Guide · Phosphene
Wallpaper Engine on Mac
Wallpaper Engine has no Mac version, but its Steam Workshop wallpapers can still be used on a Mac. Two free, open-source apps do it in different ways: Phosphene turns them into video wallpapers for the desktop, lock screen and screen saver, and WallpaperMachine plays them live.
Published · Updated . Prices and requirements are as stated by each app's own page on the update date.
Is there a Wallpaper Engine for Mac?
No. Wallpaper Engine is a Windows program, and its developers say there are no immediate plans to support macOS (Wallpaper Engine help). Its wallpapers live on the Steam Workshop, and two free, open-source Mac apps can use them.
Phosphene renders each Workshop wallpaper once into a looping video and adds it to System Settings → Wallpaper, where macOS plays it on the desktop, on the lock screen and as the screen saver, even after Phosphene quits. WallpaperMachine draws scenes live and also plays web wallpapers. Both need a Steam account that owns Wallpaper Engine.
Which one to use
Use Phosphene if you want the wallpaper inside macOS itself: chosen in System Settings next to Apple's Aerials, shown on the lock screen and as the screen saver, playing with the app closed, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 26 Tahoe or later. It plays your own videos the same way.
Use WallpaperMachine if you want scenes to stay live, with each wallpaper's properties, mouse parallax and web wallpapers, and Workshop browsing and downloads inside the app. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 15 or later; its lock screen and screen saver modes are marked experimental (README).
How to use Steam Workshop wallpapers with Phosphene
- Install Phosphene. Run
brew install --cask phosphene, or download it free from kagerou.glass/get/phosphene. - Run Windows Steam on the Mac. Steam for Mac never downloads Wallpaper Engine's Workshop items, because Wallpaper Engine has no Mac version. Use a Windows Steam: Sevoflurane (free, from the same developer), CrossOver or Whisky. Sign in and install Wallpaper Engine from your library.
- Subscribe to wallpapers. Open the Steam Workshop for Wallpaper Engine in that Steam and subscribe to the wallpapers you want. Steam downloads them.
- Make videos. Open Phosphene's library. The Wallpaper Engine section lists the downloads it found, with a preview, the type and whether a video can be made. Select wallpapers and choose Make Videos: the size (your display's, 4K, 1440p or 1080p), 30 or 60 frames per second, HEVC or H.264, and the loop length.
- Choose it in System Settings. Each video appears in System Settings → Wallpaper as it finishes. Choose it there for the desktop and lock screen, or as the screen saver.
What comes through, and what doesn't
Video wallpapers are added as they are (MP4, MOV, M4V). Scenes are drawn with Wallpaper Engine's own shaders from your installation: image layers and their effects (waves, ripples, blur, glow, shake and most Workshop effects), particles, blend modes, animated layers and video textures. Phosphene finds the length at which a scene loops; a scene that never repeats gets a one-second crossfade into its own opening.
A video leaves out sound, text and clocks, 3D models and audio visualizers. Puppet-warp characters, 3D scenes, bloom, camera parallax, web and application wallpapers and WebM videos are not supported. Phosphene lists what each wallpaper's video leaves out before it renders (details).
Questions
Do I need to buy Wallpaper Engine?
Yes. Steam downloads Workshop items only for an account that owns Wallpaper Engine, and Phosphene draws scenes with the shared shader files of your installation. Phosphene itself is free and never runs Wallpaper Engine.
Does it work on the lock screen?
Yes. Phosphene's videos are Mac wallpapers in System Settings, so macOS 26 and later play them on the lock screen as well as the desktop.
Can I use a Workshop wallpaper as my screen saver?
Yes. Choose the video as the screen saver in System Settings → Wallpaper.
What happens when the author updates a wallpaper?
Phosphene marks it Updated since. Make Video Again renders the new version into the same entry, so a wallpaper already chosen in System Settings keeps playing with the update.
Is Phosphene affiliated with Wallpaper Engine?
No. Wallpaper Engine is a trademark of Wallpaper Engine Team and Steam is a trademark of Valve Corporation. Phosphene is an independent app.