What is WallpaperAgent on Mac?
By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Last reviewed
Draws your desktop wallpaper, including the moving aerial and dynamic wallpapers.
WallpaperAgent manages your desktop and lock screen wallpaper, with helper extensions for still images and for video-based aerial wallpapers. Moving aerial wallpapers are real video, so they cost more memory and power than a still picture. Users have reported the video extension using a lot of memory at times.
- Category
- macOS system
- Made by
- Apple
- Safe to quit:
- With care
Shown in Activity Monitor as WallpaperAgent, WallpaperVideoExtension, WallpaperImageExtension, WallpaperAerialsExtension
Why is WallpaperAgent using so much CPU or memory?
- A moving aerial or video wallpaper playing, especially across several displays
- Using the same aerial as wallpaper and screen saver
- Many desktops (Spaces) with different wallpapers
- A memory build-up after long uptime
What to do
- 1Switch to a still wallpaper in System Settings > Wallpaper to see if usage drops
- 2Turn on 'Show on all Spaces' in Wallpaper settings so one wallpaper is shared
- 3Force quit WallpaperAgent; macOS relaunches it
- 4Restart your Mac
Safe to quit? With care.
It relaunches automatically; your wallpaper may flicker or go blank briefly.
Typical usage
Rough ranges on Apple Silicon Macs. Yours will vary.
- CPU
- Near 0% with a still wallpaper
- Memory
- 30–300 MB; can be much more with aerial video wallpapers
Related processes
Part of the Taskglass Process Library