How to change the wallpaper on a Mac
2 min read · 4 steps · Updated 2 October 2026
Open System Settings, click Wallpaper and click a picture. To use your own, click Add Photo or Add Folder, or right-click any image in Finder and choose Set Desktop Picture.
You can choose from Apple's landscapes and moving aerial views, a plain colour or any photo of your own.
These steps are for recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings. The pictures are simplified diagrams, not screenshots.
Step by step
Open System Settings and click Wallpaper
Click the Apple menu in the top left corner and choose System Settings.
Click a wallpaper
It is applied straight away. Some need a short download first.
Use your own photo
Click Add Photo, or Add Folder or Album, and choose a picture. Set how it fits with the menu next to the preview: Fill Screen, Fit to Screen, Centre or Tile.
Set it from Finder
Right-click an image file and choose Set Desktop Picture. In Photos, select a photo, click the share button and choose Set Wallpaper.
Good to know
Dynamic wallpapers change through the day with the light. Choose Automatic, Light or Dark in the menu that appears for them.
With more than one display, each can have its own wallpaper. Select the display at the top of the Wallpaper page.
"Show as screen saver" uses the same aerial as your screen saver, which then settles into the wallpaper when you log in.
In short: System Settings, Wallpaper, click a picture, or right-click an image and Set Desktop Picture.
- Apple Support: Customise the wallpaper on your Mac
Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.