How to get a moving wallpaper on Mac

macOS has dynamic wallpapers that change with the time of day, and Apple's Aerial wallpapers that move on lock and unlock, but there is no setting to use your own video. These are the three routes that work.

1. Plash and the web wallpaper link (free, easiest)

Plash is a free Mac app that shows any web page as your desktop. Every Wallmill wallpaper has a web wallpaper link that draws the animation live at your screen's exact size.

1. Install Plash from the Mac App Store.
2. On a wallpaper page, copy the Web wallpaper link (it starts with wallmill.com/live/).
3. Click the Plash icon in the menu bar, choose Add Website, paste the link and save.
4. The page appears behind your desktop icons straight away. In Plash settings you can set it to show on every screen.

2. The 4K loop with the Aerial tools (free)

The free Aerial screen saver can play your own video files. Two open source tools, AerialDrop and aerial-manager, go further and swap a video into macOS's own Aerial wallpaper folder, so it moves on the desktop and the lock screen. They are community projects, not Apple's, so read their instructions and keep a backup.

1. Download the Mac 4K loop (MOV, HEVC) from a wallpaper page.
2. Follow the tool's steps to add the file, then pick it in System Settings, Wallpaper.

3. A live wallpaper app (paid)

Apps such as Backdrop play any video as the desktop and handle multiple screens and battery saving. Add the Wallmill MOV or MP4 as a custom wallpaper.

Wallpaper not moving? Many wallpaper apps pause on battery or in Low Power Mode by design. Check the app's settings first.