Frequently Asked Questions - SAP/backgrounds GitHub Wiki



How do I use Backgrounds from the command line?

Backgrounds supports command line use.


--listBackgrounds Print the names of all available backgrounds.

/Applications/Backgrounds.app/Contents/MacOS/Backgrounds --listBackgrounds
From light gray to dark gray
From light gray to dark gray 2 
From gold to blue 
From gold to purple 
From gold to orange 
From gold to green
Just gray

--setBackground <name> Set the Desktop to the predefined background with the given name. The predefined backgrounds may be found in the Predefined.plist inside the Resources folder of the Backgrounds app or may be deployed via configuration profile.

/Applications/Backgrounds.app/Contents/MacOS/Backgrounds --setBackground <name>

For example:

/Applications/Backgrounds.app/Contents/MacOS/Backgrounds --setBackground "From light gray to dark gray"

Would set the background with name From light gray to dark gray.


--allScreens Set the Desktop picture as background for all attached screens, instead of just for the main screen.

You use the --allScreens argument to set it for all attached screens. So if we stick to the previous example, to set the background with name From light gray to dark gray for all screens, use:

/Applications/Backgrounds.app/Contents/MacOS/Backgrounds --setBackground "From light gray to dark gray" --allScreens

For assistance, please run the following command to display all available options:

/Applications/Backgrounds.app/Contents/MacOS/Backgrounds --help

Usage: Backgrounds --listBackgrounds
       Backgrounds --setBackground ‹name> [--allScreens]

   --listBackgrounds          Print the names of all available backgrounds.

   --setBackground <name>     Set the Desktop to the predefined background 
                              with the given name. The predefined backgrounds 
                              may be found in the Predefined. plist inside 
                              the Resources folder of the Backgrounds app
                              or may be deployed via configuration profile.

   --allscreens               Set the Desktop picture as background for all 
                              attached screens, instead of just for the
                              main screen.

   --help                     Shows this help.

Is it possible to have more screens with different ratio, to use Backgrounds?

The issue is, that macOS does not remember for which screen you set a desktop picture. As soon as you add or remove a display, the desktop picture moves to another screen. So if you have screens with different aspect ratio, you notice borders on top/bottom or left/right of the picture. This has nothing to do with our app but is an issue introduced in macOS 13. In our case review with Apple we have been told that a fix is scheduled for the next major macOS version.

Note

We agreed that we can mention this issue on our GitHub page but without our feedback id. We also agreed that we can encourage people to open feedback for this with Apple.

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