Live Wallpaper for VSCode

Bring your VSCode window to life by setting an MP4 video as your editor background wallpaper. Choose your favorite live wallpapers, loop them, adjust their opacity, and enjoy a more fun and enjoyable coding experience. Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux!

📸 Preview

Live Wallpaper Preview

✨ Features

🎥 MP4 Video Backgrounds: Supports local MP4 video files (H.264 encoded).
🎛️ Adjustable Opacity: Modify opacity from 0.1 (mostly transparent) to 0.5 to fit your syntax theme.
📐 Sizing Modes: Configure video rendering size (cover, contain, fill, or auto).
🔁 Continuous Loop: Toggle video looping on or off.
🐧 Cross-Platform Support: Fully compatible with VSCode installations on Linux, Windows, and macOS.
🧼 Clean Uninstall: Automatically restores VSCode's original files when disabling or uninstalling the extension.

🚀 Getting Started

1. Generate the Setup Template

Instead of manually typing the configuration, you can let the extension generate it for you:

Press Ctrl + Shift + P (or Cmd + Shift + P on macOS) to open the Command Palette.
Select Live Wallpaper: Create Template Setup.

This will automatically add the configuration block to your User settings.json and open it:

"liveWallpaper": {
    "videoPath": "/absolute/path/to/your/wallpaper.mp4",
    "opacity": 0.3,
    "size": "cover",
    "enabled": true,
    "loop": true
}

Simply replace the /absolute/path/to/your/wallpaper.mp4 with the actual path to your MP4 video file and save the file.

Example Path Formats:
- Linux/macOS Absolute Path: /home/budi/Videos/wallpaper.mp4
- Windows Absolute Path: C:\Users\budi\Videos\wallpaper.mp4
- file:// URL (Universal): file:///home/budi/Videos/wallpaper.mp4 or file:///C:/Users/budi/Videos/wallpaper.mp4

2. Apply and Reload

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P).
Select Live Wallpaper: Apply and Reload.
Note (Linux & macOS): Because VSCode installation files are protected, you will be prompted with an Administrator/Sudo authorization dialog. Click Retry with Admin / Sudo and enter your password to grant permission.
VSCode will prompt you to reload the window. Click Reload to see your wallpaper.

🛠️ Configuration Settings

All settings are configured under the "liveWallpaper" parent object in settings.json:

Key	Type	Default	Description
`videoPath`	`string`	`""`	Absolute file path or `file://` URL to the MP4 (H.264) video.
`opacity`	`number`	`0.3`	Opacity of the background video (range: `0.1` to `0.5`).
`size`	`string`	`"cover"`	Sizing mode relative to the window (`cover`, `contain`, `fill`, `auto`).
`enabled`	`boolean`	`true`	Quickly toggle the video background on or off.
`loop`	`boolean`	`true`	Determines whether the video loops continuously.

⌨️ Command Palette Actions

You can trigger all extension features directly from the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P):

Live Wallpaper: Create Template Setup — Generates the required configuration block in your settings.json.
Live Wallpaper: Apply and Reload — Applies current settings and updates the wallpaper.
Live Wallpaper: Disable and Reload — Disables the wallpaper and restores your VSCode interface to default.
Live Wallpaper: Reset to Defaults — Resets configuration values to default settings.
Live Wallpaper: Uninstall Extension — Safely removes the injected background codes and uninstalls the extension.

❓ FAQ & Troubleshooting

Why does VSCode say "Your installation is corrupt"?

Because this extension patches VSCode's core HTML file (workbench.html), VSCode detects a change in its installation integrity.

Do not worry! This is completely safe and only changes the background styling.
This extension automatically injects styles that suppress the default warning popup to keep your workflow clean.

What video formats are supported?

Only MP4 (H.264 codec) is supported. High-efficiency formats like H.265/HEVC or WebM may not render correctly due to VSCode's built-in Chromium rendering limitations.

How do I uninstall the extension manually?

If you ever want to revert all changes, simply run the Live Wallpaper: Disable and Reload command before uninstalling the extension. Alternatively, you can uninstall it directly, and the extension's post-uninstall hook will automatically revert your files.

🐛 Report Bugs & Issues

If you encounter any bugs, issues, or have feature requests, please report them by opening an issue on the GitHub Issues page.

📄 License

This extension is licensed under the MIT License.

Live Wallpaper

budicuy