On your phone
No app store needed.
The desktop app is for Windows PCs and Macs. On a phone, Baubra Backdrops is this website: add it to your Home Screen and it opens full screen like an app with every backdrop moving, or save any backdrop as your wallpaper.
For Windows 10 and 11
Your desktop, alive. Your PC, untouched.
A tiny app that plays Baubra Backdrops behind your desktop icons. It draws each scene straight on your graphics chip, reacts to your mouse and your music, and stops completely the moment you're gaming, watching something full screen, or your windows cover the desktop.
For Mac
Your desktop, alive.
A tiny menu-bar app that plays Baubra Backdrops behind your desktop icons, on every screen, and reacts to your mouse. It stops drawing when a window covers the screen, when the screen saver is up, or when your Mac sleeps. Pick a backdrop from the menu bar, or click Set as wallpaper on any backdrop here.
On this device
No app needed.
The desktop app is for Windows PCs and Macs. Here, Baubra Backdrops is this website: every backdrop plays live in your browser, the site installs like an app, and Set as wallpaper gives you a picture made for your screen. How it works on your device.
What it does
Small app. Big desktop.
Behind your icons
Backdrops play under your desktop icons, on every screen, at your screen's full resolution.
Pauses itself
A window covering the screen, a full-screen app, the screen saver or sleep: it stops drawing. The backdrop's still picture becomes your normal desktop picture too, so nothing changes while it's paused.
Feels your mouse
Ripples, sparks and swirls follow the cursor across the desktop, like the backdrop knows you're there.
Keeps itself fresh
New backdrops appear in its menu as they're added here, and "Set as wallpaper" on this site sends one straight to your desktop.
Tiny
Under a megabyte. It plays the same backdrops as this site, drawn by your Mac's graphics chip.
Starts with your Mac
It opens at login and sits in the menu bar. Turn that off from its menu any time.
Installing
Thirty seconds.
Easiest: from Terminal
Open Terminal (press ⌘ Space, type Terminal), paste this and press Return. It installs the app into Applications and opens it, with no warning.
curl -fsSL https://backdrops.baubra.com/mac.sh | shOr download it
Download the Mac app, open the zip and drag Baubra Backdrops into Applications. The app isn't from the App Store, so the first time your Mac says "Apple could not verify…": click Done, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway.
Pick a backdrop
Click the sparkles in the menu bar and choose one, or click "Set as wallpaper" on any backdrop on this site.
Private by design
No account, no ads, no tracking. The app talks to backdrops.baubra.com only to fetch backdrops.
Removing it
Choose Quit from its menu-bar menu, then drag Baubra Backdrops from Applications to the Trash. Your desktop keeps the backdrop's still picture; pick another in System Settings › Wallpaper.
Needs
macOS 13 Ventura or newer, on Apple silicon or Intel.
What it does
Small app. Big desktop.
Behind your icons
Backdrops play under your desktop icons, a different one on every monitor if you like.
60 fps, every pixel, or less
Every backdrop runs at 60 frames a second (up to 144 on fast monitors) at your monitor's full resolution, 4K included. On a slower graphics card, dial it back to 30 or 15 fps and 75% to 25% resolution, from Settings or the tray icon.
Pauses itself
Games, full-screen video, a locked PC or a desktop covered by windows: it stops drawing and uses nothing. It slows down on battery. While playing it uses about 10 MB of memory and well under 1% of the processor.
Hears your music
Backdrops that react to music pulse with whatever your PC is playing. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
Feels your mouse
Ripples, sparks and swirls follow the cursor across the desktop, like the backdrop knows you're there.
Stills cost nothing
Still backdrops are drawn once and handed to Windows as a normal wallpaper. The ones that follow the clock are redrawn every ten minutes.
Keeps itself fresh
New backdrops appear in the app as they're added here, and "Set as wallpaper" on this site sends one straight to your desktop.
Installing
Thirty seconds.
Download and open it
Open BaubraBackdrops.exe. It installs itself just for you (no admin rights) and appears by the clock.
If Windows hesitates
New apps may show "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway. If Windows 11 says Smart App Control blocked it, here's what to do.
Pick a backdrop
Choose one in the app, or click "Set as wallpaper" on any backdrop on this site.
Private by design
No account, no ads, no tracking. The app talks to backdrops.baubra.com only to fetch backdrops and check for updates. Music reaction listens to your PC's own output, on your PC, and never leaves it.
Removing it
Open the app, go to About and choose Uninstall, or use Settings, Apps in Windows. It puts your previous wallpaper back.
Needs
Windows 10 (version 1903 or newer) or Windows 11, 64-bit, with DirectX 12 graphics: any Intel, AMD or NVIDIA graphics from about 2015 on.
On your computer
Windows, Mac, Linux and Steam Deck.
Every backdrop plays live in any modern browser, and the site installs like an app. Open a backdrop and press Set as wallpaper: it shows the steps for the device you're on.
Windows
The Windows app plays backdrops live behind your desktop icons, reacts to your mouse and music, and pauses itself while you game. Windows 10 and 11.
Mac
The Mac app lives in your menu bar and plays backdrops live behind your desktop icons, on every screen. Then Set as wallpaper on any backdrop switches to it. Or download a picture, right-click it in Finder and choose Set Desktop Picture.
Linux and Steam Deck
On KDE Plasma, including a Steam Deck in Desktop Mode: open Konsole, paste this and press Enter. It plays backdrops live as your wallpaper; change backdrop by right-clicking the desktop, Configure Desktop and Wallpaper. Other desktops: download a picture or a looping video and set it in your wallpaper settings.
curl -fsSL https://backdrops.baubra.com/linux.sh | shFor Gaming Mode, a backdrop can be the Deck's startup video and sleep animation: open one and press Set as wallpaper for its command.