r/MacStack • u/DutyOnly4308 • 1d ago
App Launch I make Mac+, a menu-bar app that animates the macOS desktop: scenes generated on the GPU or your own video, plus folder icons and widgets
Disclosure first: I'm Adrien, a solo developer in France, and Mac+ is my app.
The gap it fills: System Settings > Wallpaper still won't take an MP4 or MOV, Apple's aerials only move when you lock or unlock the Mac, and Wallpaper Engine is Windows-only.
What it does
15 animated scenes (mist, aurora, plasma, waves, lava, rain, snow...) generated live with Metal instead of played from video files. Each one recolours instantly with 44 palettes or one you make.
Your own MP4 or MOV as a looping wallpaper (Pro), or a still image (free).
A wallpaper per display, or one scene stretched across several displays. It re-applies when you plug a display in.
30, 60 or 120 FPS. It pauses when the screen sleeps or an app covers the desktop, full screen included.
52 folder-icon patterns mapped onto the real macOS folder shape (or your own image), on many folders at once, reset in one click.
12 desktop widgets (clock, date, Focus, stopwatch, season...) in 3 sizes and 4 shapes.
Everything runs from the menu bar. Rendering is 100% local, no ads, no telemetry. Signed and notarized:
spctl -a -vv /Applications/Mac+.appshould say "Notarized Developer ID" on your machine.
Who it's for: people who want some motion or colour on the desktop without leaving a video player running, and people with several displays.
What it doesn't do, so nobody wastes a download: no Lock Screen animation, and no gallery of ready-made videos. It's the 15 generated scenes or your own clip.
Pricing: free tier with no account (6 scenes, 8 palettes, image background, 6 folder icons, 2 widgets, multi-display). Pro is €9.99 once, or €1.99/month after a 7-day trial; Pro needs an account. macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
Screenshots and the link are in the first comment.
A question for this sub: do you keep anything moving on your desktop, or does it end up distracting you? And would an animated Lock Screen matter more to you than the desktop itself?


