How to set a video as your live wallpaper on a Mac
Works on macOS 14 (Sonoma) and later · Apple Silicon & Intel · Free · No subscription
To set a video as your live wallpaper on a Mac you need a small app that plays it natively, because macOS has no built-in option for it. Loopaper is a native macOS menu-bar app that does exactly this: drag any video onto it and your desktop comes alive on every display, looping and muted, while it quietly sips power. Here is the whole process.
What you need
- A Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, on Apple Silicon or Intel.
- A video to use — an
.mp4or.movworks best, but GIFs, Live Photos, and images are fine too. - Loopaper, the app that turns the video into a live wallpaper. Its free tier includes a small watermark; Pro removes it from new imports.
Set a video as your Mac wallpaper in three steps
- Drop a video onto Loopaper. Drag any video file onto the Loopaper icon in your Mac's menu bar. There's no HTML wrapper to write and no file:// URL to paste — the clip becomes your live wallpaper immediately, looping and muted, on every display.
- Set Fill or Fit for each display. Loopaper fills every connected display on its own. Open the Loopaper window to choose Fill or Fit per screen, assign a different clip to each monitor, or turn it off on one display to keep your normal macOS wallpaper there.
- Let it save power automatically. Loopaper uses native playback and pauses covered displays, during lock, and while the screen saver runs. Battery and Low Power Mode lower the coverage threshold and may limit frame rate; visible wallpaper can keep playing.
Put a different video on each display
Loopaper appears on every connected screen automatically and handles plugging or unplugging a monitor on its own. Open the Loopaper window to give each display its own clip, set Fill or Fit per screen, or turn the live wallpaper off on one display so your normal macOS wallpaper stays there. You can also rotate through a playlist or change the wallpaper by time of day with a schedule.
Will a live wallpaper drain my battery?
Video wallpaper consumes power while playing. Loopaper uses native playback with a player for each display. It pauses covered displays, during lock, and while the screen saver runs. Battery and Low Power Mode lower the coverage threshold and may limit frame rate, but do not stop visible wallpaper by themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Does macOS have a built-in way to set a video as wallpaper?
No. macOS ships dynamic and aerial wallpapers, but there's no built-in way to use your own video as the desktop wallpaper. Loopaper adds exactly that: drop in any clip and it loops on your desktop across every display.
Can I set a video wallpaper on a Mac for free?
Yes. Loopaper's wallpaper features are available on the free tier, including multi-display, playlists, and schedules, with a small watermark. An optional one-time Pro purchase removes the watermark from new imports. There is no subscription or trial timer.
What video format works best for a Mac live wallpaper?
An H.264 or HEVC .mp4 or .mov clip is ideal, but Loopaper also accepts GIFs, Live Photos, and images. Heavier or awkwardly-encoded videos are normalized on import (30 fps, short GOP) so they loop smoothly without judder.
Does a video wallpaper slow down or drain a Mac?
Video wallpaper uses processing power and battery. Loopaper uses a player for each display and pauses covered displays, during lock, and while the screen saver runs. Battery alone does not pause visible wallpaper.
Loopaper is free on the Mac App Store; the one-time lifetime unlock is an in-app purchase.