| Idle | “after 30 seconds idle it stops doing anything at all” | Homepage |

**Game Mode** is Apple’s feature; [Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105118) says it needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sonoma 14 or later. No CPU or battery figures are published and we measured nothing, so we make no efficiency claim; see [battery drain](https://macplus.pro/do-animated-wallpapers-drain-macbook-battery.html) for the general question.

## Where does Phosphene stop? Seven limits to know first

Seven limits: macOS 26 or later only, no catalogue, one selection for desktop and Lock Screen, an undocumented screen saver mode, a private framework with two fixed breakages, a patchy packaging history, and one maintainer. Checked 7 October 2026.

1. **macOS 26.0 or later.** The README says it uses SwiftUI and `glassEffect()` APIs introduced in macOS 26, so macOS 13 to 15 are out. An Intel Mac qualifies only if it can run macOS 26; see our [Intel Mac and Tahoe guide](https://macplus.pro/intel-mac-macos-tahoe-customization.html).
2. **No catalogue.** The homepage says “no built-in catalog. your videos or nothing.”
3. **One selection for both surfaces.** On [issue 28](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/28) (25 August 2026) the maintainer said what you select shows on both desktop and Lock Screen; the toggle only decides where the video runs.
4. **Screen saver: not documented.** Neither the README nor the release notes list one. The author wrote on [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215979) (21 May 2026) that “screen savers are a different thing”, and added that the same video can serve as wallpaper and screen saver. [Issue 26](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/26) (21 August) was closed the next day after a user wrote “Seems to work great!”, and a commit that day mentions the screen saver: partial support, perhaps. Check before relying on it.
5. **A private framework, and two fixed breakages.** The README warns that Apple could change `WallpaperExtensionKit` at any major release, with “surgical breakage” if fields are renamed. The project says nothing about Apple’s position, and neither do we. [Issue 27](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/27) (24 August 2026, 09:51 UTC, macOS 26.6.2) found the section missing; version 1.4.1 shipped at 21:27 UTC the same day. [Issue 29](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/29) (25 August, a macOS 27 beta) hid the section after a second video was added; version 1.5 fixed it on 26 August, and 1.6 (3 September) handled a new “linked” wallpaper-store format in macOS 26.
6. **A patchy packaging history.** The 1.0 notes list Apple silicon only. On [issue 20](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/20) (13 July) a user said later releases still were; on 17 July the maintainer replied that the release script specified only arm, and re-released the latest version as a universal binary. The 1.2.2 notes (31 July) confirm a universal build.
7. **One maintainer.** GitHub credits the author with 102 of 110 contributions and 13 releases in about 19 weeks; every fix above came from that one person.

The homepage’s own forecast: “some macOS update will break it one day, and then it’ll get fixed.” In a Hacker News comment on 20 May 2026 the author said: “I don’t think they’ll touch this part anytime soon.” Both are predictions, not evidence, and we make none.

## Is Phosphene safe to install? What is on record and what nobody has audited

On the evidence listed below, the record is public MIT source, a DMG the project says is signed and notarized, an official Homebrew cask, a sandboxed extension inside a deliberately unsandboxed app, and one daily update check to GitHub. None of it is an audit: we neither installed nor audited the app.

- **Signature.** The README calls the DMG signed and notarized; the 1.0 notes say Developer ID signature and Apple notarization, and on [issue 10](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues/10) the maintainer added that it is not on the Mac App Store. These are the project’s claims, which we could not check.
- **Sandbox.** The README says “The extension is sandboxed; the menu-bar app is not.” On issue 10 (21 June 2026) the maintainer declined to sandbox the app: its private-framework loading and runtime bridging would break under the App Sandbox, and a notarized DMG does not require it.
- **Hardening.** An outside user opened issues 8 to 11 on 22 May 2026; version 1.1.1 (21 June) fixed three, validating the XPC caller’s signature, checking library metadata against path traversal and hardening the runtime bridging.
- **Network.** Version 1.4 added silent self-updates. A comment in the updater source says it verifies the Team ID and makes “the app’s single daily request to GitHub”. The README is silent on telemetry, so we claim nothing either way.

The author said on [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215979) (21 May 2026) that Claude, an AI coding assistant, did much of the work; the code is public. For your own check, our [safety checklist](https://macplus.pro/are-live-wallpaper-apps-safe-mac.html) gives two Terminal commands that read a signature, and the privacy panes to inspect.

