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You want to know how to find default desktop wallpapers on Mac, and you want to put your own wallpaper image in the folder that macOS uses for Desktop Background. Apple has a long history of choosing great desktop pictures for both the Mac and iPhone platforms, so it’s not surprising that some users may want to know where these default desktop wallpapers are stored in Mac OS.
To be clear, we’re talking about the default desktop pictures that come with macOS and Mac OS X and are available to all users through the Desktop system preference. We’re not talking about the 43 hidden wallpapers we found in Mac OS X that are part of screen savers or any other hidden images in Mac OS.
Since macOS Mojave came out, Mac desktop backgrounds have become a bit more lively and dynamic. They now change based on the time of day. At the same time, Apple stopped using wallpapers of nature and started using abstract graphics instead, which might feel a bit boring. You can also go to the official Mac support site to know more information.
Ways to find default desktop wallpapers on Mac
Navigate manually
- Click Macintosh HD from the Finder sidebar. If you don’t see it, open Finder > press Command + Comma (,) > Sidebar and check the first option under Locations.
- Click System > Library and open the Desktop Pictures folder.
- If the above step doesn’t work for you, click the arrow next to the Library folder to expand it. Next, scroll down to and double-click Desktop Pictures.
- The Desktop Pictures folder will pop open, and you’ll see all of those beautiful images in HEIC, PNG, or JPG formats.
Quickly go to the Desktop Pictures folder
- Open Finder on your Mac. When you do so, you’ll see the word Finder in the top left of the menu bar.
- Click Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
- Enter the path below into the box that appears and hit Go or press the enter key.
- On modern macOS versions, such as macOS Ventura:
/System/Library/Desktop Pictures
- If that doesn’t work, try:
/Library/Desktop Pictures
FAQ
How do I find my current Wallpaper on Mac?
OS X doesn’t have a quick and easy way to find out the exact path and file name of the background that is currently being used, so going through all of those files is a huge waste of time. The current background file is listed in /Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop, which is a good thing.
Where are the lock screen Pictures stored?
The images for your lock screen are stored in your system, but Microsoft does a good job of hiding them, so you will have to look for them. Open File Explorer and then click the View tab to see the hidden folder on your device. There, click on the Option button to bring up the Folder Options menu.
How do I recover my lock screen pictures?
If you need to, you can also unlock locked photos after you get into the locked device. To get into Gallery Lock photos: Open Gallery Lock, click Settings, and then tap Search and Recover Lost Files.
Where are synced wallpapers stored?
You can also type it in File Explorer’s location bar. This will open File Explorer, where you’ll find a folder called “DesktopBackground.” All of your synced wallpapers will be in this folder. The file type will be BMP.