Wallpaper Engine Assets

Wallpaper Engine assets

Scene wallpapers are built on top of Wallpaper Engine's shared files: its built-in effects, shaders, materials, models, particles, fonts and SceneScript runtime. Open Wallpaper Engine doesn't ship any of them. This page explains how to give OWE those files from your own Wallpaper Engine copy, in Settings › Assets.

Important

Without the assets, scene wallpapers say that they need them and don't render. Video and web wallpapers play without them.

Settings › Assets

Open Settings (⌘, or the menu bar icon), then the Assets tab. Changes on this page apply at once; the Settings window's OK and Cancel don't cover them.

Status rows

Row	Meaning
Status	Ready (green) when an asset copy is in use, Missing (orange) when not
Source	Downloaded from Steam, Copied from a folder, or Chosen folder
Location	The folder the assets are read from
Steam build	Steam's build number of the Wallpaper Engine copy (Steam installs only)
Updated	When the copy was installed or updated
Size	Disk space the copy takes
Default wallpapers added	How many of WE's default wallpapers joined your library
Free space	Free space on the storage volume

Actions

Button	What it does
Install from Steam / Update from Steam	Downloads your Wallpaper Engine copy with SteamCMD, keeps only the assets and the default wallpapers, and deletes the rest. Shows progress ("… of …") while it runs; Cancel stops it.
Install SteamCMD	Shown instead of Install when no SteamCMD is available yet. See SteamCMD and Steam login.
Choose Folder…	Uses an existing Wallpaper Engine folder (or its assets folder) in place, for example one copied from a Windows PC.
Stop Using Folder	Forgets the chosen folder; the downloaded copy (if any) takes over.
Remove…	Removes the downloaded copy. If default wallpapers were added, you can choose Remove Assets and Default Wallpapers or Remove Assets Only. Default wallpapers go to the Trash.

Install from Steam, step by step

1. Make sure you are logged in to Steam in the Workshop tab with an account that owns Wallpaper Engine (see SteamCMD and Steam login).
2. Open Settings › Assets and click Install from Steam.
3. OWE asks SteamCMD to download Wallpaper Engine (Steam app 431960) with your saved login.
4. It copies the subset scenes use into the assets copy, then deletes the rest of the download.
5. WE's default wallpapers (from its projects/defaultprojects folder) join your library. Application wallpapers are skipped, since they can't run.

What is kept: effect manifests (without editor preview art), GLSL shaders and shared headers (without Direct3D or editor shaders), materials, models, particles, the SceneScript runtime, compatibility patches, the built-in fonts with their licence files, and WE's UI strings (locale/ui_*.json) that translate labels.

Note

The copy is built beside the old one and swapped in only when complete, so a failure or cancellation leaves the previous copy as it was.

Where the copy lives

The downloaded copy lives in your Wallpaper storage folder, in a hidden folder named .owe-assets (by default ~/Documents/Open Wallpaper Engine/.owe-assets). The copy belongs to the storage folder in use. Moving your library to another folder moves the wallpapers but not this hidden folder, so install the assets again afterwards if Status shows Missing.

Which copy is used

OWE looks for assets in this order:

1. The folder you chose with Choose Folder….
2. The downloaded copy in the storage folder.
3. None: scenes show that they need the assets.

Updating and removing

• Update from Steam re-downloads and replaces the copy, for example after a Wallpaper Engine update.
• Remove… deletes the copy; you can install it again at any time. Scenes won't render until you do.
• The menu bar menu shows Set Up Assets… whenever the assets are missing; it opens this page.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to try
"Log in to Steam in the Workshop tab first"	Log in on the Workshop tab (or in Terminal), then try again.
The download fails straight away	Check that the account owns Wallpaper Engine, and that the storage volume is connected and has space.
Chosen folder refused	Choose the Wallpaper Engine install folder or its assets folder; it must contain shaders and effects.

More in Troubleshooting.

Read more (for developers): Assets system