Mini Wallpaper

A focused, ultra-light animated wallpaper app for Windows.

Mini Wallpaper is for people who like animated wallpapers but only need the focused part: play a local video or GIF behind the desktop icons with as little overhead as possible.

It deliberately avoids a browser runtime, a wallpaper store, and a heavy management interface. Choose local media from the tray menu and let the app prepare a lean playback copy automatically.

Note

Mini Wallpaper is an independent project and is not affiliated with Lively Wallpaper.

Highlights

Capability	Mini Wallpaper approach
Runtime	Native WPF window embedded behind the desktop icons
Media source	Local files only
Controls	Compact notification-area menu
Optimization	Automatic FFmpeg transcoding before playback
Cache	Deterministic optimized copies reused across launches
Startup	Optional per-user Windows startup entry
Dependencies	No browser runtime and no package manager at runtime

Quick Start

Download a release

Download mini_wallpaper.exe from the latest release and place it in a folder of your choice.

For automatic media optimization, place ffmpeg.exe next to mini_wallpaper.exe. Without FFmpeg, Mini Wallpaper can still play supported files directly, but it skips the optimization step.

The published executable is not digitally signed, so Windows may display a warning on first launch. The complete source and build scripts remain available for auditing and local builds.

Install for the current user

Clone the repository, ensure that ffmpeg.exe is available on PATH, then run:

git clone https://github.com/Mirochill/mini-wallpaper.git
cd mini-wallpaper
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\native-wpf\install.ps1

If FFmpeg is not on PATH, pass it explicitly:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\native-wpf\install.ps1 -FfmpegPath "C:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe"

The installation script:

1. builds the native executable;
2. installs it into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\MiniWallpaper\;
3. copies ffmpeg.exe next to the installed app;
4. enables launch at startup for the current user;
5. starts Mini Wallpaper in the background.

Usage

Mini Wallpaper lives in the Windows notification area. Open its tray menu to:

Action	Result
Choose a wallpaper	Select a local video or animated GIF
Pause or resume	Temporarily stop or restart playback
Launch at startup	Toggle the per-user Windows startup entry
Quit	Close the wallpaper window and tray icon

On first launch, Mini Wallpaper checks for Documents\Gifs\wallpaper.mp4. If it cannot find a saved or default wallpaper, it opens the file picker.

Supported Media

Input format	Playback preparation
.mp4	Optimized MP4 playback copy when FFmpeg is available
.wmv	Optimized MP4 playback copy when FFmpeg is available
.avi	Optimized MP4 playback copy when FFmpeg is available
.mov	Optimized MP4 playback copy when FFmpeg is available
.gif	Converted to an optimized MP4 copy when FFmpeg is available

If optimization cannot complete, Mini Wallpaper keeps the original file usable instead of failing the wallpaper change.

Media Optimization

Mini Wallpaper leaves the original file untouched and creates an optimized playback copy in:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\MiniWallpaper\optimized\

The import pipeline:

• converts supported media to H.264 MP4;
• converts animated GIFs to MP4;
• caps playback media at 30 fps;
• scales media down only when it exceeds the primary monitor resolution;
• removes audio from the wallpaper copy;
• stores deterministic cached copies so the same file is not transcoded again needlessly.

flowchart LR
    A[Choose local media] --> B{FFmpeg available?}
    B -- No --> C[Play original file]
    B -- Yes --> D[Create deterministic cache key]
    D --> E{Optimized copy exists?}
    E -- Yes --> F[Reuse cached MP4]
    E -- No --> G[Scale if needed, cap at 30 fps, remove audio]
    G --> H[Write optimized H.264 MP4]
    H --> F
    C --> I[Play behind desktop icons]
    F --> I

Loading

This matters because animated GIFs and oversized 4K60 videos are expensive formats for a desktop background.

Example from a real desktop

On the machine this project was built on:

Scenario	Before	After
Wallpaper media	4K60 MP4, 27.04 MB	1080p30 MP4, 4.69 MB
Mini Wallpaper private memory while playing	~640 MB	~210 MB

These are concrete local measurements, not a universal benchmark. They show the kind of avoidable work the app is designed to remove.

Local Files

Path	Purpose
%LOCALAPPDATA%\MiniWallpaper\wallpaper.txt	Stores the active wallpaper path
%LOCALAPPDATA%\MiniWallpaper\optimized\	Stores cached playback copies
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\MiniWallpaper\	Default installation directory

Original wallpaper files are never modified.

Build from Source

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11.
• Windows PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7.
• .NET Framework 4.x tooling already available on Windows.
• ffmpeg.exe for automatic media optimization during normal use.

Build

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\native-wpf\build.ps1
.\dist-native\mini_wallpaper.exe

The build uses the .NET Framework compiler already installed with Windows and does not require a NuGet restore.

Design Scope

Mini Wallpaper intentionally stays narrow. It currently does not include:

• a wallpaper marketplace;
• web wallpapers;
• widgets;
• playlists;
• multi-monitor scene management;
• a large visual library manager.

If you need a full wallpaper ecosystem, Lively Wallpaper is a better fit. If you only need a local animated wallpaper with very little baggage, Mini Wallpaper is designed for that.

Project Layout

native-wpf/
  Program.cs      # application code
  build.ps1       # local build
  install.ps1     # install, copy FFmpeg, enable startup

The implementation remains compact enough for its complete behavior to fit in one main source file.

Roadmap

• Better multi-monitor handling.
• Optional cache management UI.
• Signed release builds.
• A friendlier first-run installer.

Contributing

Focused improvements are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request and follow the Code of Conduct.

Report vulnerabilities privately according to SECURITY.md.

License

Mini Wallpaper is open source under the MIT License.