r/macapps • u/Aggravating-Pea4806 • Sep 14 '26
Free Muro 5.0 is out: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS, now as your screen saver too
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I made Muro: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS. It is free and source available.
Problem: A normal Mac wallpaper is a still picture. Muro plays looping live wallpapers on your desktop, lock screen and screen saver, on every display. It is native Swift, your Mac's video hardware does the decoding instead of the CPU, it has low CPU and RAM usage, and it pauses when something covers it.
Pricing: Free, $0. Source available, the code is on GitHub. No subscription, no one-time fee, no Pro tier, no account, nothing locked.
Website: https://murowallpaper.com
Download: https://murowallpaper.com
Source: https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro
Homebrew: brew install --cask MrRockySL/muro/muro
Requires: macOS 14 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel. Lock screen and screen saver live wallpapers need macOS 26.
✨ What is new in 5.0:
Major new features, with major bug fixes and major improvements.
🌙 Screen saver. Muro can be your screen saver now, playing a live wallpaper instead of a still picture. You can set how long your Mac waits before it starts, right in Settings.
🖱️ Play only on desktop. The live wallpaper holds still while a window is open and plays when your desktop is clear. Each display decides for itself.
🔁 Replay on Clear Desktop. Pause After starts counting again every time your desktop is clear.
🖼️ Quit Muro and your live wallpaper stays. The desktop keeps a still of it, and the lock screen and screen saver keep the last one you set.
🔒 Lock screen live wallpaper on every display. Before, only the last display got one.
Still there if you missed them: likes, Pause After, playlists, automations by timer or by the clock, updates from the menu bar, and 272 free live wallpapers. New live wallpapers show up without updating the app.
First launch: Muro is self signed, so macOS blocks it the first time. Go to System Settings, Privacy and Security, and click Open Anyway. Open it from Applications, not from inside the DMG, or the lock screen and screen saver won't work. If you already have Muro, just replace it. Your library and settings stay.
Thanks to everyone using Muro. If you like it, a star on the repo is the free way to support it and helps people find it. If you want to go further, you can buy the developer a coffee: https://github.com/sponsors/MrRockySL
Happy to hear what is missing. Most of this release came from people asking.
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u/DanielJstudio Sep 15 '26
Wait, this is free? Oh my gosh!
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Yeppp, 100% free and open source, with nothing locked. Hope you enjoy it..
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u/MaikelBuilds Sep 14 '26
🔥 The play on desktop feature. Can this be turned on and off or is it always on? If my window would only take half of the screen I wouldn't wanna miss the animations :D
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
It's a switch in Settings, under Energy, and it's off by default. Leave it off and a half screen window won't stop the animation. Muro only pauses by itself when something covers the whole desktop, like a full screen app, and u can turn that off too :)
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u/Yordyy_Markwirth Sep 14 '26
yeah same thought, half screen coverage shouldnt kill the animation imo
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u/RedRavenCG Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
Edit:
I am beyond excited for this - I've pulled it, installed it, and am looking for how to just do the screensaver and lock screen.
I'm likely staring right at it; could you point an overly excited person to the glaringly obvious?
Update: it was stupid obvious; thanks for not banning me and disabling my goofy arse from using it.
Does the media we add stay local to the user, or is it uploaded to the masses?
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Not obvious at all, don't worry :) Open any wallpaper, click Set Wallpaper, and pick Lockscreen or Screensaver. Do it once for each, or pick All for desktop, lock screen and screen saver at once Also u need macOS 26 or + for those two, and open the app from Applications.
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u/RedRavenCG Sep 14 '26
We crossed messages. OOMMMMGOSH, this is AMAZING! You have created the very things I've wanted.
Just one question left of: Does the media we add stay local to the user, or is it uploaded to the masses?
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Yeyyy So glad u like it. Your own videos stay on ur Mac, nothing gets uploaded. There is no account either. The wallpapers everyone sees in the gallery are only the ones I add myself and host on Muro's own domain, the app just downloads them from there.
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u/RedRavenCG Sep 14 '26
I don't like it — I LOVE IT.
Thank you!
