Pick a wallpaper that follows the time of day
Dynamic and aerial wallpapers change by themselves, and your own photo is one click away in the Finder.
Works on: macOS Sonoma 14 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27
Published: · Source: Rod Herzstrom
Open System Settings → Wallpaper. The picker has rather more in it than a folder of pictures.
Dynamic Wallpapers brighten and darken through the day, based on the time of day where you are. The same image is pale in the morning and deep blue at night, and it is the closest thing to a window the Mac has.
Aerials — landscapes, cityscapes, underwater scenes and views of Earth — are moving pictures: they animate as you lock or unlock the Mac.
For your own picture you do not need the settings at all: find the image in the Finder, click it with two fingers and choose Set Desktop Picture.
Related tips
Dark mode, accent colour and tinted icons
Appearance settings go well past light and dark: accent colours, icon styles and even the colour of folders.
Stop the desktop appearing every time you click the wallpaper
By default a click on any visible scrap of wallpaper sweeps all your windows aside. You can restrict it.
Tidy a chaotic desktop with Stacks
One command sweeps every loose file into neat piles by kind, and keeps doing it for the new ones.