Auto-pause
It listens for X11 visibility events and falls back to asking xdotool and wmctrl what the active window is doing — so it still works on desktops that report visibility badly. Maximise anything and playback stops.
Zyv-Wallpapers · Linux · Free forever
Your desktop,
brought to life.
A looping video behind your icons — decoded on the GPU, with sound if you want it — that stops by itself the moment a window covers the desktop.
- 579 KB download
- GPU decoded
- 0 W when covered
How it works
Step inside the screen.
This is a desktop with Zyv-Wallpapers running. Keep scrolling and use it the way you would.
Under the glass
Pull it apart, and there are layers.
- The video sits at the very back — above the root window, below everything you use.
- Its window is input-transparent: icons, right-clicks and drag-select land where they always did.
- Cover the desktop and it stops. Uncover it and it resumes on the same frame.
The whole download
579 KB.
Live-wallpaper apps usually ship an entire browser engine and weigh hundreds of megabytes. This is a small Python program driving mpv — the video player your system already has.
Try a wallpaper
Pick one. Watch the desk change.
On your machine it's any video file — MP4, WEBM, MKV, whatever mpv plays. Here are four to get the feel.
Off by default. It goes past 100% — up to 150% — for clips that were mastered quietly.
The reason it's usable
A wallpaper you can't see shouldn't be running.
That's what kills every other live wallpaper. This one watches the desktop, so you never have to.
Decoded on the GPU
VA-API hands the work to Intel and AMD hardware decoders. Your CPU stays out of it.
Audio, 0–150%
Off by default. Turn it on and push past 100% when a clip is quiet.
Seamless loops
No black frame at the seam, no restart flicker.
Autostart that waits
It holds until X and audio are really up, instead of firing at login and failing.
Clicks pass straight through
The wallpaper window is input-transparent: the X server hands every click to whatever is underneath. Icons, right-click menus and drag-selection behave exactly as they did before.
Getting it running
One file. apt does the rest.
- Install the package. Every dependency is declared, so apt brings in mpv, GTK 4, Libadwaita, xdotool and wmctrl on its own.
- Pick a video. Open Zyv-Wallpapers from your applications menu and browse to any file.
- Press start. Leave auto-pause on. It comes back by itself at the next login.
Hard requirement
X11 only. Not Wayland.
The engine puts its window at desktop level and makes it input-transparent using X11 extensions. Wayland deliberately allows neither, so there's nothing to fall back to — on Wayland it won't run. Better to know now than after the install.
Check your session
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
If it says wayland: log out, click the gear at the login screen and choose “Ubuntu on Xorg”. Ubuntu 22.04 and later default to Wayland.
Already on X11
Zorin OS, Linux Mint Cinnamon and Xfce — nothing to change.
Is it really free?
Yes, and permanently. There is no account, no credit balance and no paid tier hiding behind a feature. It is MIT licensed.
Will it slow my computer down?
Video decoding runs on your GPU through VA-API, not your processor, so the cost is small to begin with. And whenever a window covers the desktop the playback stops entirely, which is most of the time you are actually working.
Why will it not start on my Ubuntu?
Almost certainly because you are in a Wayland session. Run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE — if it says wayland, log out, click the gear icon at the login screen and pick “Ubuntu on Xorg”.
Can I still click my desktop icons?
Yes. The wallpaper window is input-transparent, which means the X server passes every click through it to whatever is underneath. Icons, right-click menus and drag-selection all behave exactly as they did before.
Does it come back after I restart?
Yes. It installs an autostart entry that waits for the X server and the audio system to be ready before it starts, rather than firing at login and failing.
What video formats work?
Anything mpv can play, which is essentially everything — MP4, WEBM, MKV, MOV. For a wallpaper, a short clip that loops cleanly at 1080p is the sweet spot.
Is there a Windows or Mac version?
No. It is built on X11 and mpv through GTK, which is a Linux stack. Windows already has good options for this; Linux did not, which is why it exists.
Free forever · MIT licensed
Bring your desktop to life.
One 579 KB package for Debian, Ubuntu, Mint and Zorin. No account, no credits.