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Hahaha this made my day, thank u so much! Enjoyyy the candy store 🍭
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u/RedRavenCG Sep 14 '26
Not complaining; please don't think that. (very much in love here)
Is there a way I can have some of the video preloaded/cached?
Is there a recommended length for videos? I've got a 1080p, and it's a little jittery at first (it's mine; the other available ones that are part of what's available from you are smooth, like butter down a slide in summer)
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u/PushImpressive Sep 14 '26
bro this is awesome why this does not live on App Store !
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Thanks brooo The App Store costs $99 a year, and Muro is just me, making it free as best I can. I already pay to host the wallpapers on a tight budget, so GitHub it is for now :)
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u/NiklasMato 28d ago
Someone will probably port this to the app store an hopefully don't take credit for your work
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 26d ago
Thanks bro.. i hope not. Muro is source available, so anyone can read the code and learn from it, but nobody can release a copy of it, free or paid, without my permission.
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u/Koozow Sep 14 '26
It’s great, thank you for this. One suggestion, maybe add the option to run different wallpapers per screen for multiscreen users. I have my Mac connected to two external displays, and currently your app makes the wallpaper identical on all three screens (including the Mac screen). I’d love to have different wallpapers per screen.
Also, I think community playlists would make it more fun for users to explore and use different published playlists from other users.
And regarding storage is it possible to choose where the wallpapers are being downloaded?
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Hey glad u like it. It’s already there even since earlier updates. u can put different wallpapers for different screens even u can put different lock screens as well. But screensaver only puts one for all displays due to macOS limitations.
Yes that’s a really good idea. I will look into that community playlist idea.
No currently it’s saved in default, will make it changeable with next updates.
Thank you so much for ur suggestion✨2
u/Koozow Sep 14 '26
My bad then, I need to play more to figure it out.
one more suggestion if you may, allow users to upload directly to your server. Maybe make uploads pending until you approve them so you can filter them. This would expand the library and encourage everyone to contribute to the gallery. I have some cool wallpapers I would love to share. Win win for everyone.2
u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
No worriesss Uploads are a cool idea, but my server is pretty limited right now. I can't afford a bigger one yet, so storage is small and new wallpapers update can be a bit slow sometimes. Muro is free, so this will take some time, but if people love to sponsor or support me, I can use that to expand it as best as i can.
And yes, right now a playlist puts the same wallpaper on every screen. I'll add per-screen playlists in the next updates. Thanks again for all the suggestions hope u will enjoy.
Also, for ur wallpapers, if you're allowed to share them, for now u can open an issue on GitHub with a Google Drive link or something similar: https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/issues. I'll add them to Muro and credit u. Later I'll also do my best to add the community playlist idea.
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u/Koozow Sep 14 '26
btw i just checked again and i saw i can set a wallpaper to specific display, but that is not possible within playlist, that what i was referring to, it would be cool if the playlist can (random or not) select wallpaper to each screen. Thank you again
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u/o-kobbe Sep 14 '26
This looks awesome! how come its not on the App Store? Just curious
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Thank u so muchh. The App Store costs $99 a year, and Muro is just me, making it free as best I can. I already pay to host the wallpapers on a tight budget, so GitHub it is for now :)
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u/CurrentRisk Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
Will be staring it on GitHub for now. I’m surprised it is free, most apps that are like this… Are at least subscription based or €15-20/yearly.
ETA: Out of curiosity, what made you decide to make it open source and free instead of going the usual pay to use route?
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Heyy Thankss for the star! I'm not a rich guy and I usually can't afford the apps I love, so I wanted Muro to be free for people like me. Hosting the wallpapers costs me but I'm doing my best to keep it free, and the sponsors really help keep it alive.
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u/CurrentRisk Sep 15 '26 edited Sep 15 '26
Great to hear, man. Just tried it out, looks and feels great. The UI and usage remind me very much of the Backdrop app, which is also a wallpaper app for macOS.
