macOS 13+ · Apple silicon & Intel · Free
Driftwall icon

Driftwall

Turn any video into a calm, energy-aware live wallpaper. It lives in the menu bar, pauses itself when it should, and stays out of your way.

Download for macOS Install with Homebrew ☕ Buy me a coffee

What it does

Any video, your desktop

Pick a file, paste a URL, or browse free stock clips (Pexels, Coverr, Pixabay) right in the app.

Time-of-day & Dark Mode

Schedule different videos through the day, and auto-swap a light/dark variant with macOS appearance.

Energy aware

Pauses on battery, in Low Power Mode, when the screen sleeps, and when a fullscreen app or game covers the display.

Multi-display

Give each monitor its own video or a crossfading playlist folder.

Lock screen & login

An included, notarized screen saver plays your video on the lock screen and login window too — not just the desktop.

Automation

Drive it from Shortcuts, AppleScript, or the terminal via the driftwall:// URL scheme.

Quiet by design

No Dock icon, no account, no telemetry. A tidy menu-bar agent that respects Reduce Motion.

Install

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install --cask emerytech/driftwall/driftwall

Direct download

  1. Grab the latest .dmg from the releases page.
  2. Open it and drag Driftwall into Applications.
  3. Launch it from Applications or Spotlight. It appears in the menu bar — there's no Dock icon.

Using an unsigned build? macOS may say it can't verify the developer. Right-click the app → Open once, or install with brew install --cask --no-quarantine …. The notarized download installs with no prompt.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/emerytech/Driftwall.git
cd Driftwall && ./build.sh && open Driftwall.app

Lock screen (optional)

  1. The .dmg includes Driftwall.saver (also a separate download on the releases page).
  2. Double-click it (or drag into ~/Library/Screen Savers) and choose Install.
  3. System Settings → Screen Saver → pick Driftwall, then set Lock Screen to start it when inactive.

It plays your selected video on the lock screen & login window. The screen saver is notarized; the Homebrew cask installs the app only.

Free, with a tip jar

Driftwall is free and made by one person. If it's brightening your desktop, a small tip keeps it going — entirely optional.

☕ Support Driftwall on Ko-fi