Fresco
Fresco is a Linux app for setting videos, GIFs, image slideshows, and playlists as animated desktop wallpapers.
What Fresco is
Fresco is a Linux app for setting videos, GIFs, image slideshows, and playlists as animated desktop wallpapers. Slideshow images can use transitions, and Fresco includes a catalog of curated, licensed wallpapers to browse. Each monitor can have its own wallpaper, selected from a wallpaper’s context menu. Playback uses GPU hardware decoding through mpv with VA-API or NVDEC.
Fresco supports X11 and the Wayland layer-shell compositors COSMIC, Hyprland, Sway, and KDE Plasma 6. On GNOME Wayland, it displays a still frame, and widgets are unavailable. The four widgets are synced lyrics, a clock, an audio visualiser, and album art on a turning record. Lyrics follow MPRIS media, checking local .lrc files before LRCLIB. Fresco can pause on battery or when a window goes fullscreen on a display. A daemon keeps wallpapers running after the app closes and restores them after reboot. It is free forever under GPL-3.0.
Good
- Supports video, GIF, slideshow, and playlist wallpapers
- Different wallpaper can run on each monitor
- Hardware decoding uses mpv with VA-API or NVDEC
- Daemon restores wallpapers after reboot
- Free forever under GPL-3.0
Watch out
- GNOME Wayland shows a still frame only
- Widgets are unavailable on GNOME Wayland
- Linux is the only listed platform
Who it suits
Fresco suits Linux users who want animated wallpapers, slideshow rotation, or separate backgrounds per monitor. GNOME Wayland users should note that it shows a still frame and does not support widgets there.
Verdict
Fresco combines several wallpaper formats with per-monitor selection, playback controls, and widgets on supported desktops. Check its desktop environment requirements before relying on live wallpapers or widgets.
Plans and prices
From Fresco's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free forever · GPL-3.0 |
The facts
Each one read from Fresco's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Automation
- A daemon keeps the wallpaper running after the app closes and restores it after reboot.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Desktop support
- Fresco supports X11 and the Wayland layer-shell compositors COSMIC, Hyprland, Sway, and KDE Plasma 6; GNOME Wayland shows a still frame only.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- The site offers a one-line installer and a .deb release, and says Fresco is also available in the deepin App Store.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Multi-monitor
- Each monitor can run its own wallpaper, selected from a wallpaper’s context menu.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Music integration
- Lyrics follow media playing over MPRIS, using local .lrc files first and LRCLIB afterward.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Notable limitation
- Widgets are unavailable on GNOME Wayland because it has no live wallpaper surface, according to the site.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Playback
- It uses GPU hardware decoding through mpv with VA-API or NVDEC.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Power features
- Fresco can pause on battery and automatically pause a monitor’s wallpaper when a window on that display goes fullscreen.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Privacy-related behavior
- The audio visualiser asks before listening to audio, and the site says user and country counts include installs that opted in to anonymous telemetry.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Wallpaper catalog
- Fresco includes a catalog of curated, licensed wallpapers that users can browse in the app.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Wallpaper features
- It supports video and GIF wallpapers, image slideshows with transitions, and video playlists.checked 8 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Fresco sets video, GIF, image, slideshow, and playlist wallpapers as animated Linux desktop backgrounds.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Widgets
- Its four wallpaper widgets are synced song lyrics, a clock, an audio visualiser, and album art on a turning record.checked 8 Oct 2026
Money
- License and price
- Fresco is described as free forever and licensed under GPL-3.0.checked 8 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- The product site names Dibbayajyoti Roy as Fresco’s maker.checked 8 Oct 2026
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