Clockwork Orange vs John’s Background Switcher

Clockwork Orange manages desktop wallpapers on KDE Plasma 6, Windows 10/11 and macOS 13+. It can select random images from local folders, distribute choices fairly among sources and assign a different image to each monitor. On KDE Plasma, it can rotate the lock-screen image separately from the desktop. Download plugins fetch images from Wallhaven and DuckDuckGo Images on hourly, daily or weekly schedules, with a file limit configurable for each source. Wallhaven’s full catalogue requires an API key. The app records image URLs and content hashes to prevent duplicate downloads, even if a file has been deleted. Marking an image in the window deletes the file and adds its hash to a blacklist for future downloads. Version 4 is a native Go program with a command-line binary that also runs as the daemon, plus a Fyne desktop window with plugin controls, history, blacklist management and settings. It is free under the MIT License. On Linux it can run as a systemd user service; the macOS app is ad-hoc signed and not notarised.

John’s Background Switcher changes a Windows or Mac desktop background on a schedule, using individual photos or assembled montages and collages. Its image sources include local photos and services such as Flickr, SmugMug, Unsplash, Pixabay, Dropbox, OneDrive, Vladstudio, Immich, and Media RSS feeds, though availability varies by platform. Windows also lists Pexels, Last.fm, and Wallhaven. On Mac, it can manage multiple monitors, showing the same or different images on each, or using a single monitor. Mac switching intervals range from every 10 seconds to 7 days, with grayscale, sepia, and desaturation effects. Windows support starts at Windows 10 and requires Microsoft.NET 4.8; the setup wizard can install that dependency. The maker says settings and authentication tokens are stored locally, photo services are contacted directly, and cached photo results are kept for no more than two days. Windows is free at free. Mac direct costs 7.99 USD once, and Mac App Store costs 8.99 USD once.