macOS Sonoma, like its predecessors, has a collection of stunning wallpapers that users can set as their desktop background or screen saver.
However, locating these images on your Mac isn’t always straightforward since they’re not all stored on the device by default.
In this article, we will be discussing in detail exactly how you can find the location where your wallpaper in macOS Sonoma is located.
Where Is Wallpaper Storage In MacOS Sonoma?
macOS Sonoma continues Apple’s trend of providing dynamic and live wallpapers that change based on the time of day or that animate. However, these files aren’t necessarily stored in a single, easily accessible folder.
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that some animated wallpapers, particularly the aerial screen savers, are not initially stored on your Mac. Instead, they are downloaded on-demand when you choose them.
This means that if you’re looking for the file path of an aerial screensaver or a dynamic wallpaper, you might not find it until after it’s been set as your background or screen saver.
Where To Find The Default Static Wallpapers In MacOS Sonoma?
For static wallpapers, macOS typically stores them in a system folder. In previous versions of macOS, you could find wallpapers in the /Library/Desktop Pictures folder.
- Open the Finder.
- From the menu bar, select “Go” > “Go to Folder…“
- Enter
/System/Library/Desktop Picturesand press “Go.”
Note: The location might vary, and newer versions of macOS have been known to change the paths where these resources are kept. Note that you may need administrative privileges to access this folder.
How To Locate Downloaded Wallpapers And Screen Savers?
When you download a wallpaper or screen saver, macOS Sonoma handles them differently compared to the default ones. The downloaded files are usually stored in a cache or a temporary folder, which can be harder to locate.
- Open Finder.
- Hold down the ‘Option’ key and select “Go” from the menu bar.
- Click on “Library” when it appears in the list.
- Inside the Library, look for a folder related to screen savers or desktop pictures. This might be within
Application Support,Caches, or another similarly named directory.
How To Find The Current Wallpaper Path?
For users who are comfortable with using the Terminal or looking through system logs, there are ways to find the current path of your wallpaper. For instance, you could use the Console app to filter for specific log entries that indicate the path of the current desktop image. This method, though not straightforward for the average user, can provide the exact location of the current wallpaper file.
- Open the Terminal app (found in Applications/Utilities).
- Type the following command and press Enter:
defaults read com.apple.desktop Background - Look for the “ImageFilePath” string in the output. This should give you the path to the current wallpaper image.