How to have rotating wallpapers on Mac

Staring at the same desktop background for months isn't something you think about until you change it and realize how stale it had gotten. macOS has automatic wallpaper rotation built in — it takes about 30 seconds to set up.

macOS Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia

Open System Settings (Apple menu → System Settings)
Click Wallpaper in the sidebar
Under "Add Photo," click Choose Folder — pick a folder full of wallpaper images
Once the folder appears, select Auto-Rotate
Choose your shuffle interval from the dropdown
Optionally check "Randomly" for random order instead of sequential

Available intervals:

On Login
On Wake from Sleep
Every 5 seconds (distracting — don't)
Every minute / 5 min / 15 min / 30 min / 1 hour / 1 day

For most people, every 30 minutes or every hour hits the right balance. Frequent enough to feel fresh, not so frequent that it's distracting.

macOS Monterey and earlier

System Preferences → Desktop & Screen Saver
Click + in the bottom left to add a wallpaper folder
Check "Change picture" and select your interval
Optionally check "Random order"

Using Photos albums

You can also pull from a Photos app album. In the wallpaper settings, there's an option to select albums from your library. Useful if you organize favorite shots there already.

Tips for a good rotation

Curate your folder. Don't dump 500 random images in. 20–50 good ones gives you variety without filler.
Match resolution to your screen. A mix of 1080p and 5K images means some wallpapers look great and others look blurry. Stick to images at or above your display's native resolution.
Remove the ones you skip. If a wallpaper comes up and you immediately want to change it, delete it from the folder. Life's too short.
Keep a consistent mood. All dark moody landscapes? Great. All bright abstracts? Also great. Random mix of both plus some memes? That's going to feel chaotic.

Going further

The built-in rotation is folder-based and timer-based. If you want something smarter — wallpapers curated by actual designers, automatic downloads of new ones, no folder management — that's what Wallpapery does. Install it, pick your preferences, and your desktop stays fresh without maintenance.