FOSS Project Spotlight: WallpaperDownloader

Are you bored with the look of your desktop? Are the wallpapers that come with your distro enough for you? WallpaperDownloader is a graphical application that will help you customize your desktop and find wallpapers automatically.

WallpaperDownloader allows you to download, manage and change your favorite wallpapers from the internet. It is open source (GPL3) and totally free. Simply type in some keywords, enable the providers to include (up to six), select the download policy, and WallpaperDownloader does the rest.

WallpaperDownloader's main features include:

• Users can select keywords for matching desired wallpapers across different sources.
• Currently, six providers are implemented for searching.
• Different download policies are implemented.
• Preferred resolution for the search can be defined.
• The maximum size for downloaded directories can be changed.
• Wallpapers can be classified as favorites or not favorites.
• Favorite wallpapers can be moved to another location with a single click. This is very nice if you have a directory for storing images (for example, a directory in Dropbox).
• WallpaperDownloader is translated into English and Spanish so far.
• It implements an automated "changer" for changing the wallpaper randomly every X minutes. You can define as many directories as you want.
• A system tray icon is implemented (for desktop environments that support this feature) with quick actions.

Figure 1. Selecting Providers

Figure 3. Wallpaper Manager

Figure 4. WallpaperDownloader Info and Changelog

WallpaperDownloader supports several Desktop Environments: MATE, GNOME Shell, Cinnamon, Budgie, Pantheon, Unity, KDE Plasma 5.8 or greater and XFCE.

Installation

You can install WallpaperDownloader using different methods depending on your distribution.

Arch Linux

It is in the AUR repository. Just install it from there:

yaourt -S wallpaperdownloader

Ubuntu, Derivatives and Linux Distros with snapd

WallpaperDownloader is available from the Ubuntu Software Center via snap package (just search for it). If you want to install it via terminal, type:

sudo snap install wallpaperdownloader

Caveats: the snap package fully supports GNOME Shell, Unity, Budgie, Cinnamon, Pantheon and MATE desktop environments. If you are using KDE Plasma 5 (version 5.8 or greater) or XFCE and your distro of choice is Ubuntu, installation via official PPA is recommended.

Ubuntu and Derivatives via PPA

There is an official PPA repository for installing WallpaperDownloader in Ubuntu (16.04 and greater) and derivatives natively. This is the preferred method for enabling all the features of the application, and it's recommended for KDE Plasma 5 and XFCE users. Open a terminal and type:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:eloy-garcia-pca/wallpaperdownloader
sudo apt update
sudo apt install wallpaperdownloader

I hope you enjoy the application. Feedback, contributions and help with translating the GUI are always welcome!

—Eloy Garcia Almaden