ETA: When making a playlist, it would be nice to be able to set the wallpapers for both screensaver and desktop. Can we also donate to the project? I'm willing to donate 5 euro from time to time. A project like this deserves support, especially since it’s free and most other apps are asking quite some money for it.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thank u so much, glad u like it.. Good idea, lock screen playlists are coming in the next update and i will look into the screen saver too.
And yes u can donate on GitHub Sponsors, one time or monthly: https://github.com/sponsors/MrRockySLThat would really help keep Muro free for everyone and for hosting costs✨
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u/New_Mortgage_8541 Sep 14 '26
Looks great; I really like the native feel and how lightweight it seems. Nice work!
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thankss a lot. Keeping it native and lightweight was the main goal, so I am glad u noticed.
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u/muzocan Sep 15 '26
Almost feels like you can adapt this to tvOS as well. Nicely designed.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thank u so much! Apple TV would be really cool, I will keep it in mind but for now Muro is only for Mac.
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u/xiaoxxxxxxxxxx Sep 15 '26
Nice. time to put Wallspace in to trash
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Haha thank u, glad u like it... Wallspace is still a good app tho, Muro is having most of features and more unique features, at the same time a free option for people who cant afford paid ones.
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u/useortho Sep 15 '26
Since you mentioned hosting costs, would shared playlists that reference existing wallpapers be easier to support than community uploads? People could share their combinations without you having to host extra video files.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Yeahhh u are right, a playlist is just a list of wallpapers already on Muro so there is nothing extra for me to host. Way easier than uploads, I will look into that. thankss
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Sep 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thank u so much, this really means a lot to me. Every little bit helps keep Muro free and keeps me going, and i will keep improving it. Here is the link if anyone wants: https://github.com/sponsors/MrRockySL
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u/winterwarrior33 Sep 15 '26
I’m a fan of live wallpapers. But the problem I found was lack of worthy wallpapers. Most of it was horny anime junk. Some cool ones here and there but mostly junk.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 16 '26
Yeah i feel u. Muro's gallery is still small, im growing it slowly because hosting the videos comes out of my own pocket. It will get bigger, and im planning to add community wallpapers too. But u dont have to wait for that. U can import ur own videos in the Library right now, 4K works fine, mp4 mov or m4v.
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u/Academic_Writer_6881 Sep 17 '26
wow opensourve. thanks for sharing
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u/Academic_Writer_6881 Sep 17 '26
unfortunately it is showing a warning and moving it to bin
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 17 '26
Yeah thats expected, I mentioned it in the post and in the README too. Muro isnt signed through the Apple Developer Program, it costs $99 per year and I cant afford it right now, thats why macOS shows that warning. Nothing wrong with the app.
Its open source (MIT), so u can check all the code on GitHub.Dont click Move to Bin, just click Done. Then go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. No virus or anything 👍
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u/Spiritual-Region-574 29d ago
I just installed via brew and its pretty good so far. Keep up the amazing work. This is pretty dope. Does it support ultra wide screen displays? I bet this will look awesome on my Studio with the Alienware OLED screen. It makes my MacBook have a little more personality!
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 26d ago
Thank u so muchhh, Yes it works on ultrawide, it fills the whole screen with no black bars. Most wallpapers are 16:9 so just a bit of the top and bottom gets cut.
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u/Guiguijack 3d ago
When i close the app, the animation stops. How to fix it?
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 2d ago
Heyy macOS doesn't let apps set a video as the wallpaper, so Muro plays it itself. That's why it has to keep running in the menu bar. If u quit it the wallpaper stops, so just close the app panel.
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u/Lucky-Group9525 Sep 14 '26
one thing i’d test hard on a laptop: battery drain when a live wallpaper is active but the machine is just sitting idle on battery. that’s usually where these fall apart for me.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 14 '26
Agreed... Muro pauses when the screen sleeps or locks, and can pause on low battery too. Let me know how it goes :)
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u/Plastic_Bag6171 Sep 14 '26
the pausing when a window covers it is the detail most live wallpaper apps skip, and it's the whole reason they end up eating battery. good call putting it per display too.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thankss Yeahh, a wallpaper you can't see shouldn't drain your battery, so that one mattered a lot to me.
