Paperloom
Live (video) wallpapers for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Think Wallpaper Engine: GUI-only, and engineered to cost almost nothing in CPU and RAM while idle. Built first for Linux Mint Cinnamon, now released with installers for every platform.
Released (v0.2.0). It is verified end to end on a real Linux X11 desktop. The Windows and macOS ports are fully implemented and built into installers in CI, but haven't been run on real machines yet, and the installers aren't code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper warn on first launch.
Key Features
- Plays any MP4, including short seamless loops, as the desktop background
- Auto-pauses on fullscreen apps, screen lock, low battery, or a window covering the desktop
- Gallery library with multi-file import
- Online tab that browses wallpapers and downloads with resume and retry
- In-app updater that downloads and verifies new releases (SHA-256)
Downloads
- Windows: setup .exe or .msi
- macOS: .dmg for Apple Silicon and Intel
- Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian: .deb, or a signed apt repository for automatic updates
- Fedora, openSUSE: .rpm
- Any Linux: Flatpak bundle
Technologies
- Rust workspace: GUI, engine, fetch, and shared crates
- libmpv for playback
- One engine per platform: X11, Wayland (layer-shell + EGL), Windows desktop window, macOS desktop-level window
- Custom GUI theme, not a stock toolkit look
Release Pipeline
- GitHub Actions: lint, tests, then every installer built on its real platform
- Version worked out from commit messages; tag and release published automatically
- Signed apt repository published to GitHub Pages on each release
Why It Exists
Live wallpapers on Linux usually mean a command-line tool or a heavy process running all the time. Paperloom is GUI-first and treats idle cost as a feature: when the wallpaper isn't visible, rendering is paused instead of burning CPU for nothing.