How to change your wallpaper on a Mac

Set a single wallpaper

1. Open System Settings and choose Wallpaper in the sidebar.
2. Click Add Photo and choose your image (or right-click an image in Finder and choose Set Desktop Picture).
3. Pick “Fill Screen” so the image covers the whole display without black bars.

Rotate through a folder

1. Unzip your wallpapers into one folder, for example in Pictures.
2. In System Settings → Wallpaper, click Add Folder and choose it.
3. Select the folder and turn on rotation, then choose how often it changes — every hour, every day, or each time you log in.

A different wallpaper on each Space or display

Each desktop Space can have its own wallpaper: switch to the Space (Control + arrow keys), then set the wallpaper as usual. With more than one display, System Settings → Wallpaper shows a picker for each screen.

Fix a blurry or cropped wallpaper

Blurry usually means the image is smaller than your screen; use one at least as large as your display’s native resolution — our MacBook wallpaper size guide lists every model. Cropped usually means the image is a different shape from your screen; 16:10 images suit MacBooks best. Choose “Fill Screen” rather than “Stretch”, which distorts the image.