Importing Wallpapers

Importing wallpapers

Besides the Steam Workshop, you can add wallpapers from folders, zip files, video files and web links. Imported wallpapers go into your storage folder.

Ways to import

Source	How
A wallpaper folder (with a project.json)	Toolbar + › Open Wallpaper…, or File › Import Wallpaper from Folder… (⌘I). You can select a single wallpaper folder or a parent folder holding several.
A .zip package	Toolbar + › Open Wallpaper… (it accepts folders and zip files), or drag it onto the grid. OWE extracts the wallpapers inside.
A video file (MP4, MOV, M4V)	Toolbar + › Add Video Wallpaper…, or drag it onto the grid.
A video or image URL	Toolbar + › Add Video/Image URL…. Enter an http or https link ending in a supported extension.
Drag and drop	Drop a wallpaper folder (copied into the library), a .zip (imported) or an MP4/MOV/M4V (video wallpaper) on the grid. Anything else shows an alert.
A Workshop collection	Toolbar + › Import Workshop Collection…: paste a collection link, choose the items to download, and optionally make them a playlist.
A Steam library	Toolbar + › Import from Steam Library…: copies the wallpapers of Wallpaper Engine on Windows, in a CrossOver bottle or on a Boot Camp disk.
Another folder	Settings › Assets › Library Folders › Add Folder… lists a folder's wallpapers in Installed without copying them.
Manually	Copy wallpaper folders into the storage folder, then Refresh.

Supported URL extensions

Kind	Extensions
Video	mp4, mov, m4v, webm
Image	png, jpg, jpeg, gif, heic, webp

If the link isn't valid, the sheet says "Enter a valid HTTP or HTTPS image/video URL." or "The URL must end in a supported image or video extension." Images are turned into a scene, so the effect stack applies to them as well.

Converted wallpapers

Wallpapers are unpacked into plain files when imported. The original package (scene.pkg) is kept until the wallpaper has rendered from those files, reported no conversion warnings, and no other wallpaper depends on it.

In Settings › Optimizations › Converted Wallpapers:

• Remove original packages after conversion removes packages that meet those conditions automatically.
• Reclaim Now removes them immediately and reports how many were removed.

Import errors

Message	Meaning
Permission Denied – "doesn't have permission to access the selected folders"	Allow access in System Settings › Privacy & Security, then try again.
No Wallpapers Inside	The folders don't contain a project.json. Check the selection.

Unknown content warning

Opening a wallpaper that OWE can't vouch for (an external web page, or a file of an unknown type) shows a warning: "Please be aware of malware." Proceed is enabled after a short countdown. Don't ask again for this wallpaper trusts it; Help › Debug › Reset All Trusted Wallpapers undoes that.

Read more (for developers): Architecture (the Library/ module) and Scene pipeline