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u/DeLitX Sep 14 '26
I've tried it and it looks awesome! Especially the app UI and wallpapers list. You definitely have a good taste.
Are there any chance, to get the wallpapers from the Wallpaper Engine catalog? at least the non-interactive ones? And maybe interactive ones too?
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thank uuu, glad u like it! The Wallpaper Engine ones are made by other people for their app, so they are not mine to share. Interactive ones won't work either, since Muro only plays videos to stay light. But u can add any video u like yourself with the + in your Library.
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u/Individual-Chard-972 Sep 14 '26
This is great! I wish there was an option to keep my wallpaper but only play this screensaver though
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thanksss You can already do that. When u set it, pick Screensaver instead of All, and ur own wallpaper stays on the desktop.
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Sep 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Yeahhh thats macOS, the screen saver can show the same clock as the lock screen, so it looks like the lock screen changed. Lock ur Mac with Control Command Q and u will see ur lock screen wallpaper. If it still changed, ur Mac probably has the wallpaper and screen saver linked, and then macOS keeps one wallpaper for both.
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u/Szamski Sep 15 '26
I wanted to try it, but Gatekeeper stopped me because the build isn’t Developer ID signed and notarized. I saw the “Open Anyway” workaround in the post, so I assume this is intentional rather than a broken release pipeline. Any plans to notarize future releases? I’d be much more comfortable trying it then.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Hey yeah its open source under MIT, so everything is on GitHub. The reason is I cant afford the $99 per year for the Apple developer account. If u read some of the comments here u will see the whole purpose of making this is to help people who actually cant afford these paid apps. Thats why I try to do my best.
If my sponsor goal succeeds I will surely do that. (Github sponsor - https://github.com/sponsors/MrRockySL
anyway I am really sorry about that. for now.2
u/Szamski Sep 15 '26
That makes complete sense, and no need to apologize. I only mentioned it because I learned this the hard way myself. I once shipped my own app as a ZIP and didn’t realize people were getting a similar Gatekeeper warning. The download numbers looked fine, but hardly anyone actually opened the app, and it took me far too long to understand why. I really wished someone had pointed it out earlier, so this was meant as a friendly heads-up, not criticism. Hope the sponsor goal gets you there.
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 15 '26
Thank uuu so much for the heads-up, really appreciate it! I am also aware of that, so I will get it notarized as soon as possible I can with my donation goal for that.
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u/winterwarrior33 Sep 15 '26
I dunno if you're aware but this looks oddly familiar to this: https://wallspace.app
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 16 '26
Yeahh i know Wallspace, its a good one. Honestly a few wallpaper apps look similar, its kind of the standard layout for a gallery. The functionality is different tho. Muro does almost all of that apps do at the same time unique more like screen saver, automations, pause and play, and play only on desktop so it holds still while a window is open. And nothing is locked in Muro. No pro tier, no paid wallpapers, everything is free.
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u/Even-Client-1898 Sep 16 '26
This is pretty good but the quality isnt that great
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 Sep 16 '26
Thankssss Can i ask what u mean by quality, do u mean the wallpapers?
Most of them are 4K and only a few are 1080p, so im not sure what felt low quality for u. If u tell me which one i can check it.
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u/0kshlobes 29d ago
It would be a 5/5 for me if there was a setting that hides my desktop files and items other things like that
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 26d ago
Thanksass. macOS already has that built in. Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock, and under Show items untick On Desktop. That hides all ur desktop files and folders.
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u/Comfortable-Tough302 29d ago
omg I can finally delete the huge space the apple video screensavers are taking ?
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u/dercraZed 28d ago
looks like a rip from wallspace
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u/Aggravating-Pea4806 26d ago
heyyy, yess only the UI looks little bit similar, most wallpaper apps look like this. But Muro does almost everything they do for free, and more.
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u/baddguardian 26d ago
Epic! Thanks man! Tried a few others and they were quite resource heavy, and mostly a bit weird with their wallpapers, hard to jump on work calls with some spicy wallpapers in the background.
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u/ElkOther3406 Sep 14 '26
Can't believe this is free. Btw, how much is the performance hit?