Your videos. Your pace.
Import MP4 or MOV files, build playlists, adjust playback speed and choose what plays on each display. Use an animated desktop, a screen saver, or both.
Turn a favourite video into a living wallpaper. Let it take over when your Mac is idle, or keep a little motion behind your work. Start with the cosmic scene below, then make it your own.
Download for Mac
Free early release · v1.0.0 · 30.4 MB ZIP
macOS 26+ · Apple silicon & Intel
How to install ↓Study 01 / Cosmic K930 seconds · Seamless loop
The scene that started it. Included in the app · Silent preview
The preview could not load. Open the video directly.
Fig. 1 · Possibilities
Your desktop, in motion
A catalogue to explore.
Browse the video catalogue inherited from Aerial, download favourites and mix them with your own scenes. The bundled Cosmic K9 loop is ready from the first launch.
More than a pretty view.
Arrange clock, date, weather, now-playing and text overlays. Set playback to pause when windows cover the desktop, and adjust power-saving options in Settings.
Fig. 2 · Getting started
From download to desktop
Download and move it into Applications.
Unzip the download, then drag Cosmic Desktop.app into your Applications folder. Open it from there. The app is signed by Manuel Re and notarised by Apple.
Choose how your Mac comes to life.
Follow the first-launch setup to choose a moving desktop, a still desktop with an animated screen saver, or screen saver only. Aerial does not need to be installed.
Make yourself at home.
Use the moon-and-stars menu bar icon to open Video Library or Settings. Set the screen-saver delay in System Settings › Lock Screen.
Fig. 3 · Small print
A few things to know
What happens when my Mac is idle or locked?
Cosmic Desktop uses macOS wallpaper and screen-saver integration. Choose when the screen saver starts in System Settings. macOS still controls locking and sign-in; a sleeping or powered-off display cannot show animation.
What is included in the catalogue?
The app retains Aerial’s catalogue browser and downloads videos from their existing providers when you choose them. Only Cosmic K9 is bundled in this download. Provider terms and availability still apply, and optional paid expansion packs are separate.
What stays on my Mac, and what uses the internet?
Your imported videos, library and settings are stored on your Mac. Catalogue browsing and downloads contact video providers. Optional features such as weather and live feeds can contact their providers and may need configuration or macOS permissions. The website privacy policy covers this page.
How do I update it, or go back to another wallpaper?
Download a newer Cosmic Desktop release here and replace the app in Applications after quitting it. For now, app updates are manual. To switch away, choose another wallpaper and screen saver in System Settings, quit Cosmic Desktop, then remove it from Applications if you no longer want it.
Built on open source
A little cosmic, a lot of Aerial.
Cosmic Desktop is Manuel Re’s independent edition of Aerial 4.1.9, with its own identity, library and cosmic starter scene. The wallpaper engine, catalogue and overlay editor come from the work of Guillaume Louel and the Aerial contributors.
The app’s code is shared under the MIT licence, with upstream acknowledgements retained. This edition is maintained independently; the Aerial team does not publish or support it.
For the moments between things
Leave a little room
for wonder.