macOS processes › Display and graphics
What is Wallpaper on Mac?
WallpaperAgent draws your desktop wallpaper, including dynamic, shuffling and Aerial video wallpapers. In Activity Monitor it can appear as Wallpaper.
What it does
It renders the wallpaper on every display and Space, changes dynamic wallpapers with the time of day, and plays the slow-motion Aerial videos that arrived in macOS Sonoma. Aerials are downloaded from Apple when you choose them and can double as your screen saver.
Why it gets busy
- An Aerial wallpaper playing on one or more displays.
- Downloading Aerial videos, which are large files.
- Several displays or Spaces, each with its own wallpaper.
- Memory that grows over a long uptime. Quitting it resets that.
Why is Wallpaper using so much CPU?
WallpaperAgent uses CPU and GPU when an Aerial video wallpaper is playing or downloading. A still wallpaper makes it nearly idle.
Is it safe to quit?
macOS restarts it right away. Your wallpaper may flash for a moment.
How to calm it down
- Choose a still picture instead of an Aerial in System Settings › Wallpaper.
- Use the same wallpaper on all displays and Spaces.
- If its memory keeps growing, quit it in Activity Monitor. It comes back fresh.
In SystemWatch
SystemWatch compares WallpaperAgent's memory with what's typical for it, and the website edition can restart it in one click when it has grown.