## Phosphene vs Backdrop, Wallspace, Aerial or Mac+: who should pick what?

Pick Phosphene for your own videos on macOS 26 or later, free, with Lock Screen playback; a paid app for a catalogue and a vendor to ask; Aerial for Apple’s aerial footage plus your clips; Mac+ for macOS 13 to 15 or a widgets-and-icons bundle.

*Video wallpaper options for Mac, checked 7 October 2026*

| Option | Plays | Cost | Needs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Apple aerials (built in) | Animate as you lock or unlock | Included | Nothing to install |
| [Phosphene](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene) | Your own videos, desktop and Lock Screen | Free, MIT | macOS 26.0+ |
| [Aerial](https://aerialscreensaver.github.io/) | Apple’s aerial videos plus your own files; wallpaper mode in Beta | Free, open source | macOS 15+ |
| [Backdrop](https://cindori.com/backdrop) | Community scenes and custom video, desktop and Lock Screen | €1.99/month, €14.99/year or €29.99 lifetime; trial of 3 watermarked backdrops | macOS 15+ |
| [Wallspace](https://wallspace.app/pricing) | Live wallpapers; Lock Screen and custom wallpapers are Pro | Free; Pro $12.99 once | macOS 15+; Lock Screen needs macOS 26 |
| Mac+ | 15 generated scenes, desktop only; own video is Pro | Free; Pro €9.99 once or €1.99/month | macOS 13+ |

No currency is converted. Backdrop’s [store](https://cindori.com/store/backdrop) lists euros but its [download page](https://cindori.com/backdrop/download) says “Starting at $1.99 /month”, so we cannot say which applies to you. Aerial’s homepage says “Built for macOS 15+” yet shows “macOS 26+” by its download button. See [Backdrop or Wallspace](https://macplus.pro/backdrop-vs-wallspace-mac.html) and [what wallpaper apps cost](https://macplus.pro/mac-live-wallpaper-apps-price-no-subscription.html).

**Demand is young.** Dated traction, not quality: [Homebrew’s analytics](https://formulae.brew.sh/api/analytics/cask-install/30d.json) (files of 6 October 2026) count 67 Phosphene installs in 30 days against 285 for Aerial, 221 for Wallspace and 69 for Backdrop, via Homebrew only. GitHub showed 871 stars on 7 October; the [Show HN post](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215979) of 20 May reached 428 points; release downloads total 6,045 across 13 releases (installs and updates mixed, undercounted since 4 October, when the README button changed route). Backdrop’s store claims “130,000+” downloads, a vendor claim. We give no growth rate.

- **Phosphene** if you run macOS 26 or later, own the videos, want the Lock Screen too, and accept a young one-person project.
- **A paid app such as Backdrop**, with its community library, **or Wallspace**, if you want a vendor to ask and run macOS 15 or later.
- **Aerial** if you want Apple’s aerial videos plus your own clips, free, on macOS 15 or later.
- **Mac+** if you are on macOS 13 to 15, or want scenes, widgets and folder icons in one app, and can skip the Lock Screen.
- **Apple’s built-in aerials** if a little motion at lock and unlock is enough.

## Phosphene install steps, as the README documents them

1. Download the DMG with the README’s **Download Phosphene** button, or run `brew install --cask phosphene`. macOS 26.0 or later is required.
2. Open the DMG, drag Phosphene to Applications and launch it.
3. Click the menu bar icon and open the library (the README calls it **Manage Library**), then add MP4, MOV or another AVFoundation-readable file.
4. Open **System Settings** → **Wallpaper**, find the Phosphene collection and pick a video.
5. Optional: in the menu bar popover, choose Everywhere, Lock Screen or Paused. **Restart Wallpaper Agent** is the recovery item if the pane misbehaves.

## Where Mac+ fits, and where it does not

Limits first: Mac+ animates the desktop only, with no Lock Screen support, no screen saver mode and no downloadable catalogue. Its 15 scenes are generated live with Metal, not filmed, and your own video needs Pro. Free gets you 6 of those scenes, multi-display, 8 palettes, 2 widgets, 6 folder icons and an image background; Pro costs €9.99 one time, or €1.99 monthly after a 7-day trial (prices checked 7 October 2026). Playback pauses while the screen is asleep or an app covers the desktop (a full-screen app counts). It needs macOS 13 Ventura or later and works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. The image above is a Mac+ scene. See the [Mac+ live wallpaper page](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-mac.html).

macOS 13 or later. Apple Silicon and Intel. Free download; Mac+ Pro €9.99 once or €1.99/month.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is Phosphene for Mac?

