Feature
A live wallpaper that's actually a dashboard
Orbl turns your macOS wallpaper into a calm, animated dashboard — your clock, weather, focus, Mac vitals and metrics, all on the desktop behind your windows.
Most "live wallpaper" apps for Mac loop a video or a slow animation. Pretty, but it tells you nothing. Orbl is different: your wallpaper becomes a calm, living dashboard that quietly mirrors your day — the time, the weather, how long you've been in flow, your Mac's vitals, and (with Premium) your business metrics. It sits behind your windows and icons, so it's there the moment you clear your screen.
What a "wallpaper dashboard" actually means
Orbl renders an animated ambient background and lays widgets directly onto it. The palette drifts with the time of day — warm at golden hour, deep blue at night — or you can pick a single background color and watch the whole theme adapt. Nothing flashes or demands attention; it's designed to be glanceable, not distracting.
Every piece of information is a widget you control. You decide what's always on, what's tucked behind a reveal shortcut (default ⌃⌥⌘A), and what's off entirely. Each widget can be sized small, medium, or large.
Why it beats a video wallpaper or a menu-bar app
- It's useful, not just decorative. A looping 4K video drains your battery to show you nothing. Orbl shows your day.
- It's calmer than a menu-bar tracker. Menu-bar apps cram numbers into a tiny strip you have to click. Orbl gives the information room to breathe on the desktop you already look at.
- It's light. Orbl idles near 0% CPU, uses under 100 MB of memory, and adapts its frame rate to your power state — 12fps plugged in, 8fps on battery, paused when you step away.
Set it up in seconds
Download the free DMG, drag Orbl to Applications, and open it once. Your wallpaper comes alive instantly — no account, no email, no card. From the menu bar you can open Settings to choose what to show, arrange your layout, and connect integrations.
The live wallpaper, the animated background, and every built-in widget are free forever. If you want your revenue and developer stats on the wallpaper too, that's Orbl Premium — a one-time purchase, never a subscription.
Want the full list of what you can put on it? See every Mac desktop widget Orbl offers, or browse all integrations.
Frequently asked questions
Is the live wallpaper dashboard free?+
Yes. The live wallpaper, the animated background and every built-in widget are free forever. Premium adds integrations like revenue and developer stats, and is a one-time purchase, never a subscription.
How is this different from a video live wallpaper?+
A looping video is decorative and drains your battery to show you nothing. Orbl renders a calm animated background and lays useful widgets on top — the time, weather, focus, your Mac's vitals — so the wallpaper actually mirrors your day.
Does it slow my Mac down?+
No. Orbl idles near 0% CPU, uses under 100 MB of memory, and adapts its frame rate to your power state — 12fps plugged in, 8fps on battery, and paused when you step away.
Where do the widgets sit relative to my windows?+
Behind them, directly on the wallpaper, so the dashboard is there the moment you clear your screen. Each widget can be always-on, tucked behind a reveal shortcut (default ⌃⌥⌘A), or off, and sized small, medium or large.
Do I need an account to set it up?+
No. Download the free DMG, drag Orbl to Applications and open it once — no account, no email, no card. Your wallpaper comes alive instantly.
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