Aura

May 29, 2026 · View on GitHub

A modern wallpaper management and personalization application available in three implementations:

WinUI 3 - Modern Windows native app with Fluent Design
WPF - Traditional Windows desktop application
Python - Cross-platform GUI with Tkinter

Browse, organize, and apply beautiful wallpapers from multiple sources including Backiee, AlphaCoders, Unsplash, Pexels, and Wallpaper Engine.

🌟 Features

All Implementations

Multiple Wallpaper Sources: Backiee, AlphaCoders, Unsplash, Pexels, and Wallpaper Engine
Intelligent Categorization: Browse wallpapers by collections, AI-generated content, and more
Adaptive Layout: Responsive grid that adapts to any screen size
Visual Tagging System: Identify wallpaper qualities (4K, 5K, 8K) and AI-generated content
Slideshow Functionality: Set multiple wallpapers to rotate automatically
Performance Optimized: Fast loading and smooth scrolling

WinUI 3 & WPF Specific

Modern UI: Clean interface following Fluent Design principles (WinUI) or Modern WPF UI
Infinite Scrolling: Smooth browsing experience with dynamic content loading
Personalization Options: Create and manage custom collections
Interactive Slideshow: Dynamic, interactive wallpaper experiences

Python/Tkinter Specific

Lightweight: Minimal resource usage
Startup Integration: Run on system startup
Lock Screen Support: Set lock screen wallpapers
DepotDownloader Integration: Support for Wallpaper Engine workshop content

Comparison

✅ means the tool is built around that capability. partial means it has a related feature, but not the same scope or depth. - means it is not the point of that tool.

Capability	Aura	Wallpaper Engine	Lively Wallpaper	backiee	John's Background Switcher	Variety
Static wallpaper browsing and applying	✅	partial	partial	✅	✅	✅
Multiple online sources	✅	partial	partial	✅	✅	✅
Native Windows desktop app	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	-
Multiple implementations in one repo	✅	-	-	-	-	-
Slideshow / wallpaper rotation	✅	✅	partial	✅	✅	✅
Lock screen support	✅	-	-	partial	-	-
Live or interactive wallpaper engine	partial	✅	✅	partial	-	-
Wallpaper Engine Workshop path	partial	✅	-	-	-	-
Local collections and personalization	✅	✅	✅	✅	partial	partial
Mobile/cloud account ecosystem	-	partial	-	✅	-	-
Open-source core	✅	-	✅	-	-	✅

Aura overlaps most with backiee for wallpaper browsing and with Lively/Wallpaper Engine for desktop personalization. The difference is that Aura is a playground of implementations: WinUI 3, WPF, and Python paths live together while sharing the same wallpaper-management idea.

The biggest gaps are a real live-wallpaper engine, cloud/mobile sync, a community gallery, and polished packaging across all three implementations. Lively and Wallpaper Engine are ahead on live/interactive wallpapers; backiee is ahead on consumer-ready wallpaper discovery.

🚀 Getting Started

Choose Your Implementation

Navigate to the respective directory:

WinUI 3: cd winui
WPF: cd wpf
Python: cd python

🔨 Building Each Implementation

🎨 WinUI 3 (Modern Windows App)

Prerequisites

Windows 10 version 17763 or higher
.NET 8.0 SDK
Windows App SDK 1.7+

Run Directly

cd winui
dotnet run

🔥 Hot Reload / Dev Mode (Recommended)

Since dotnet watch doesn't fully reload .cs file changes in WinUI 3, use the included dev.bat script instead. It acts like pnpm dev — automatically rebuilds and relaunches the app whenever it exits.

cd winui
.\dev.bat

Once the app is running, click the ↺ (restart) button next to the "Next Gen Edition" badge in the bottom-right corner of the Platform Selection page. The app will exit and dev.bat will automatically rebuild and relaunch it with your latest changes.

Tip: Always use dev.bat during development instead of plain dotnet run.

Build Portable Versions

Self-Contained Portable Folder:

For x64 (64-bit Intel/AMD):

dotnet publish -c Release -p:Platform=x64 -r win-x64 --self-contained true

Output: bin\x64\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\publish\

For x86 (32-bit):

dotnet publish -c Release -p:Platform=x86 -r win-x86 --self-contained true

Output: bin\x86\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x86\publish\

For ARM64:

dotnet publish -c Release -p:Platform=ARM64 -r win-arm64 --self-contained true

Output: bin\ARM64\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-arm64\publish\

Single EXE File (Self-Contained):

For x64:

dotnet publish -c Release -p:Platform=x64 -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeAllContentForSelfExtract=true -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true -p:WindowsAppSDKSelfContained=true -p:UseWinUI=true

Output: bin\x64\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\publish\Aura.exe

For x86:

dotnet publish -c Release -p:Platform=x86 -r win-x86 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeAllContentForSelfExtract=true -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true -p:WindowsAppSDKSelfContained=true -p:UseWinUI=true

Output: bin\x86\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x86\publish\Aura.exe

For ARM64:

dotnet publish -c Release -p:Platform=ARM64 -r win-arm64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeAllContentForSelfExtract=true -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true -p:WindowsAppSDKSelfContained=true -p:UseWinUI=true

Output: bin\ARM64\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-arm64\publish\Aura.exe

🖼️ WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation)

Prerequisites

Windows 7 SP1 or higher
.NET 8.0 SDK

Run Directly

cd wpf
dotnet run --project WallYouNeed.App

Build Portable Versions

Self-Contained (Any CPU):

dotnet publish WallYouNeed.App -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

Output: WallYouNeed.App\bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\

Single EXE:

dotnet publish WallYouNeed.App -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true

Output: WallYouNeed.App\bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\WallYouNeed.App.exe

For 32-bit: Replace win-x64 with win-x86 in the commands above.

🐍 Python (Cross-Platform)

Prerequisites

Python 3.8 or higher
pip

Setup

cd python
pip install -r requirements.txt

Run Directly

python gui.py

Build Portable EXE (Using PyInstaller)

Windows:

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --clean --noconfirm Wall-You-Need.spec

Output: dist\Wall-You-Need.exe

Manual Build (Single EXE):

pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --name "Wall-You-Need" gui.py

Custom Build with Dependencies:

pyinstaller --onefile --windowed ^
  --add-data "utils.py;." ^
  --add-data "pexels.py;." ^
  --add-data "unsplash.py;." ^
  --add-data "wallpaper_engine.py;." ^
  --add-data "DepotDownloaderMod;DepotDownloaderMod" ^
  --name "Wall-You-Need" gui.py

📁 Project Structure

aura/
├── winui/          # WinUI 3 implementation (Modern Windows app)
│   ├── Views/
│   │   ├── AlphaCoders/
│   │   └── Backiee/
│   ├── Services/
│   ├── Models/
│   └── Aura.csproj
│
├── wpf/            # WPF implementation (Traditional Windows desktop)
│   ├── WallYouNeed.App/
│   ├── WallYouNeed.Core/
│   ├── BackieeScraper/
│   └── WallYouNeed.sln
│
└── python/         # Python/Tkinter implementation (Cross-platform)
    ├── gui.py
    ├── utils.py
    ├── pexels.py
    ├── unsplash.py
    ├── wallpaper_engine.py
    ├── DepotDownloaderMod/
    └── requirements.txt