Lively Wallpaper is a free, open-source app that lets you set animated and interactive wallpapers on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Install it from the Microsoft Store or from rocksdanister.com/lively, pick a preset from the Library tab, or paste a YouTube URL or drag a video file into the app to use your own content. On my test systems it uses under 1% CPU and about 100 MB of RAM, and it automatically pauses wallpapers when you launch a game or fullscreen app.
Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Last updated: April 13, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Lively Wallpaper is free and open-source. It won the Microsoft Store app awards in 2023 and is still actively developed in 2026.
- You can use 12 built-in interactive presets, paste a YouTube URL, drop in a local video file, or point at a web page URL as your wallpaper.
- Resource use is low — under 1% CPU and around 100 MB of RAM on my Windows 11 24H2 test machine. Wallpapers auto-pause when a game or fullscreen app has focus, so gaming performance is not affected.
- Excellent multi-monitor support: duplicate the same wallpaper across all monitors, pick a specific screen, span one wallpaper across all of them, or run a different wallpaper on each display.
- On Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2, if a wallpaper does not show, toggle Show desktop icons on and then off under the desktop right-click > View menu. This is a known Lively quirk with recent Windows builds.
Quick Steps
- Install Lively Wallpaper from the Microsoft Store or rocksdanister.com/lively.
- Open the app and click any wallpaper in the Library tab to set it as your desktop background.
- To add your own: click the + button, paste a YouTube URL or drag a video file in, fill in a title, and click OK.
- Click the monitor icon to configure multi-monitor behaviour.
- Open Settings > Audio to mute wallpapers, and Settings > Performance to confirm games and fullscreen apps are set to pause wallpapers.
Why Lively Wallpaper Is Still My Top Pick in 2026
There are paid alternatives like Wallpaper Engine on Steam that are excellent too, but Lively hits a sweet spot: it is completely free, open-source on GitHub, actively maintained by Dani Rajput (rocksdanister), and uses fewer system resources than almost every other live wallpaper app I have tested. For most people it is the first thing I recommend when they want to move past static desktop images.
If you want to compare, I also have a separate Wallpaper Engine (Sucrose) guide that walks through the paid alternative.
How to Install Lively Wallpaper
Three install options, all installing the same app:
- Microsoft Store (easiest, auto-updates) — apps.microsoft.com/detail/9ntm2qc6qws7. Current Store rating is 4.5 stars.
- Direct installer from rocksdanister.com/lively — pick this if the Microsoft Store is broken on your install. If it is, my Microsoft Store repair guide fixes it.
- GitHub releases — github.com/rocksdanister/lively for the portable build or source code.
After install, launch the app. The Library tab opens by default and shows the 12 built-in wallpapers plus any you add.
Fix: Wallpapers Not Showing on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2
On Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, Lively will occasionally install fine but not render the wallpaper — you end up staring at your regular static background. I hit this on two test machines and the fix is short:
- Right-click an empty spot on the desktop.
- Hover View.
- Click Show desktop icons to toggle it off and on.
The wallpaper appears the moment the toggle flips. Once it is rendering, you can leave Show desktop icons in whichever state you prefer — Lively will keep drawing.
Using the Built-In Interactive Presets
The 12 presets in the Library tab are a good starting point and show off what Lively can do beyond a plain video loop. The Fluids preset, for instance, reacts to mouse movement and system audio — move the cursor across the screen and the fluid ripples with it, play music and the fluid pulses in time.
Click any preset to apply it immediately. The ellipsis menu (three dots) next to each preset gives extra options — move it to another monitor, customise per-wallpaper properties, or remove it.
How to Add a YouTube Video as Your Wallpaper
This is the feature most people come to Lively for. Any YouTube video can become your desktop wallpaper.
- Find a video on YouTube. Search terms like “4K animated wallpaper”, “looping background”, or “lofi cafe ambience” return good results.
- Copy the video URL from the browser address bar.
- In Lively, click the + button in the Library tab.
- Paste the URL into the web address field and click the arrow.
- Give it a title (e.g. “Lofi Cafe”) and click OK. The video becomes your wallpaper and is added to the Library for later.
Tip: To mute a YouTube wallpaper, go to Settings > Audio and drag the slider to zero. Most YouTube videos include audio you do not want playing all day.
Using Your Own Video Files
You are not limited to YouTube. Any MP4, WebM, or GIF file on your PC can be a wallpaper.
- Click + in the Library tab.