A free menu bar app under the MIT licence that needs macOS 26 or later. Per its README, you import videos and they appear as a collection of their own in the **Wallpaper** pane of **System Settings**, ready to pick for the desktop and the Lock Screen. It was first released on 21 May 2026 and includes no videos.

### Is Phosphene really free, and how does it compare with paid apps like Backdrop?

Yes, it is MIT-licensed and the homepage says “free forever”. Paid apps add a vendor to ask and, for Backdrop, a community library; Phosphene brings only your own videos. On 7 October 2026 Backdrop listed €1.99 monthly, €14.99 yearly or €29.99 lifetime, and Wallspace Pro $12.99 once, unconverted. See [Backdrop or Wallspace](https://macplus.pro/backdrop-vs-wallspace-mac.html).

### Does Phosphene work on the Lock Screen, and as a screen saver?

The README says it works on the Lock Screen; one selection covers desktop and Lock Screen (maintainer, issue 28, 25 August 2026). A screen saver mode is not documented, so check before relying on it. See [live wallpaper on the Mac Lock Screen](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-mac-lock-screen.html).

### Which macOS does Phosphene need, and does it run on an Intel Mac?

macOS 26.0 or later, according to the README and the Homebrew cask, so Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia are out. Releases are universal, so an Intel Mac works only if it can run macOS 26: see [which Intel Macs stop at Tahoe](https://macplus.pro/intel-mac-macos-tahoe-customization.html).

### Is Phosphene safe to install?

No web page can certify an app. On the evidence above, the record is public MIT source, a DMG the project says is signed and notarized, an official Homebrew cask and a daily update check, with the main app deliberately unsandboxed. It is a record, not an audit: run the [safety checklist](https://macplus.pro/are-live-wallpaper-apps-safe-mac.html) yourself.

### Will Phosphene stop working after a macOS update?

The project says Apple could change the private framework at any major release, and that it validated macOS 26 and 27. Two incidents are on record: macOS 26.6 (24 August 2026, fixed in 1.4.1 that day) and a macOS 27 beta (25 August, fixed in 1.5 on 26 August). We make no prediction.

### Can I use my own video as wallpaper on macOS 13, 14 or 15?

Not with Phosphene, which needs macOS 26.0 or later. On macOS 15, Aerial, Backdrop and Wallspace also qualify. Mac+ starts at macOS 13 and plays your own video on the desktop in Pro (€9.99 one time or €1.99 monthly, checked 7 October 2026), without Lock Screen support.

## Keep reading

[Check any Mac wallpaper app yourself before installing →](https://macplus.pro/are-live-wallpaper-apps-safe-mac.html)

[How to set a video as your Mac wallpaper →](https://macplus.pro/how-to-set-a-video-as-wallpaper-mac.html)

[Live wallpaper on the Mac Lock Screen: what works →](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-mac-lock-screen.html)

[Backdrop or Wallspace? A Mac buyer’s comparison →](https://macplus.pro/backdrop-vs-wallspace-mac.html)

## Sources

- [Phosphene — README: requirements, install, private-framework warning (GitHub; checked 7 October 2026)](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene)
- [Phosphene — releases and release notes (GitHub; checked 7 October 2026)](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/releases)
- [Phosphene — issue tracker: issues 8 to 11, 20, 26 to 29 (GitHub; checked 7 October 2026)](https://github.com/kageroumado/phosphene/issues)
- [Phosphene — homepage (kagerou.glass; checked 7 October 2026)](https://kagerou.glass/phosphene/)
- [Homebrew — phosphene cask: version, macOS floor, install counts (checked 7 October 2026)](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/phosphene)
- [Apple Support — Customize the wallpaper on your Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/choose-your-desktop-picture-mchlp3013/mac)
- [Backdrop — product page, FAQ and store prices (checked 7 October 2026)](https://cindori.com/backdrop)
- [Wallspace — pricing and requirements (checked 7 October 2026)](https://wallspace.app/pricing)

[← All guides](https://macplus.pro/blog.html)