How to Change Your MacBook Wallpaper (Step-by-Step, 2026)

YourMacBook desktop is the screen you look at more than almost anything else. Changing the wallpaper takes less than a minute – here are the three easiest ways, plus a few tips so the image looks sharp on every Mac.

Method 1: System Settings (works for any image)

1. Save the image somewhere easy to find, for example your Pictures folder. If you downloaded a ZIP file, double-click it first to unzip it.
2. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and open System Settings.
3. Choose Wallpaper in the sidebar.
4. Click Add Photo (or Add Folder) and select your image.
5. Pick how it should fit – Fill Screen usually looks best.

Button names can differ slightly between macOS versions, but the Wallpaper section has been in the same place since macOS Ventura.

Method 2: The Finder shortcut (fastest)

Open the folder with your image in Finder, right-click (or Control-click) the file and choose Set Desktop Picture. Done – one click.

Method 3: Rotate a whole collection automatically

Bored of one picture? Put several wallpapers in one folder, then in System Settings → Wallpaper choose Add Folder and select it. You can then let macOS change the picture automatically, for example every hour or every day. Our collections come as sets of five paintings, so one collection makes a perfect rotating folder.

Using more than one display

If you use an external monitor, the Wallpaper settings let you choose a picture for each display. Select the display you want to change first, then pick the image.

Why resolution matters

A low-resolution image looks soft or pixelated on a Retina screen. Every wallpaper from The Frame Co. is 3840 × 2400 pixels – larger than the native resolution of every current MacBook, including the 16-inch MacBook Pro – so it stays sharp edge to edge. The 16:10 shape also matches the MacBook screen, so nothing important gets cropped.

Bonus: set the matching iPhone lock screen

1. Save the iPhone version of the wallpaper to your Photos.
2. Open Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper and choose Photos.
3. Select the image, adjust the crop, tap Add and set it as your lock screen and/or home screen.

Several of our collections include matching iPhone versions – for example Saint-Tropez, The Good Life and Aegean.

Find a wallpaper worth looking at

If you want something better than the default, browse our oil-painting wallpapers – 49 collections, from F1 night races to quiet Kyoto mornings. Or get the complete library and change your desktop whenever you like.

Not sure which resolution your screen needs? See our MacBook wallpaper size guide.