apod-desktop

Script to set your Linux desktop wallpaper to the Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Usage

Invoke the script on login using a method appropriate to your desktop manager

Usage: apod gnome1|gnome22|gnome24|gnome3|kde|fvwm|fvwm-xv|xfce|xfce4|hsetroot|i3

How it works

This script scrapes the current Astronomy Picture of the Day page for the image linked there, downloads the image, and sets it as your desktop wallpaper for a variety of Linux desktop managers.

Supported desktop managers

The current supported list is as follows:

• Gnome 1.x, 2.2, 2.4, 3.x
• KDE
• FVWM (alternatively using xv)
• XFCE
• Enlightenment
• i3
• Generic X11 using hsetroot

Temporary transition image

I found that for some desktops, resetting the wallpaper to a new file with the same name did not always refresh. For those desktop managers, I switch to a default temporary image first, then back to the new APOD image. I have provided a sample image with this repository which is a copy of the classic RCA "Indian Head" TV test pattern Source. This is of course highly insensitive, so feel free to change it to something else you prefer.

Customization

There are two tunable settings you will need to adjust for your own environment:

1. The location of your downloaded APOD image
2. The aforementioned temporary image used to facilitate refreshing the desktop

Caveats

• All downloaded images are named apod.jpg, actual filetype is ignored. Most DMs seem to be able to cope with this and display the iamge anyway.
• Occasionally the APOD image is a video. In this case, either the system default wallpaper or black screen is displayed, depending on your distro and DM.

History

I've been curating this for personal use since at least 2007, updating for new versions of DMs as I have switched back and forth over the years. I've always enjoyed it and decided to upload it for the public good.