TerrariumFree
$0
- 2 worlds: Meadow and Islands
- Drag, merge, day and night
- No account, no time limit
A live wallpaper for macOS
Your desktop, alive.
A small world grows around the files on your desktop. Drag a file and the land follows.
This browser cannot show the live demo (WebGL is off).
Drag a file. Select a few and drag them together.
How it works
Move a file. The world moves with it.
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Drag
Pick up a file and the land comes along: a raft carries it, and the old place sinks back into the sea.
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Islands merge
Files near each other share one island. Move one away and it grows an island of its own.
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Day and night
The light follows your clock: a warm glow at sunset and small lights after dark.
Themes
One desktop, many worlds.
Each theme reacts to a drag in its own way. Meadow and Islands are free. Pick one to try it in the demo above.
Your file names stay on your Mac.
Terrarium asks Finder where your icons are. It keeps their names in memory only, to tell them apart, and never saves or sends them. The world sees positions, nothing else. It never opens, moves, renames or deletes a file. It goes online for two things only: the update check, and the license check, one time, when you paste a key.
Made for macOS 14+
Light on your Mac.
- macOS 14 Sonoma or laterApple silicon and Intel.
- Sleeps when you cannot see itCalm motion for a minute after you touch a file, then a still world.
- Open-source engineThe engine is open source (MIT). Build your own worlds on it.
Pricing
Start free. Unlock every world once.
Free with 2 worlds (Meadow and Islands). All 18 worlds and every future world: $4.99, one time.
Full pack
$4.99one time
- All 18 worlds: 12 everyday, 6 seasonal
- Every future world
- One license key, no subscription
Get it on launch day.
One email when Terrarium is ready to download. No spam.
Check your inbox.
We sent you a link. Open it to confirm your email.
Requests
What should grow next?
Ask for a world or a feature. We read every request.
- A worldA place, a season or a mood. Tell us what happens when you drag a file.
- A featureSomething the app should do for you.
Thank you.
We read every request.
Questions
Does Terrarium read my files?
No. It never opens a file. It asks Finder where the icons are and what they are called, keeps the names in memory only, and never saves or sends them.
Why does it ask to control Finder?
Finder knows where each icon is. macOS asks you one time to let Terrarium read those positions. Terrarium does not change your Finder settings.
Will it slow my Mac or drain the battery?
No. It draws only when you can see the desktop. After a minute without activity, the world stands still and costs almost nothing.
Which Macs does it run on?
Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, with Apple silicon or Intel.
My icons jump back after I drag them.
Your desktop has a sort order. In Finder, choose View, then Sort By, then None. Then the icons stay where you put them.
What is free?
Terrarium is free with 2 worlds: Meadow and Islands. There is no time limit and no account.
What does the full pack have?
All 18 worlds: the 12 everyday worlds and the 6 seasonal worlds. You also get every world that we add later. It costs $4.99, one time. There is no subscription.
How does the license key work?
You buy the full pack on Gumroad and get a license key. Paste the key into Terrarium. The app checks it one time and then unlocks all worlds.
What is open source?
The engine is open source under the MIT license, with the Mac app and the docs to build your own worlds on it. The 18 Terrarium worlds are not part of the open-source code. The code is not public yet.