The Wallpaper Manager
for macOS
Lightweight, native, and feature-packed. Dynamic video & GIF wallpapers, per-desktop & multi-monitor rotation, Wallhaven & Pexels discovery, and menu bar control.
Everything you need in a wallpaper engine
Engineered in native Swift and AppKit for maximum performance, minimal battery draw, and total privacy.
Multi-Monitor & Spaces
Assign distinct wallpapers per monitor or per macOS Space (virtual desktop). Independently rotate and shuffle wallpapers across multiple screens seamlessly.
Video & GIF Playback
Bring your desktop to life with silky smooth MP4, MOV, and GIF wallpapers using native hardware-accelerated playback.
Guides: Set GIF as Wallpaper · Set Video as Wallpaper
Wallhaven & Pexels Browsing
Explore, preview, and download thousands of curated community wallpapers directly in-app with built-in Wallhaven and Pexels integration.
Native Universal Binary
Universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel. Requires macOS 12 or later; tested on macOS 26 Tahoe.
Sparkle Auto-Updates
Stay up to date effortlessly with verified, cryptographically signed updates powered by the standard Sparkle framework.
14 Languages Included
Fully localized in English, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and more.
Upgrading from Moonleaf v4.0.0 or macpaper
The original upstream repository (illufied/moonleaf) has been archived, meaning its automatic update checker can no longer receive new versions. Upgrading to this maintained fork is 100% seamless and safe.
brew install shiquda/moonleaf/moonleaf or download the latest moonleaf.dmg.
~/.config/moonleaf) and downloaded wallpaper library (~/.local/share/paper/wallpaper). No data is deleted.
Guides & Tutorials
Practical, step-by-step guides for customizing your macOS desktop wallpaper with Moonleaf.
How to Set a GIF as Wallpaper on Mac (Free, No Converting) →
Learn why macOS only shows the first frame of a GIF and how to play animated GIF wallpapers natively with no conversion.
How to Set a Video as Wallpaper on Mac (Free, MP4 & MOV) →
Turn any MP4 or MOV clip into a live Mac wallpaper for free. Multi-monitor setups, menu bar controls, and no subscriptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about Moonleaf maintenance, installation, and capabilities.
Is moonleaf still maintained?
Yes, Moonleaf is actively maintained. While the original repository (illufied/moonleaf, originally naomisphere/macpaper) was archived after v4.0.0, this fork (shiquda/moonleaf) is actively maintained with bug fixes, multi-monitor patches, and Homebrew packaging. It requires macOS 12 or later; tested on macOS 26 Tahoe.
How do I install Moonleaf with Homebrew?
You can install Moonleaf with a single command:
brew install shiquda/moonleaf/moonleaf
Homebrew will automatically download, verify, and link Moonleaf to your Applications folder.
What happened to naomisphere / macpaper?
Moonleaf was originally named macpaper by creator naomisphere before being rebranded to moonleaf. Following the creator's archiving of the repository, this project was established to ensure ongoing maintenance, community pull request reviews, and continued macOS updates.
Does Moonleaf drain laptop battery?
In our test on an M1 Pro running macOS 26.7.1, CPU stayed under 1% while playing a 1080p MP4. That is one machine and one file. We did not measure battery life on other Macs.
How do I bypass the macOS Gatekeeper quarantine prompt?
Official Moonleaf releases are code-signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. macOS Gatekeeper verifies the notarization ticket automatically, so Moonleaf opens directly on first launch. If you ever encounter a security prompt (e.g. after building from source or with strict custom security policies), you can right-click the app in Finder and choose Open, or run:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/moonleaf.app