- Drag your video file straight onto the dialog, or use Choose File to browse to it.
- Give it a title and click OK.
For free, royalty-free videos that loop cleanly, Pexels’ looping video search is where I usually start. Videos designed to loop are dramatically better as wallpapers than random clips, because you never see a jarring restart.
Multi-Monitor Setup
Click the monitor icon in Lively (top-right area) to open the multi-monitor dialog. The four modes:
- Same wallpaper on every screen — simplest setup.
- Pick one screen — wallpaper runs on a single monitor, others keep their static background.
- Span across screens — useful for ultrawide/triple-monitor setups so a single wallpaper stretches across them.
- Different wallpaper per screen — enable Always pick the screen when choosing a wallpaper in settings, then Lively will prompt you for the target monitor each time you apply a wallpaper.
Performance and Battery Settings
Out of the box Lively is well-tuned, but it is worth opening Settings > Performance once to confirm these are on:
- Pause during fullscreen applications — wallpapers stop when you launch a game or watch a fullscreen video. This is the single most important setting for gaming.
- Pause when application is focused — reduces GPU load while you are working in a heavy app.
- Battery optimisation — on laptops, Lively auto-pauses wallpapers when you are on battery to preserve runtime.
- Pause on remote desktop — skip wallpaper rendering during RDP sessions.
If you want even tighter control, the Application Rules list lets you nominate specific apps (Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Photoshop) that should always pause Lively when they are running.
How Much System Resources Does It Actually Use?
On my Windows 11 24H2 test rig with a video wallpaper running, Lively averages around 0.5% CPU and 90-110 MB of RAM. When the window is minimised to the system tray, CPU use drops to basically zero — the rendering still happens on the desktop window manager (DWM) rather than the Lively process itself.
That is low enough that I leave Lively running on my production laptop without worrying about it. On older hardware (8th-gen Intel and earlier, integrated graphics) I would stick with video wallpapers rather than the interactive presets, which can be slightly heavier on the GPU.
What to Customise Next
Live wallpapers look even better when the rest of the desktop matches. Some guides to pair with Lively:
- Windows 11 desktop customisation guide — icon layout, accents, Start menu.
- Windhawk — free mod manager for taskbar, Start menu, and Explorer tweaks.
- Make the taskbar transparent — an animated wallpaper looks great through a see-through taskbar.
- Custom Bibata mouse cursors — match the cursor to your wallpaper palette.
- Winhance — my free tool to remove Windows bloatware and reclaim system resources for the things that matter, like running a wallpaper engine in the background.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lively Wallpaper safe?
Yes. It is open-source on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 licence, WHQL-signed for the Microsoft Store release, and won the Microsoft Store App Awards in 2023. No ads, no telemetry, no paid upsell.
Will Lively Wallpaper slow down my games?
No, as long as Pause during fullscreen applications is enabled under Settings > Performance (it is on by default). Lively detects fullscreen apps and pauses rendering while they are in focus, so your GPU goes 100% to the game. You can verify this with Task Manager while a game is running.
Can I use different animated wallpapers on each monitor?
Yes. Turn on Always pick the screen when choosing a wallpaper in Settings, then each time you click a wallpaper in the Library, Lively will ask which monitor to apply it to. You can mix interactive presets on one screen with a YouTube video on another.
Why is my Lively wallpaper not showing on Windows 11?
This is a known issue on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. Right-click an empty spot on the desktop > View > toggle Show desktop icons off and on. The wallpaper will render immediately.
Can Lively Wallpaper use my own video files?
Yes. MP4, WebM, and GIF files all work. Click the + button in the Library and drag the file in, or use Choose File. For looping backgrounds, I recommend Pexels or Videvo rather than random YouTube clips — videos tagged as loops are cut so the end blends into the start.
How much RAM and CPU does Lively use?
Under 1% CPU and 90-110 MB of RAM on my test setup (Windows 11 24H2). When the window is minimised, CPU use drops to near zero while the wallpaper keeps rendering in the desktop compositor. It is one of the lightest live-wallpaper apps available for Windows.
Is Lively better than Wallpaper Engine?
It depends on what you value. Lively is free and open-source, and has a smaller but solid preset library. Wallpaper Engine (Steam, paid once) has a much bigger Workshop catalogue with tens of thousands of community-made wallpapers. If you want to browse endless variety, Wallpaper Engine wins. If you want something free, open-source, and lightweight, Lively is the better pick.
