ChromeOS LivePaper

A live wallpaper engine for Chrome OS

Features

• Set a live wallpaper for your Chromebook
• Will stop automatically when a window is maximized/focused for performance concern (not working for Android/Linux apps currently)

Why not just use CrosPaper?

There are some ridiculous restrictions in free version of CrosPaper:

• Only =< 720p video can be applied
• You can only set a live wallpaper up to 10 seconds

So I decided to make an alternative for it.

Comparing to CrosPaper

• Free
• No extra features (Google Photos, etc.)

Installation

• Download archive of this repository and unzip it
• Unpack the zip file by:
  • Double click the zip file in the file manager. The zip file will show contents in what looks like a flash drive
  • Drag the folder within the zip file into the Downloads folder
  • Optionally delete the zip file
• Go to chrome://extensions and enable Developer Mode
• Click "Pack Extension", click "Browse" under "Extension Root Directory", then click on the folder named ChromeOS-LivePaper-main, and click "Open"
• Click "Pack Extension", then click "Okay"
• Open the file manager, go to Downloads and drag the .crx file into the chrome://extensions window.
• Click "Add Extension"
• Optionally delete the generated .crx packaged file and .pem key file

How does it works?

This extension uses chrome.wallpaper.setWallpaper to change the wallpaper in Chrome OS. However, it only works with images.

As a workaround, this extension split the video (live wallpaper) into serval frames and feed them to chrome.wallpaper.setWallpaper one by one to make the wallpaper "move"

FAQ

Q: Why it doesn't work?

A: Check the settings on browser popup

Q: It is laggy!

A: Try reducing the resolution in the wallpaper settings page (you will need to reset the live wallpaper in Browser popup > Set a new wallpaper for this).

Q: How to set a new live wallpaper?

A: Browser popup > Set a new wallpaper

Known issues

• Poor performance (due to the way how this extension works)